Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
563 results(1 / 23)
Abstract MPTU17: A Culturally Tailored, Fully Cost-Offset Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program To Improve Food Security And Diet In New York City
2026Madison LeCroy, Olivia Alleyne, Rhyden Dowd, Gareth Stacke, Gizan Denoon, Faven Araya, Yomaha Gordon, Kimberly Charles, Perla Chebli, Chau Trinh-Shevrin, Stella Yi · Circulation · United States (New York City)
This pilot evaluated the East Flatbush Produce Program, a 100% cost-offset, culturally tailored community-supported agriculture (CSA) program co-developed with community partners and a local rooftop farm in Brooklyn, New York, serving Afro-Caribbean and Latine residents with high food insecurity. Participants received weekly culturally tailored vegetables plus bilingual nutrition education; weekly pickup attendance was 62% and 71% at the two sites and mid-point satisfaction was high (96% would recommend). The authors conclude the program demonstrated the feasibility and community acceptability of a cost-offset CSA.
WelfareHealthCommunityBuilding Capacity for Food Justice: The Multifaceted Benefits of an Urban Home Gardening Intervention
2026Taylor Swenski, Jocelyn Smith Carter, Marjorie Kersten, Elizabeth Berkeley, K. Varner, Howard Rosing · Ecology of Food and Nutrition · United States (Chicago)
The "Grow Your Groceries Home Garden" intervention program, implemented in Chicago, United States in 2022, aimed to improve food access in food-insecure communities. A longitudinal investigation over two annual cycles surveyed 46 participants, complemented by focus groups with 9 participants, to evaluate food access, cost savings, health, and socioemotional outcomes. While results on improved gardening confidence over time emerged non-significant, participants reported increased food access, cost savings, healthier eating, stress reduction, and strengthened relational bonds.
Limited or null effectHealthWelfareCommunityFood educationHORTA COMUNITARIA RESH
2026Cláudio Yuri Rodrigues da Silva, Danilo de Souza Sobreira Filho, Leonardo de Mendonça · Revista Brasileira de Cannabis · Brazil
The "Horta Terapêutica Integrada a Atividades Sensoriais e Ecopsicologia" project by Brazil's Association for Socio-Historical Reparation (RESH) aims to address structural social and environmental problems such as food insecurity, social exclusion, and the psychosocial impacts of social vulnerability. This project proposes establishing a RESH Community Garden of approximately 150 m² for organic and medicinal food production, aiming to promote food sovereignty, social justice, and a culture of care benefiting mental health. Its methodology is based on agroecological practices, sensory activities, and ecopsychology principles, inspired by the Manguinhos Community Garden's consolidated experience.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareSCHOOL GARDEN IN MOCAJUBA BASED ON STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVES AND THE WORK OF PIBID
2026Maria Eduarda Costa Maia, Nathalia Gomes Corrêa, Eder Everton Caldas de Oliveira, Waldenira Mercedes Pereira Torres · Aracê. · Brazil
This article reports on the creation and implementation of a school garden at Dep. Abel Figueiredo Municipal Elementary School in Mocajuba, Pará, Brazil. The project, initiated based on student demands identified through a documentary, involved 9th-grade students, PIBID scholarship recipients, and the school community. The school garden fostered practical learning, student leadership, collaborative work, and improved school meals, with strategies for sustainability including maintenance schedules and irrigation systems.
Food educationCommunityHealthBiodiversityConhecimento sobre plantas alimentícias não convencionais e produção da farinha de cansanção (Urera baccifera)
2026Maísa Aparecida da Costa · Brazilian Journal of Development · Brazil (Sete Lagoas)
This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of unconventional food plants (PANC) among high school students' families in a private school in Sete Lagoas, Brazil, and to prepare flour from cansanção (Urera baccifera) leaves and assess its nutritional potential. While 54.1% of participants claimed to know the term PANC, consumption was low, with 62.2% reporting rare intake. Analysis of cansanção flour revealed high levels of protein (25.58 g/100 g), fiber (9.14 g/100 g), and calcium (5185 mg/100 g), highlighting its nutritional value.
