Research & reports

Lisa Berglund · · United States (Detroit)

This paper analyzes media coverage of informal practices like street vending, murals, and urban agriculture in Detroit's redeveloping neighborhoods. It reveals that while these practices are appropriated by developers and new, affluent arrivals as entrepreneurial and necessary for redevelopment, they are treated fundamentally differently from the informal practices of long-standing, marginalized residents, which are often condemned as illegal. This inconsistency highlights how legal frameworks are manipulated to exclude long-standing residents from the city's "renaissance."

Leonardo Mendes da Silva, Vanessa Dutra, Delton Francelino, Natália Oliveira Dias · Enciclopédia Biosfera · Brazil (Barbacena)

Research was conducted in Barbacena, Minas Gerais, Brazil, to identify empty urban spaces and wastelands suitable for community gardens. The study, carried out by the Center for Studies in Urban Ecology, aimed to map these spaces for potential community garden proposals to public and private entities. Ten locations were selected based on specific criteria, and general perceptions were presented to facilitate understanding and dissemination, though the study did not intend to establish planting projects or direct community contact.

Colleen Saxen · CORE Scholar (Wright State University) · United States

This participatory action research (PAR) explored a school garden program in a historically marginalized community during the COVID-19 pandemic and racial justice protests. School staff and community partners co-created the garden, expressing meanings, values, and visions through photovoice, mapping, and gardening activities. Participants described experiences of love, empowerment, and justice, demonstrating the value of PAR for cultivating school gardens as sites for social justice and the role of an ethic of love in community building.

Tucker Jensen · Digital Commons - Hamline (Hamline University) · United States

This capstone project reviews the effects of community gardens on low-income urban populations in the United States. After reviewing prior work on the history of racism in America, disparities in food insecurity, the correlation between poverty and health, and environmental impacts specific to urban communities, the project developed a five-day unit of study set at an established community garden. The unit teaches middle school students about community gardens through STEM lesson activities, has students design their own garden, and aims for them to be able to explain why a community garden matters to their neighborhood's success.

Luiz Andrei Gonçalves Pereira, Marina de Fátima Brandão Carneiro, Igor Martins de Oliveira · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Brazil

A study analyzing the spatial organization of urban agriculture in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil, practiced in residential backyards (quintais) and vacant lots. Methods combined a literature review with empirical fieldwork in the city's urban agriculture areas. Through theoretical and conceptual discussion, the study examines urban agricultural practices and public policies aimed at promoting food security in Montes Claros.

Leslie Hossfeld, Brooke Kelly, Julia Waity · · United States

This chapter discusses how the working class in the United States -- including farmworkers and restaurant workers -- engages with the food system as both laborers and consumers, facing precarious working conditions and low pay while also experiencing higher rates of diabetes and obesity linked to a food system that favors sugary foods. It reviews local food movements such as farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture and food sovereignty efforts as responses aimed at food justice, notes criticism that these approaches often primarily serve white, middle-class participants, and surveys initiatives including the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Fair Food Program, Wholesome Wave and the North Bolivar Good Food Revolution.

Lily Edelman-Gold, Meredith Melendy · · United States

A report on Lewiston and Auburn, Maine (2020) compared urban agriculture ordinances and performance standards from cities including Chicago, Illinois; Austin, Texas; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, and analyzed interviews with stakeholders in those cities, finding examples of standards that allow more freedom and equitable urban agriculture practice than currently exists in Lewiston and Auburn. The report's recommendations for Lewiston/Auburn include: combined restrictions for fowl, livestock, and composting (e.g., permitting a set number of chickens on smaller lots with conditional allowances on larger ones); reduced setback requirements for bees with flyway barriers where needed; increased maximum square footage for community gardens, introduction of a "market garden" designation into city code, and allowance of on-site or farm-stand sales; and explicit guidelines on what can and cannot be composted.

Kyle Richardville · Purdue e-Pubs (Purdue University System) · United States

With Purdue University's campus and much of its surrounding area classified by the USDA as a food desert, this study surveyed graduate students using a voluntary 33-question online Qualtrics survey distributed campus-wide, to identify barriers to purchasing and consuming fresh produce and to participating in local urban agriculture, and to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic affected food access and motivation for healthy eating and community garden engagement. Results show many Purdue graduate students face both individual and structural barriers to accessing fresh fruits and vegetables, with international students particularly vulnerable to structural barriers; lack of access to a personal vehicle was the primary predictor of vulnerability, especially during the pandemic. Students expressed interest in participating in local urban agriculture initiatives but most were unaware such initiatives existed. A second objective of the study tested whether leaf mold compost could improve degraded urban soils.

