COMMUNITY FOOD ENVIRONMENT
ENACT STRATEGY: Community Gardens & Urban Agriculture
Promote and establish community gardening and agricultural initiatives
The process of growing, processing, and distributing food in and around cities and suburbs—or urban agriculture—provides individuals and families with many benefits. Advantages of urban agriculture include an alternative source of fresh produce, improved life satisfaction, and a way to preserve cultural identity and traditions. Most importantly, urban agriculture can serve as a tool in securing food security and positive health outcomes for underserved communities. Urban agriculture may be done on land owned by a community group, institution, municipality, land trust, or some other entity. Food grown on these plots can be kept for personal consumption or used to procure supplemental income. Additional benefits of urban agriculture beyond food provision include building job skills, improving self-esteem, and contributing to community revitalization.
Characteristics of community gardening initiatives:
- Land and supply procurement;
- Organization of participants;
- Reduction of barriers to fresh produce;
- Production of primary or alternative source of fresh produce;
- Entrepreneurial gardens;
- Neighborhood beatification and community revitalization;
- Provides potential employment opportunities.
This document prepared by the Urban Agriculture Committee of the Community Food Security Coalition gives an overview of urban agriculture and its connection to community food security.
The Local Government Commission outlines the community benefit of community gardens and outlines specific ways local government can lend support including: allow zoning for community gardens, include urban agriculture in general/comprehensive plans, and create a municipal community garden program.Health Benefits of Urban Agriculture: Public Health and Food Security (PDF)
This article prepared by the Community Food Security Coalition outlines the benefits of urban agriculture with regard to nutrition, physical activity, and mental health, as well as the benefits to the social and physical urban environments.
Community Gardening: A Key to Food Security? (PDF)
This article explores the benefits of urban gardening in disadvantaged communities.
Growing Power
This Milwaukee-based organization is an active urban farm that produces several tons of food each year, serves as a food distribution hub, and as a Community Training Center. Growing Power strives to demonstrate how a just and sustainable urban food system can successfully work.
New Orleans Food & Farm Network
NOLA City Farms seeks to support these local farmers and develop resources to help aspiring market growers begin and build their businesses.
City Slickers Farms, Oakland, CA
City Slicker Farms increases food self-sufficiency in West Oakland by creating organic, sustainable, high-yield urban farms and back-yard gardens.
Somerton Tanks Farm, Philadelphia, PA
Somerton Tanks Farm is a demonstration urban farm producing over $68,000 in gross sales growing high value vegetables on a half-acre of land in Philedelphia.
Food from the Hood, Los Angeles, CA
Food from the Hood is a youth-based gardening and entrepreneurial initiative in which students plant, maintain and harvest their own garden and then develop, create, and market food products. Profits go towards funding college scholarships for program participants.
Gardens for Growing Healthy Communities, Denver, CO
A community/academic partnership transformed vacant lots into community gardens in urban communities throughout Denver, Colorado, creating and documenting new opportunities for physical activity, healthy eating, and social connections among community residents.
Windy City Harvest
Windy City Harvest is an organic vegetable and plant production enterprise that provides instruction in sustainable horticulture and urban agriculture to residents of Chicago’s North Lawndale and West Side neighborhoods. Windy City Harvest creates jobs, opportunity, and hope by training participants to produce high-value, organic produce, which is sold at farmer’s markets and retail outlets and made available and accessible to local residents.
The American Community Gardening Association
A comprehensive guide to implement a community garden initiative in your area!
This primer includes an overview of the variety of forms of urban agriculture, addresses positive impacts as well as some of the challenges facing urban agriculture, and outlines key policy changes to expand the effectives of urban agriculture.
Community Development through Gardening: State and Local Policies Transforming Urban open Space (PDF)
This NYU law article by Jane Schukoske, discusses various aspects of community gardening including benefits, current issues, policies, and successful elements.
ATTRA: Start a Farm in the City
This resource has a state-based listing of urban farm educational organizations and a short list of international resources in urban agriculture. It also provides information and resources on urban soils and soil testing, as well as a listing of useful urban agriculture publications
Promotes the sale of locally-grown food, development of community gardens, protection of agricultural and open spaces, and the provision of extensive pedestrian and bicyclist routes.
Seattle P-Patch Community Gardens
Promotes interagency cooperation in support of the municipal community gardening program, encourages the expansion of the program, and outlines goals for open space in Seattle.
San Diego Community Farms and Gardens Resolution
Formally recognizes the value of community farms and gardens and pledges to encourage their creation and continued existence.
Escondido Interim Land Use Policy
Allows public use of private vacant lots for community purposes including: gardens, recreational space, or temporary public art displays.
in ENACT Local Policy Database
Community Food Security Coalition
The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) is a North American organization of dedicated to building strong, sustainable, local and regional food systems that ensure access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food to all people at all times.
International works with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth. Heifer’s Urban Agriculture program supports grassroots organizations that help communities reclaim and support local food systems.
Gateway Greening Community Garden Areas Reverses Urban Decline
The criminology department at the University of Missouri-St. Louis found a measurable reduction in crime due to community gardens in St. Louis neighborhoods.
The Health Equity Dimensions of Urban Food Systems
This paper explores the dynamics of urban food systems and its impact on health inequities. The researchers identify seven key determinants of urban nutrition status. The paper calls for the establishment of sustainable and self-sufficient local food systems, including urban agriculture to address urban inequalities.
Dixon J, Omwega AM, Friel S, Burns C, Donati K, Carlisle R. The Health
Equity Dimensions of Urban Food Systems. Journal of
Urban Health. 2007 May;84(3 Suppl):i118-29
Community gardens improve public health**
This study argues that community gardens in California improve nutrition and physical activity as well as allow communities organize around other issues and build social capital.
Twiss J, Dickinson J, Duma S, Kleinman T, Paulsen H, Rilveria L. Community gardens: lessons learned from California Healthy Cities and Communities. Am J Public Health. 2003 Sep;93(9):1435-8.
Community gardens as a tool to reduce diabetes among Navajo**
This study shows that community gardens can be a tool to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes among Navajo by: improving nutrition, increasing physical activity, increasing income, and creating a positive mental outlook.
Lombard KA, Forster-Cox S, Smeal D, O'Neill MK. Diabetes on the Navajo nation: what role can gardening and agriculture extension play to reduce it? Rural Remote Health. 2006 Oct-Dec;6(4):640
** We can only provide links to the article abstracts and not the full text.