Food educationCommunityHealth“Regain the park from the Bad People”. Symbolic boundaries and urban exclusion in Ecatepec
2026Miguel Ángel Monteverde-Ávalos · Alteridades · Mexico (Ecatepec)
An ethnography of a dispute over a small community garden in a working-class neighborhood in Ecatepec, Mexico, revealed that internal socialization processes establish thresholds of respectability, leading to classifications that reproduce differential access to public space. The study found that these classifications result in the unequal distribution of spatial resources and contribute to the reproduction of an exclusionary urban order.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyHealthInsurgent Geographies and the Problem of Violence: Lessons From Seattle's Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
2026Alexei Anisin · Peace & Change · United States (Seattle)
This study analyzed the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in Seattle, which emerged in June 2020 and lasted 24 days, functioning as an urban hub for mutual aid and urban farming. The research, using randomly sampled Fire Department reports, found that CHAZ had significantly higher emergency response rates and incident variability compared to adjacent areas. The zone was dismantled due to outbreaks of violence, including five shootings, two deaths, sexual assaults, and arson, indicating a failure to address communal safety.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyHealthAprender com a Terra: a horta como prática pedagógica em Educação Ambiental e Alimentar na Educação Infantil
2026Vívian Ariane de Oliveira Costa, Raíssa Aline Pereira, Mariana Azevedo Rabelo, Paula Montenegro Euzébio, Angela Liberali Pinheiro, Gabriella Ribeiro · Revista Brasileira de Educação Ambiental (RevBEA) · Brazil
This article reports on a school garden implemented in Early Childhood Education at Cirandinha School, in partnership with the Poços de Caldas Botanical Garden Foundation, after in-person classes resumed post-COVID-19. Using a qualitative and descriptive approach, the experiment aimed to promote critical environmental education and healthy habits. Results indicated active participation by children, increased autonomy, and environmental awareness, showing the garden as an integrative resource linking school, family, and community.
Food educationCommunityHealthBiodiversityGrowing Greens in Cities for Healthy Lives and Spaces: The Case of Community Gardens in Chicago, Illinois Imparted to Philippine Situation
2026R P Mula, Molly Doane, Gabrielle Powell, Myer G. Mula · Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension Economics & Sociology · United States (Chicago)
This study visited, documented, and described 15 community gardens in Chicago, Illinois, and interviewed their leaders. It found the utmost importance of saving traditional crop seeds (heirlooms) for diversity, climate change mitigation, and health, as these are grown organically. Insights include reorienting mindsets, crafting garden requirement manuals, consolidating the value chain, and educating health workers on promoting community gardening.
CommunityHealthEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceHeirloom & landraceClimate changeUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureAvaliação parasitológica e microbiológica de hortaliças submetidas à sanitização com hipoclorito de sódio
2026Threice Natália Ribeiro Pexe, Julia Yumi Muraoka, Fabiana Cristina Donofrio, Cibele Bonacorsi · Scientific Electronic Archives · Brazil (Sinop)
Parasitological and microbiological evaluation was conducted on 40 vegetable samples (watercress, lettuce, chicory, kale, escarole, arugula, parsley) randomly selected from supermarkets, open-air markets, and a community garden in Sinop, Brazil. Before treatment, 12 out of 40 (30.0%) vegetable samples were contaminated with enteroparasites, and all 40 showed microbial growth, with 3 (7.5%) containing Escherichia coli. After sanitization with sodium hypochlorite, parasitic forms were absent, but high initial contamination was confirmed.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityModificações na Paisagem: Impactos sociais e climáticos
2026Henrique Freitas Ferreira Reis, Ana Lorena Demarques Moura, Maria Rita Scotti Muzzi, Eleonora Sad de Assis · RCMOS - Revista Científica Multidisciplinar O Saber · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)
This work analyzed the relationship between urban densification and microclimatic impacts, focusing on the Confisco neighborhood in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, which is susceptible to heatwaves, landslides, and food insecurity by 2030. A systematic literature review of 33 sources evaluated the feasibility of implementing green roofs as a nature-based solution to mitigate climate extremes and promote food security through urban gardens. Results indicate green infrastructure reduces surface temperatures by up to 10.46°C and retains up to 90% of stormwater runoff, while socially strengthening psychosocial resilience and food sovereignty among low-income families.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justiceHealthCommunity“We are all Human Beings That Deserve the Same Opportunities as Everyone Else”: Immigrant Perspectives on Health in Southeast Minnesota: A Photovoice Study
2026Abby M. Lohr, Jazlyn Vargas-Robles, Gladys B. Asiedu, Yahye Ahmed, Hana Dirie, Luz Molina, Graciela Porraz Capetillo, Josh Schachter, Mark L. Wieland, Irene G. Sia · Health Promotion Practice · United States (Minnesota)
This Photovoice study in Southeast Minnesota, US, conducted in fall 2023, collaborated with 14 Hispanic/Latino and Somali immigrant health promoters to document their health-related assets and needs. Thematic analysis revealed three themes: healthy choices, inclusion of people and cultural celebrations, and access to opportunity. Participants desired expanded community garden programming, environmental protection, accessible healthy options, access to culturally appropriate foods, and increased access to jobs, affordable housing, and healthcare.
