Research & reports

Luciane Maria Vieira, Leonardo Antunes Pessoa, Vinícius Estevan Carvalho Pereira, Karen Silvério Góis, Edivando Vítor do Couto · International Journal of River Basin Management · Brazil

Water and sediment samples from four sites in a countryside urban-farming watershed landscape in Southern Brazil were analyzed for pollution assessment. All water samples were contaminated with faecal and total coliforms, indicating issues with treatment effectiveness. While pesticide concentrations in water were not significant, sediment copper concentrations were eight times higher than the Threshold Effect Level (TEL), with chromium and copper exceeding TEL at all sites. Sources for zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium, and chromium included plantations, forests, and domestic sewage discharges.

Kayla Danielle Staley · Digital Archive @ GSU · United States

This quantitative study explored the relationship between community gardens and community vitality indicators (median household income, educational attainment, business establishment, occupied housing units) using U.S. Census Bureau data at the census tract level. While all community garden census tracts showed an increase in median household income by 2013, no direct association was found between community gardens and educational attainment. The research suggests a loose association between community gardens and increased median household income, but the garden's presence cannot be solidified as the sole reason.

Regina Lucia Santana, Roberto Andreani, João Adalberto Campato, Denise Regina da Costa Aguiar · Revista FSA · Brazil (São Paulo)

This descriptive and transversal field study, conducted at Professora Maria Expedita Silva State School in Mauá, São Paulo, aimed to implement sustainable and community actions using a school garden. The project sought to unite the school and local community in consuming and preserving the garden, fostering environmental responsibility and promoting natural diets. Results showed adolescent engagement in the educational project's sustainable actions, leading to more collaborative attitudes towards their natural environment.

Universidad de Guadalajara, Ofelia Barrios Vargas, María Lourdes Rebolledo García, Adán Rubio Cuevas · GESPYE Gestión Pública y Empresarial · Mexico

A diagnosis of urban gardens was conducted in Lázaro Cárdenas de Ocampo, Michoacán, Mexico, to understand the motivations and benefits people gain from home gardens. This cross-sectional study identified private and community gardens, noting a 20% increase in gardens in 2020 compared to the previous year. Residents demonstrated resilience during COVID-19 confinement, stating that gardens served as occupational therapy and family integration.

Wanda Martin, Lindsey Wagner, Kerry Marshall · Human Geography · Canada

This qualitative study investigated the controversy surrounding urban hen bylaws in Canadian cities, based on semi-structured interviews with 15 urban residents. The research identified three main areas of struggle: the need for education on urban agriculture, differing values for city life, and tensions between individual rights and the collective good. The findings expose challenges in urban hen legislation.

Ashley Gripper, Rachel C. Nethery, Tori L. Cowger, Monica M. White, Ichiro Kawachi, Gary Adamkiewicz · Social Science & Medicine · United States (Philadelphia)

This descriptive epidemiologic study in Philadelphia used spatial regression to analyze associations between Black neighborhoods, poverty, food access, and urban agriculture. Fully adjusted spatial models showed significant associations between Black neighborhoods and urban agriculture (RR: 1.28) and between poverty and urban agriculture (RR: 1.27). Neighborhoods with higher proportions of Black residents and lower incomes tended to have more community gardens and urban farms, with the association between low food access and urban agriculture generally increased in Black neighborhoods.

Shirley A.A. Beresford, India J. Ornelas, Mark Bauer, Geraldine A Garrity, Sonia Bishop, Brandon Francis, Eileen Rillamas‐Sun, Linda Garcia, Filiberto S A Vecenti, Kevin Lombard · AJPM Focus · United States

The Yéego! Healthy Eating and Gardening Study was a group-randomized controlled trial in 6 elementary schools in the Navajo Nation to evaluate a school-based healthy eating and gardening intervention over one school year. Students in intervention schools showed 0.22 points greater self-efficacy for eating fruits and vegetables compared to comparison schools. While self-efficacy to grow fruits and vegetables increased in intervention schools, it did not increase significantly more than in comparison schools.

Graham Ambrose, Kirti Das, Yingling Fan, Anu Ramaswami · Landscape and Urban Planning · United States (Minneapolis-St. Paul)

An exploratory study in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, USA, directly compared happiness (net affect, average happiness, and meaningfulness) associated with household versus community agricultural gardening, surveying 118 household and 55 community gardeners. For both groups, gardening's net affect ranked among the top five daily activities. Community gardeners reported statistically higher net affect and peak meaningfulness while gardening compared to household gardeners. Community gardeners' net affect correlated negatively with family-companionship and positively with neighbor-companionship. Female and low-income household gardeners reported higher gardening net affect than their counterparts.

