Research & reports

Constance L. Falk, Pauline Pao, Christopher S. Cramer · HortScience · United States (New Mexico)

In January 2002, the OASIS organic vegetable garden was initiated on the New Mexico State University campus as a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) venture. The project aims to provide students with experiential education in organic production and business management, investigate the feasibility of small-scale organic drip irrigation in the Chihuahuan desert, and demonstrate the CSA model. In its first two years, the 2/3-acre project grew about 230 varieties and generated $32,000 in revenue, with 32 members in the first year and 69 in 2003.

Juliana Munaretti de Oliveira, Janaína F. F. Cintrão · Revista Brasileira Multidisciplinar · Brazil (Araraquara)

This research in Araraquara, Brazil, investigated behavioral problems among high school students at a state school in Vila Xavier. A questionnaire was used to understand behaviors conflicting with social norms. The study observed changes in student behavior related to food, specifically increased appreciation for the cafeteria and respect for lunch staff. These observations led to the creation of a community garden, which contributed to students' socialization, offered possibilities for new skills, and generated value for citizenship, in addition to supplementing family nutrition.

Kenny Lynch · · United States

A 1992 survey by Bryant and Johnston in the US examined farming in the 'city's countryside'. The survey found that key concerns among farmers included changes in the local community, excessive traffic, issues of trespassing and vandalism, and complaints from non-farm neighbors. These findings indicate challenges in governance and community relations for peri-urban farmers.

Geralyn Nolan, Jayne M. Zajicek · HortScience · United States

This research investigated whether gardening supplemented with nutritional curriculum could improve fruit and vegetable attitudes in minority children in Texas elementary schools. Children completed pre- and post-tests evaluating attitudes, snack preferences, and nutritional knowledge. Statistically significant positive differences were found in all three variables after the gardening and nutritional instruction.

Robert F. Polomski, Carri Carver Wallace, Mary Haque, Lisa K. Wagner, James E. Arnold, Amy D. Craddock, Christian Maloney Cicimurri, Lisa D. Chancellor · HortScience · United States (South Carolina)

An interdisciplinary team designed a 2.5-acre Children's Garden for experiential learning at the South Carolina Botanical Garden. The plans include 13 outdoor theme gardens, such as a "Dinosaur Dig" and a "Food for Thought Garden." A design class of 15 students contributed 2,000 hours to the project, producing 30 drawing boards of research, analysis, and design proposals presented in Fall 2003.

Daniela Adil Oliveira de Almeida · Organic Eprints (International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems, and Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)

This article focuses on the "Project for Training Local Development Agents in Food and Nutritional Security and Urban Agriculture," which began in 2003 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Roberta M. Feldman, Susan Stall · Cambridge University Press eBooks · United States

This paper explores the concept of the community household through the case of Mrs. Mary Rias, a resident activist at Wentworth Gardens. Mrs. Rias, who coordinated and worked in a community garden for over a decade, is depicted as extending her caretaking and nurturing roles from her home into the community, often meeting neighbors' needs within her residence. This case illustrates mutual support and family-like relationships within the community.

Prebus, Olivia · Occidental College Scholar (Occidental College) · United States (Los Angeles)

This work addresses the gross inequity of food access in low-income neighborhoods of Los Angeles, such as MacArthur Park, where grocery stores are scarce. The author's internship at the Center for Food and Justice involved projects like a Community Food Assessment and organizing a community garden, all focused on empowering communities to tackle complex food access issues. The abstract highlights the severe problem of limited healthy food options leading to simultaneous obesity and malnutrition.

J. S. [UNESP] Gonçalves, S. A. A. dos [UNESP] Santos, F. F. CURADO · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Corumbá)

This work, part of the "Food Security and Citizenship" project coordinated by Embrapa Pantanal in Corumbá and Ladário, Brazil, aims to promote healthy food production. It seeks to improve the food quality of the urban population by creating alternatives for better food and nutritional security and income generation in these areas.