CommunityHealthWelfareBelo Horizonte’s Right-to-Food Model
2026Hoyoon Jung · The International Journal of Social Sustainability in Economic Social and Cultural Context · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)
This study analyzes Belo Horizonte, Brazil's right-to-food model, which has reduced hunger and promoted social equity through integrated food policies like subsidized food programs and urban agriculture. Despite its successes, the model faces challenges in policy sustainability, financial constraints, and political continuity, and the study notes limitations including reliance on secondary data.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyHealthEconomicsMeasuring community power: A scale to measure collective self-determination, Embodied Earth Care, and Ubuntu among urban farmers and gardeners
2025Ashley Gripper, Tori Cowger · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States
Using exploratory factor analysis on 363 respondents recruited from U.S.-based agricultural networks, this study developed a survey-based scale to capture what Black- and Brown-led food justice organizations value most about community farming and gardening. The analysis supported a five-factor structure—termed "Agricultural Community Power" (AgCPS), covering collective self-determination, community care, land-based spiritual wellbeing, embodied Earth care, and Ubuntu/interdependence—with adequate reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93).
CommunityHealthPolicyCan Reuse of Stormwater Detention Pond Water Meet Community Urban Agriculture Needs?
2025Estenia Ortiz, Adriana Mayr Mejia, Emma Borely, Liam Schauer, Lena Young Green, Maya Trotz · Sustainability · United States (Tampa)
Motivated by a community's desire to co-locate community gardens with stormwater pond spaces, this study monitored water quality of a 23.4-hectare stormwater detention pond in East Tampa, Florida over one year and compared it to US EPA reuse recommendations and water quality criteria. pH and conductivity were acceptable for irrigating crops and heavy metals were below maximum reuse levels, but E. coli concentrations exceeded irrigation requirements and synthetic organic compounds exceeded human health criteria.
CommunityOrganic cycleHealthA culturally tailored community gardening approach to improving physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and psychological health among African American women: A pre-post feasibility study
2025Imani Canton, Vanesu Jakachira, Dawn Blackman, Heather Rose, Susan Aguiñaga · Health Promotion Perspectives · United States (Champaign, Illinois)
This 8-week pre-post feasibility study tested a culturally tailored community gardening intervention—embedding Black History Knowledge—among 11 middle-aged African American women in Champaign, Illinois, in summer 2023. Participants significantly increased device-measured daily step count (median +880 steps/day) and fruit and vegetable consumption (median +82 units), with smaller effects on physical activity and perceived stress. The authors conclude the intervention may be a feasible way to improve physical activity, produce intake, and psychological health, though larger, adequately powered studies are needed.
CommunityHealthImpact of School Gardens on Nutrition Education Among Limited-Income Communities in Alabama
2025Sanchez · Journal of School Health · USA (Alabama)
A study examining the impact of school gardens on nutrition education among limited-income communities in Alabama.
Food educationHealthGrowing third places: A qualitative study of experiences and perceived benefits of a campus community garden as a nature-based health intervention
2025Brooks O., Thanganathan R., Gittings L. · PLOS One · London, Ontario, Canada
A qualitative study of a Canadian campus community garden found four themes among staff, students, and faculty: the garden as a 'third place', connection to nature, empowerment through growing food, and community building.
CommunityHealthGrowing roots: the role of collective community gardening in cultural food insecurity and social integration of African immigrants in Alberta, Canada
2025· BMC Public Health · Canada (Alberta)
Examines how collective community gardening addresses cultural food insecurity and supports the social integration of African immigrants in Alberta, Canada.