Daniel Sax, Lorien Nesbitt, Shannon Hagerman · Environment and Planning E Nature and Space · Canada (Vancouver)

A case study of an urban farm in Vancouver, Canada, facing displacement due to redevelopment, revealed that urban residents engaged in urban greening can be both implicated in and impacted by green gentrification processes. The study highlighted the power dynamics farm members navigate to preserve land access and found that the farm's identity was co-opted by development agents as a branding tool. This research contributes to understanding the limitations of development processes in accounting for green gentrification risks.

Karla L Hanson, Lynn Xu, Grace A Marshall, Marilyn Sitaker, Stephanie B Jilcott Pitts, Jane Kolodinsky, April Bennett, Salem Carriker, Diane Smith, Alice S Ammerman, Rebecca A Seguin-Fowler · Public Health Nutrition · United States

This study analyzed factors associated with participation in cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CO-CSA) among low-income households with children in ten communities across New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington states. Participation rates varied significantly (33% to 89% of weeks picked up) across communities. Offering multiple share sizes was associated with higher participation (76.8% vs. 57.7% of weeks), while offering community pick-up locations was associated with lower participation (64.7% vs. 78.2% of weeks).

R.A. Seguin, A.S. Ammerman, W. Wang, I. Lu, J. Kolodinsky, J. Garner, L.C. Volpe, E.H. Belarmino, L. Gonsalves, S.B. Jilcott Pitts, M. Sitaker, K.L. Hanson · UNC Libraries · United States

This qualitative study examined the experiences of 96 low-income participants in 28 focus groups across rural and micropolitan communities in New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington (USA) regarding nutrition education classes complementing a cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. Participants reported improved nutrition knowledge, food preservation skills, and cooking behaviors, and a promoted sense of community. However, other obligations and class logistics were barriers to attendance, with recommendations for flexible scheduling and better integration of CSA produce into lessons.

DANDARA TEIXEIRA MALVINO · DIGNIDADE RE-VISTA · United States (Champaign)

This article aims to analyze the strategies created by low-income Black communities in Champaign, Illinois, to confront food deserts through the creation of urban community gardens, as a form of resistance to food insecurity.

Linda Goldman · · United States (Baltimore)

This chapter presents how young people can reduce stress and worry by practicing mindfulness and meditation. The Holistic Life Foundation (HLF), a non-profit organization in Baltimore, Maryland, is highlighted as a pioneering model for incorporating meditation, mindfulness, yoga, school gardens, and nature into school systems' daily routines and curricula. Students plant in school gardens, clean outdoor environments, and take trips to visit nature, enhancing the mindfulness approach.

T. E. H. Williams · Digital Archive @ GSU · United States

The Morrow Community Garden, established in 2012, expanded from 14 to 32 beds, enabling residents to grow produce and donate to a local clinic. Facing unstable membership, limited space, and reliance on membership dues, the garden requires an action plan to achieve its goals. An action plan was created to help stabilize membership, expand the garden, educate residents, and create a youth engagement program.

Naomi Reyes, Montserrat Ganderats‐Fuentes, Francesco Acciai, Jessica Eliason, Punam Ohri‐Vachaspati · Journal of School Health · United States (New Jersey)

This study examined school garden prevalence in 148 K-12 schools across four low-income New Jersey cities between 2010-2011 and 2017-2018, before and after the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010. Garden prevalence increased from 19% in 2010-2011 to 32% in 2013-2014, but this increase was not sustained over time. Furthermore, schools with a majority Hispanic student enrollment had approximately half the odds of having a garden compared to schools with a majority Black student enrollment.

Tori Taniguchi, Alyson Haslam, Wenjie Sun, Margaret Sisk, Jann Hayman, Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan · Nutrients · United States

The six-month FRESH study in the United States evaluated the impact of a farm-to-school nutrition and gardening intervention for Native American families. It involved 193 children and 170 adults from Osage Nation Early Childhood and Education programs, finding that intervention children significantly increased vegetable intake for squash and beans, and showed increased willingness to try beans.

Jaimie N. Davis, Katie Nikah, Matthew J. Landry, Sarvenaz Vandyousefi, Reem Ghaddar, Matthew Jeans, Michele Hockett Cooper, Bonnie Martin, Lyndsey Waugh, Shreela V. Sharma, Alexandra E. van den Berg · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · United States (Austin)

A cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in Austin, TX, United States, from 2016 to 2019, with primarily low-income, Hispanic children, examined the effects of the school-based gardening, nutrition, and cooking program 'TX Sprouts' on academic performance. Sixteen elementary schools were randomly assigned to either the intervention (8 schools) or control (8 schools) group, with the intervention consisting of 18 one-hour lessons in an outdoor teaching garden throughout the academic year. Results showed that schools receiving the intervention had a 6.5-percentage-point increase in fourth-grade reading State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) scores compared with control schools (P = .047). However, there were no significant differences in reading scores for fifth-grade students or math scores for either fourth- or fifth-grade students between groups.