Eva C. Worden · HortTechnology · United States

A study using case study interviews to identify community-supported agriculture (CSA) growers' perspectives in the United States, focusing on their information sources and motivations. Like most organic growers, but unlike most conventional growers, few CSA growers had a family background in agriculture; common information sources and strong informal communication were observed among CSA growers, whose primary sources were other growers, printed material, and conferences, while conventional agricultural information sources such as the cooperative extension system and formal agricultural education were underutilised and ranked lowest in importance. CSA growers were motivated by multiple goals - marketing, education, community, and environment - with marketing the most frequently cited primary goal, followed by consumer education; for many CSA growers, the marketing motive was not purely monetary but also philosophical, pursued as a vehicle for achieving "right livelihood" and building an associative economy that redefines society's relationship to food and land.

Heather Graham, Gail Feenstra, A. Evans, Sheri Zidenberg‐Cherr · California Agriculture · United States (California)

A study (2004, California Agriculture) evaluates the Farm to School Connection, a comprehensive program in the Davis, California school environment that sought to promote lifelong healthy eating habits in children and connect the school garden, cafeteria, and classroom to local agriculture, including farmers'-market-style salad bars, classroom education, farm tours, and waste management. Evaluated through interviews and surveys of program leaders, teachers, and school staff, the program was found to increase participation in the school lunch program following the addition of salad bars, and numerous partnerships developed among those involved; the components of the Farm to School Connection are presented as evidence supporting comprehensive school nutrition programs and their positive impact on the school environment.

Kathryn E. Waitkus · Pepperdine Digital Commons (Pepperdine University) · United States

Prison physical environments and social climates have been found to be physically and mentally stressful for inmates, and more than 70% of those in the California prison system return to prison within three years of parole. As part of an effort to reduce this recidivism, a rehabilitative gardening program was started at San Quentin State Prison, and this primarily qualitative study set out to determine the garden project's impact on the physical environment and social climate of a prison yard from both inmate and staff perspectives, through interviews with inmate program participants, an inmate control group, and prison staff conducted before and after the garden was planted. The evidence suggested that (a) gardens invited attention, use, and refuge; (b) being in or near a garden could reduce stress; (c) gardens might provide "neutral" territory in a segregated prison yard; (d) inmate participants gained benefits from directly working with nature; (e) gardens created the possibility for hope and further change; and (f) prison staff were generally more concerned about the impact of the change than the inmates themselves. Inmate and staff expectations about the garden's impact were met or exceeded, leading to recommendations to use the Garden Program to build collaboration, trust, and respect between inmates and staff through active staff participation in classes, to expand the program to other California prisons, and to have paroled inmates collaborate with local communities on community gardens. Limitations included a reduction in program scale during the planning stages and the short time elapsed between pre- and post-garden research; the authors suggest a longitudinal study to track impact on inmates after parole.

Joan M. Twiss, Joy Dickinson, Shirley Duma, Tanya Kleinman, Heather Paulsen, Liz Rilveria · American Journal of Public Health · United States (California)

Community gardens enhance nutrition, physical activity, and social capital, promoting public health and quality of life. The California Healthy Cities and Communities (CHCC) program funded successful community gardens in several cities, which incorporated local leadership, volunteers, and skill-building. These initiatives led to policies for land and water use, improved produce access, and strengthened community building skills.

Christopher M. Smith, Hilda E. Kurtz · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)

New York City community gardens have faced political contestation for thirty years, notably in 1999 when 114 gardens were slated for public auction and redevelopment. This article examines the controversy as a politics of scale, where garden advocates expanded the dispute beyond individual gardens and the city. The analysis highlights the significance of scale politics for grassroots organizations within a market-centric, neoliberal economic framework.

Jan Perez · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)

This 2003 research brief investigated the experiences of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) growers on the central coast of California. The study examined their motivations, economic viability, challenges, and issues related to equal access to their products. The research brief indicates that challenges and issues of equal access are present in CSA projects.