CommunityWelfareHealthNutrition and Aging Across the Plains: A Qualitative Study
2025Emily Frankel, Lindsay Wilkinson, Christopher Kelly · Innovation in Aging · North America
Qualitative study comparing nutrition and food security experiences of elderly in rural vs. urban Nebraska communities. Rural seniors face greater barriers to healthy food access and transportation.
ElderlyHealthCommunityFood diversity and environmental aspects of home and community gardens in highly urbanized areas of Sao Paulo megacity
2025· Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Brazil (Sao Paulo)
Analyzes food diversity and environmental aspects of home and community gardens in highly urbanized areas of the Sao Paulo megacity.
BiodiversityCommunityHealthFood-based interventions to mitigate household food insecurity in Canada: a systematic review
2025Leanne Idzerda, Calin Lazarescu, Tricia Corrin, Eric Vallières, Alix Couture, Sara Khan, Lynn McIntyre, Valerie Tarasuk, Alejandra Jaramillo Garcia · Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada · Canada
A systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42021254450) searching four databases to 19 February 2025, with duplicate independent screening, risk-of-bias assessment and certainty grading, on food-based interventions that could reduce household food insecurity (HFI) in Canada. Exposure to food voucher programmes may reduce HFI, but exposure to food box, community gardening, school food, hunting and fishing, and food charity programmes may have little to no effect on HFI. The authors conclude that because HFI is primarily an economic problem, food-based responses are unlikely to have a major impact on overall HFI and a more comprehensive public policy approach is required. This is direct counter-evidence to framing community gardens as a food-insecurity intervention.
Limited or null effectHealthPolicyCommunityGrowing kalo (taro) to promote culture and health in the Continental US
2025Leialoha Ka'ula, Nicole Lee Kamakahiolani Ellison, Constance James, Ashley Oshiro, Kacyn Ideue, Kahoku Ka'ula, Alexandra Malia Jackson · Frontiers in Public Health · United States
An explanatory mixed-methods study using community-based participatory research and an Indigenous evaluation approach, examining a māla kalo (a community garden growing taro) run by Native Hawaiians living in the continental United States. At the end of the 2023 growing season, 12 volunteers and 5 programme leaders aged 18–75 completed a survey and interview. Satisfaction was high and participants wanted to take part more often; thematic analysis identified connection to self, community and land, learning and sharing knowledge, and connection to culture. With only 17 participants and no health outcome measures, the study cannot establish health effects — it documents how a community garden growing a traditional staple can serve as a site of cultural connection for a displaced Indigenous community.
Heirloom & landraceCommunityFood educationHealthAn Urban Farm-Anchored Produce Prescription Program's Impacts On Weight Reduction
2025Kaitlyn M. Fruin, Elizabeth L. Tung, Jean M. Franczyk, Ketaurah James, Andrew J. Koetz, Angela K. Mason, Wayne M. Detmer · Health Affairs · United States (Chicago)
An evaluation of VeggieRx, a produce prescription programme anchored to the Farm on Ogden — a 20,000-square-foot urban agriculture facility opened in 2016 in a historically disinvested food desert in Chicago, Illinois, by the Chicago Botanic Garden together with Lawndale Christian Health Center. Clinicians refer patients to the farm for free produce boxes, nutrition counselling and cooking classes. Using a retrospective, propensity-score-weighted cohort design covering January 2016 to December 2021, the study compared 680 VeggieRx participants with 978 weighted controls and found a mean body weight difference of −6.71 pounds (−4.7% of body weight) at eighteen months. Because the design is observational rather than randomised, residual confounding such as selection by motivation cannot be excluded.
HealthEconomicsPolicyCommunityEfectividad del Huerto Urbano: Un Enfoque para el Bienestar de los Adultos Mayores Urban Garden Effectiveness: An Approach to the Well-being of Older Adults
2025Marisol Silva-Vera, María de Jesús Jiménez González, Laura Varela Almanza · JÓVENES EN LA CIENCIA · Mexico
A quasi-experimental study in Mexico with 21 adults over 65 evaluated a community urban garden intervention for nutritional status. Participants showed increased nutrition knowledge, a 47.7% rise in vegetable intake, and a 23.8% increase in physical activity. However, anthropometric variables did not show significant differences, indicating limited impact on physical measurements despite positive changes in knowledge and habits.
Limited or null effectElderlyHealthFood educationCommunity