S.B. Jilcott Pitts, R.A. Seguin, J. Kolodinsky, E.H. Morgan, M.J. White, M. Sitaker, J.T. McGuirt, W. Wang, K.L. Hanson, A.S. Ammerman · UNC Libraries · United States

This study examined perspectives on food access among 53 low-income families with children participating in a cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CO-CSA) program across nine communities in the US states of New York, North Carolina, Washington, and Vermont. Focus groups revealed that while produce quantity was abundant and affordability was generally good, payment timing was a barrier for some, and unfamiliar foods and quick spoilage hindered acceptability. The study concluded that CO-CSA may facilitate increased access to fruits and vegetables, but perceptions of positive diet change may be limited by challenges in incorporating share pick-up into regular travel patterns and meal planning, with food waste concerns being particularly acute for families with constrained resources.

Michele Hartmann Feyh · Revista Verde de Agroecologia e Desenvolvimento Sustentável · Brazil

A community garden was implemented in Vila Buritis II, Planaltina, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil, a socially vulnerable urban area with low purchasing power. The garden transformed an idle area into a productive space, planting 27 edible species, and 30 to 40 residents regularly visit to collect food. However, the maintenance and increase of garden productivity still require technical assistance and resources.

Marília Alves dos Santos, W. D. B. S. Bonaci, L. S. FOGANHOLO · Fractal Revista de Psicologia · Brazil (São Paulo)

This report describes a supervised internship experience in Social and Community Psychology conducted in 2017 with an intergenerational community garden group at a social assistance institution in rural São Paulo state. Key observed results of this intervention among group members included the learning of various cultivation techniques, the strengthening of interpersonal relationships, the development of group autonomy and self-organization, and the group's formation as an important support network.

Meike Rombach, David Dean, Tim Baird, Jacob Kambuta · Foods · United States

This study investigated factors determining US consumer preferences for growing and processing horticultural products (fruit, vegetables, wine, beer) versus buying them, both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Using PLS-SEM, findings showed that engagement with horticulture pre- and post-pandemic influenced preferences for growing/processing, and this engagement was significantly impacted by attitudes towards US growers. Attitudes towards COVID-19 and human values like self-enhancement, conservation, and self-transcendence were also significant, but openness to change was not.

Ainsley C. McStay, S.L. Walser, Eric C. Sirkovich, Nicolas Perdrial, Justin B. Richardson · Journal of Environmental Quality · United States

This study evaluated portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) measurements of macronutrients, micronutrients, and toxic elements (As, Pb) in soils and plants from 10 urban community gardens across the eastern United States. It found that pXRF and traditional methods provided agreeable estimates for some elements (Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb) but not for macronutrients (Ca, K, P). While pXRF is an accurate tool for screening Mn, Cu, Zn, and Pb, macronutrients were poorly estimated in fruits, leaves, and roots, and genus-specific and garden-specific factors may be important for plant uptake models.

Universidad de Guadalajara, Ofelia Barrios Vargas, María Lourdes Rebolledo García, Adán Rubio Cuevas · GESPYE Gestión Pública y Empresarial · Mexico

This study diagnosed urban gardens in Lázaro Cárdenas de Ocampo, Michoacán, Mexico, identifying private and community gardens and a 20% increase in gardens in 2020 compared to the previous year. A cross-sectional study with on-site interviews, recordings, and photographs was conducted. The findings suggest that urban gardens served as occupational therapy and family integration during COVID-19 confinement, demonstrating promising resilience in the population.

F. Becot, K.L. Hanson, R.A. Seguin, A.S. Ammerman, J. Kolodinsky, J.T. McGuirt, S.B. Jilcott Pitts, M. Demarco · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · United States

A modified exploratory choice experiment, embedded within in-depth interviews, examined willingness to participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program under varying price, frequency, food quantity, and accessibility conditions among 42 low-income adults with at least one child in the household in North Carolina, New York, Vermont, and Washington. Comparing summed willingness across conditions, the analysis suggests the ideal CSA would be a full-sized share of eight to nine mixed items, distributed every other week, priced under US$15, no more than 10 minutes farther than the supermarket from home, and preferably cheaper than but no more than 20% pricier than supermarket prices.

Brandy Phipps, Brian Kowalkowski, Jeremy Wescott, McFadden Brandon, Craig Schluttenhofer, K. V. Nedunuri · Current Developments in Nutrition · United States

A study protocol for measuring the impact of a "farm-to-fork" program on food security and nutrition among the Menominee Nation, located on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin, United States. A 2015 Community Food Assessment found 73% of respondents cited hunger as a concern, and the county ranks last in the state for both food security and health outcomes, while 65% of respondents expressed interest in growing their own food if assistance were available. The protocol plans four years of interventions including a new aquaponics facility and education programming at farmers' markets, using pre- and post-surveys plus county health data to measure production, self-efficacy and nutrient intake; it hypothesizes increases in production, self-efficacy and consumption of nutrient-dense foods, but results are not yet reported.