World Future Council · World Future Council / futurepolicy.org · Brazil

A World Future Council policy profile explaining how the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte guaranteed the right to food through Municipal Law 6,352 of 1993, establishing a food and supply secretariat (now SUSAN) coordinating 20 interlinked programmes with a 20-member advisory council, funded by 2% of the city's annual budget. It reports that the infant mortality rate fell from 34.4 to 3 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1993 and 2006, that the 2019 Emergency Food and Nutrition Assistance Programme (PAAN, Law 11.193/2019) serves 1,000 families a month, and notes the (as-yet-unmet) national requirement that 30% of school-meal funding go to family-farm purchases.

Marshman J., Scott S. · Canadian Food Studies · Ontario, Canada

A study of five Ontario gleaning groups showing that modern gleaning contributes to community food security by reducing food waste, improving access to fresh food, and fostering social connections.

Seth A. Berkowitz, Jessica O’Neill, Edward Sayer, Naysha N. Shahid, Maegan Petrie, Sophie Schouboe, Megan Saraceno, Rochelle Bellin · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · United States (Massachusetts)

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) tested whether a subsidized community-supported agriculture (CSA) intervention could improve diet quality for socioeconomically vulnerable individuals. Conducted from May 2017 to December 2018, 128 participants from a community health center in central Massachusetts were randomized to receive either subsidized CSA membership or healthy eating information (control group). The intervention group showed a clinically meaningful increase of 4.3 points in the Healthy Eating Index total score (p=0.03) and lower food insecurity (RR=0.68) compared to the control group.

Marilyn Sitaker, Jared T. McGuirt, Weiwei Wang, Jane Kolodinsky, Rebecca A. Seguin‐Fowler · Sustainability · United States

This study compared sociodemographic and geospatial contexts with farmers' experiences for two direct-to-consumer (DTC) models: a cost-offset CSA for low-income families and food boxes distributed via rural convenience stores, across two U.S. states (Vermont and Washington). Addresses of thirteen farms and DTC pickup sites were geocoded, and road network distances to supermarkets, farmers' markets, and farms were calculated. Most pickup areas were heavily car-dependent with limited public transportation. Despite modest profitability, both models were considered worth pursuing as they expanded farmers' customer base.

Renate M. Winkels, Susan Veldheer, Andrew Smith · Current Developments in Nutrition · United States (Pennsylvania)

Rodale Institute's Agriculture Supported Communities (ASC) program aimed to connect small-scale fruit and vegetable farms with low-income communities in Pennsylvania. Surveys were distributed among ASC shareholders in 2016 and 2017 to collect socio-economic data and program satisfaction, and SNAP usage was also evaluated. With 150 shareholders in 2016 and 151 in 2017, 59% of shareholders lived in low-income areas in 2016 and 50% in 2017; however, the program also reached a population at the other end of the economic spectrum, posing challenges for farmers regarding production and distribution.

Silvia Iveth Moreno Gaytán, Mercedes A. Jiménez-Velázquez, Martín Hernández Juárez · Estudios Sociales Revista de Alimentación Contemporánea y Desarrollo Regional · Mexico (Ciudad de México)

The sustainability of urban agriculture practiced by women in the Valle de Chalco Solidaridad, Mexico City Metropolitan Area, was investigated. A qualitative follow-up on 45 production units and a quantitative questionnaire to 25 female producers from Xico Kaa’a Comunicaciones A. C. were conducted. Urban agriculture's sustainability was found to be strong, contributing to family food self-sufficiency, employing agroecological techniques for environmental improvement, and over 50% of MESMIS diagnostic criteria were evaluated as sustainable.

Rafaella Rodrigues Santos, Ana Clara Monte Teixeira, Andreza Cristina Stuchi, Alexandre Junio Borges Araujo, Daniela Araújo Vilela, Débora Brumatti Coutinho Messias, Felipe Ferreira Naves, Julia Hass, Lara Nascimento Zanato, Lara Parreira de Souza, Letícia Clemente Olmos Hernandes, Lorraine Mendes Barrada, Mayara Yukiko Yamada, Rafael Galisa de Oliveira, Tamires Do Carmo Dias, Yasmin de Araújo Ribeiro, Neusa Elisa Carignato Sposito, Carla Patrícia Bejo Wolkers · Revista Educação Artes e Inclusão · Brazil

This experience report details a project by PET BIO PONTAL and volunteer students from the Federal University of Uberlândia, Pontal Campus, involving 7th-grade students with special educational needs from a public special education school in Ituiutaba-MG, Brazil. The project aimed to teach about biodiversity in vegetable gardens through playful and inclusive methods, including sensory activities, garden implementation, and university visits. The project was well-received by the target audience and school management.

