Community gardens

There is some evidence that community gardens improve access to and consumption of fruits and vegetables (Hume 2022, Gregis 2021, Dyg 2020, Kunpeuk 2020, Garcia 2018, Savoie-Roskos 2017, Girard 2012, Draper 2010) and increase physical activity for gardeners (Litt 2023, Hume 2022, Gregis 2021, Dyg 2020, Draper 2010, Wang 2013); however, effects may be seasonal (Gregis 2021). Community gardens can improve participants’ mental health, well-being, and social connectedness (Litt 2023, Briggs 2022, Hume 2022, Lampert 2021, Dyg 2020, Soga 2017, Alaimo 2016, George 2013). Community gardens may also promote healthy eating, improve physical health, and reduce obesity (Dyg 2020, Gregis 2021, Kunpeuk 2020, Zick 2013). However, physical health improvements are inconsistent (Dyg 2020) and vary depending on frequency and amount of time spent gardening (Gregis 2021, Soga 2017) and may only emerge over the long term (Soga 2017, Kunpeuk 2020). Community gardens have the potential to improve food security (Garcia 2018) and increase fruit and vegetable availability in food deserts (Wang 2014, Corrigan 2011, Hendrickson 2006, UW IRP-McCracken 2012). Additional evidence is needed to confirm effects.

Gardening is considered moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and heavy gardening is vigorous and muscle-strengthening exercise (US DHHS-PAG). Community gardening can increase time spent doing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (Litt 2023) and can reduce body mass index (BMIs) among participants (Gregis 2021, Kunpeuk 2020, Zick 2013). Community gardening may encourage an overall healthy lifestyle by promoting physical fitness, strength, flexibility, and social engagement, especially among older adults (Wang 2013, Chen 2012b). Community gardening can increase fiber intake (Litt 2023) and daily fruit and vegetable consumption for adults, teenagers (Keihner 2013), and children (Savoie-Roskos 2017). Compared with non-gardeners, gardeners may be more likely to meet recommendations for daily vegetable consumption (Algert 2016). One survey of food insecure gardeners in rural Appalachian Ohio associates gardening with increased produce consumption, better eating habits, increased physical activity, and decreased food spending (Hopkins 2018). Community garden participants also appear to value healthy food harvests, cooking meals, and sharing their harvest with family and friends (Garcia 2018).

Community gardens are associated with improvements in mental health, reduced stress and anxiety, reduced isolation and symptoms of depression, and increased social connectedness (Litt 2023, Briggs 2022, Hume 2022, Lampert 2021, Dyg 2020, Soga 2017, Alaimo 2016, George 2013). Available evidence suggests that reductions in stress and anxiety for community garden participants are greater for participants who initially had higher levels of stress and anxiety (Litt 2023). Community garden participation has also been associated with increases in quality of life and cognitive function (Soga 2017), especially among older adults (Wang 2013, Chen 2012b).

Community gardens can reduce barriers to healthy food associated with transportation, cost, and food preference (CivicWell-CGs, Gichunge 2014), and may increase food security (Garcia 2018, Vitiello 2014). Community gardening may also reduce emissions from fossil fuels used to produce, process, and transport food (Ringling 2020, Stone 2021), and may reduce the energy intensity of an individual’s diet if animal products are replaced with plant-based foods (Ringling 2020). Community gardens can increase urban biodiversity, environmental sustainability, and permeable surfaces that reduce stormwater run-off and flood risk in cities (Lampert 2021).