Troy D. Glover · Journal of Leisure Research · United States

This narrative inquiry explored how 14 participants in the Queen Anne Memorial Garden, a community garden built to combat urban decline, collectively reconfigured events into a “success story.” The aggregated community narrative illustrates how a collective leisure pursuit can be a grassroots effort to address urban decline and reshape collective identity.

Karen L. Nordstrom · Digital Commons - CSUMB (California State University, Monterey Bay) · United States

This research investigated the impact of collaborative, reflective teaching practice on teacher professional development in science education. The MBSP/LASERS Summer School Academy implemented lesson study, integrating hands-on, inquiry-based learning and English language acquisition within the context of a school garden. Qualitative data analyses identified emergent themes from teacher and student interviews, focus groups, and written reflection, measuring the effectiveness of lesson study on teacher professional development and student perceptions of garden-based learning.

Kluthe, Ryan · Occidental College Scholar (Occidental College) · United States

This paper presents observations of 13 teens in the Youth Leadership Council of Highland Park, United States, who dedicated hundreds of hours to community projects without individual incentive. These observations contradict Mancur Olsen's theory that groups only organize under coercion or special devices, suggesting the existence of "community interested" individuals.

Cindy Rosenthal · TDR/The Drama Review · United States (New York City)

This abstract provides publication details for an article titled "New York's Community Gardens: Follow-Up" by Cindy Rosenthal, published in TDR/The Drama Review in 2003. The content of the article itself is not provided in the abstract, only its bibliographic information.

Charles Rowley · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)

This paper compared the successes and failures of two urban creek restoration programs in California: Temescal Creek (initiated nearly 30 years ago) and White Oak Creek (completed about four years ago). Based on the author's success criteria, the more recent White Oak Creek program achieved significant success, while the earlier Temescal Creek restoration did not reach generally acceptable success levels. This difference is attributed to changes in management and scientific practice over 30 years, including substantial changes in the legal basis for restoration, improved monitoring requirements, and the critical role of properly engineered low flow distribution structures.

Lorie Hammond · Mind Culture and Activity · United States (California)

This article uses a narrative format to describe situations in which Mienh immigrant families from a Southeast Asian hill tribe adapt to technological and cultural change within a California elementary school sponsoring a family literacy, school-community garden, and house building project. It argues that adjustments can be creative and empowering if schools incorporate community "funds of knowledge" into their instructional plan. Projects such as gardening and house building provide rich contexts for intercultural dialogues.

Gregory Hellmann Flatt · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · United States (Vermont)

This thesis examines the diversification of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement in Vermont, expanding beyond vegetables to include other products. The author, a CSA coordinator, documented several local businesses applying CSA concepts and practices in novel ways through participant observation, formal and informal interviews conducted at farmers' markets and agricultural conferences. The author concludes that CSA concepts and principles can be widely applied and represent a viable economic model for small- to medium-sized businesses that produce high-demand goods and services with local support.

Cynthia M. Hellman · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · United States

A phenomenological interview study of 10 Vermont CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farmers, combined with observation of sessions involving farmers, community-based organizations and low-income community members, addressing how Vermont CSA farmers can effectively incorporate members of the low-income community. The findings show that effective incorporation requires farmers to collaborate with community-based and non-profit organizations, treat the low-income community as a resource, enlist support from the wider community, and become part of a "food justice" movement.

Lynn A. Staeheli, Don Mitchell, Kristina Gibson · GeoJournal · USA (New York City)

Analyzes the Giuliani administration's 1998–1999 policy of transferring community gardens to housing development and auctioning 100+ gardens, exposing how a city 'greening then privatizing' policy reversed itself and treated public gardens as disposable exchange-value assets.

Karen Schmelzkopf · Urban Geography · United States (New York City)

This study examined the conflict over community gardens in New York City, arguing that it was a struggle concerning the right to space. The city, operating from an entrepreneurial governance perspective, claimed that the gardens represented a loss of exchange value and potential housing. The city used market economy rhetoric to dismiss incommensurable use values, thereby restricting rights to the city within a demonstration of power and "reason."