Catherine Wong, Kathryn Geoffrion Scannell · University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository (University of New Hampshire at Manchester) · United States

This article suggests that establishing a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) or farm share pickup at libraries supports the local foods movement, reduces food travel distance, promotes healthy eating, and fosters community engagement. Additional benefits include donating fresh produce to food pantries. A CSA involves a relationship where members provide labor or monetary support in exchange for a share of farm produce.

Altemailson Silva, Lucielison Cadete, Eduardo Silva, Thiago Vinícius Costa Nascimento · Fórum de Integração Ensino, Pesquisa, Extensão e Inovação Tecnológica do IFRR - e-ISSN 2447-1208 · Brazil

A community garden project was implemented in Vila Vista Alegre, Brazil, aiming to improve food quality and promote social well-being, while also providing residents with new knowledge and techniques in vegetable cultivation. Guided by a student scholar and fostering experience exchange among participants, the project faced setbacks due to heavy winter rains but adapted its methodology. Group activities contributed to good social interaction and improved cultivation techniques. The harvested vegetables were distributed to 30 families, totaling 104 people, meeting their needs.

Ashanté M. Reese · University of North Carolina Press eBooks · United States

This chapter examines self-reliance as a framework for contemporary efforts to increase food access, featuring a community garden at a public housing community in the United States. It focuses on the methods gardeners used to build community, maintain the garden to meet food needs, and develop youth programs. The chapter also explores how this garden operated within a broader context of precarity, specifically addressing how gardening persisted despite displacement.

Lais Abreu Tedde, Geovana Rodrigues de Lima, Giovana Velloso Galante · Revista Em Extensão · Brazil (Uberlândia)

In Uberlândia, Brazil, the "DIST – Shopping Park" project established a community garden workshop aimed at providing income and social reintegration opportunities for at-risk individuals. A key activity was the installation of a mandala garden at the Maria Euvira Sabbag Municipal School. Through the garden's establishment and subsequent production, educational activities were conducted to connect early childhood education students with organic food production, enhancing their knowledge of farming and garden management.

Carrie Chennault · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States

This three-year feminist ethnographic study examined the Growing Together Iowa community donation gardening and food rescue program, focusing on its institutional and community partners. The research aimed to understand how solutions to food insecurity emerge from social relations and socio-historical contexts. Findings demonstrated that uneven power relations permeate even well-intended efforts to address food insecurity within such initiatives.

Tracey Overbey · Public Library Quarterly · United States (Cleveland, Ohio)

The Cleveland Public Library addressed food security issues in Cleveland, Ohio, by collaborating with local organizations like The Ohio State University Extension and the Cuyahoga County Land Bank. This paper describes how public libraries are changing their services in disadvantaged communities and provides a step-by-step approach to starting a community garden at a local public library or community property.

Caroline Rains, Kristen Giombi, Anupama Joshi · Translational Behavioral Medicine · United States (Oregon)

Oregon's Farm to School Education Grant Program aimed to increase knowledge of and preference for fruits and vegetables among children in low-income school districts. The study analyzed Oregon Department of Education Farm to School Baseline and Progress Reports from school year 2015-2016 and conducted interviews with education grantees. Education grants reached over 20,000 students in 30 districts, including 25 low-income districts. Reported activities included nutrition and food-based lessons, school gardens, and farm field trips, leading to students eating fruits and vegetables, trying new foods because of gardens, and learning about growing produce.

Jared T. McGuirt · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · United States

This mixed-methods formative evaluation, part of a larger randomized trial in four US states, assessed an affordable Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program integrated into federal nutrition education. A survey of 262 low-income adults showed high interest (85%), with more interest if a CSA was included (84%). A choice experiment (n=42) indicated preferences for a large, mixed-variety CSA box, distributed twice monthly for under $15, and not significantly further than a supermarket.

Anne Cabell, Veronica Conti, Trent E. Johnson, Shelly Yu, Chris Akiba · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · United States

The Carolina Campus Community Garden (CCCG) aims to improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables for UNC's lowest-paid employees and serve as a learning community for gardening education. Currently, CCCG lacks a permanent land plot and sufficient ongoing funding, necessitating institutionalization within UNC to secure a permanent location, sustained funding, and increased utilization. A Capstone student team conducted formative research, including a literature review, semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, focus groups with housekeepers, and surveys with students and administrators, to understand community needs and beliefs.

Dirceu Pereira Siqueira, Mariana Peixoto Espósito, Bruna Caroline Lima de Souza · Revista de Constitucionalização do Direito Brasileiro · Brazil (Maringá)

This article aimed to analyze the right to food and related public policies in Brazil, with an emphasis on the Urban and Periurban Agriculture Program and the Community Garden Program of the City of Maringá / PR, examining their effectiveness as public policies for realizing the right to food. The methodology involved a bibliographic review and interview-based field research. It was concluded that the Community Gardens Program is effective as a public policy in realizing the right to food.