Successful community gardens may have broad neighborhood benefits such as increased nearby property values (Voicu 2008), increased community engagement and pride (Petrovic 2019, Litt 2015, Teig 2009), and improved safety (Sadatsafavi 2022). Community garden participation is associated with increased levels of civic participation (Hume 2022), social capital, neighborhood engagement, and satisfaction (Hopkins 2018, Alaimo 2016, Alaimo 2010). Interviews with gardeners in Lincoln, NE suggest community gardens may help develop a sense of belonging and connection with cultural identity, social community, and local environment, including benefits for individuals who identify as immigrants (Chan 2016). A New York City-based study of community gardens after Hurricane Sandy suggests the gardens may serve as places of social support, collective efficacy, and resilience during and after natural disasters (Chan 2015). Interviews with Latino community gardeners in New York suggest that gardens can host social, educational, and cultural events, and in some cases, promote local activism (Saldivar-Tanaka 2004). Community gardens provide resettled refugees an opportunity to plant culturally meaningful foods in a social setting and can improve physical, mental, and social well-being among resettled refugees (Eggert 2015, Gichunge 2014).

Community gardens are relatively inexpensive, since residents maintain the land and gardens are often created in vacant abandoned lots (CivicWell-CGs). Community gardening can reduce food costs for participating families (Algert 2014, PolicyLink-Flournoy 2005). Among households with lower incomes, a higher percentage of community garden space is typically devoted to food production and culturally relevant crops, instead of ornamental plants or recreation space (Gregory 2016).

Funding, participation, land, and materials, including water access, are typical challenges for community gardens (Drake 2015). Experts suggest city policies can establish and secure gardeners’ land (Petrovic 2019), for example, integrating community gardens into urban park systems (Hou 2018). Experts recommend cover crops to improve soil quality and nutrients, soil testing and guidance, perennial plants to provide habitats for non-pest insects, and educational programming and technical support in multiple languages to encourage participation and maximize yields from community gardens (Gregory 2016). Experts also suggest using raised beds to avoid food safety concerns in community gardens where soil may have been contaminated with lead; over the long term, gardening can help improve soil quality and reduce food safety and health risks (Dyg 2020). Gardeners can produce high value, high yield harvests especially when planting vertically grown crops, such as tomatoes and peppers (Algert 2014).

Community gardens established in under-resourced neighborhoods have the potential to decrease disparities in social, emotional, and physical health among racial and ethnic minorities, those with low incomes, older adults, and those living in urban areas (Gregis 2021, Dyg 2020, Soga 2017). Available evidence suggests among individuals identifying as racial or ethnic minorities and those with low incomes, community garden participation has positive effects on physical health, increases physical activity, increases fruit and vegetable consumption, improves food knowledge, improves both individual and community well-being, and increases social connectedness (Dyg 2020). Placing community gardens in low income areas can reduce disparities in access to healthy foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables (Corrigan 2011, PolicyLink-Flournoy 2005). However, more studies are needed to compare outcomes after community garden participation between individuals from different income backgrounds (Hume 2022).

Available evidence suggests community gardening in urban areas can increase green space, environmental sustainability, and improve urban public health (Gregis 2021, Lampert 2021). These effects are likely to be greater in neighborhoods dealing with high levels of air pollution, urban heat island effects, and with many residents suffering from obesity and cardiovascular diseases (Gregis 2021). In urban areas, vacant lot remediation using gardening and greening initiatives (e.g., initiatives that remove trash and debris; plant grass, bushes, and trees; and maintain lots afterwards) can reduce firearm violence. Such initiatives are more cost-effective than law enforcement policies, especially considering their additional environmental and health benefits (Sadatsafavi 2022).

Among refugees, community garden participation may increase social connections, sense of belonging, self-worth, and independence (Dyg 2020). One study associates community gardening with improved health outcomes among older adults (age 62 and older) more than among younger adults, and suggests community gardening may support healthy aging (Lampert 2021).

In the U.S., urban areas often experienced unrestrained industrialization without environmental regulations or land use controls creating many environmental problems, including water and air pollution, waste production, overconsumption of natural resources, and loss of green space (Lampert 2021). Early U.S. environmental movements focused on conservation and nature preservation and did not consider urban environmental inequities or public health (NEJAC 2006). During the 1950s and 1960s, the urban renewal movement emphasized urban cleanup, redevelopment, and revitalization projects. However, urban renewal was planned and designed by city developers, excluding the voices of residents, mostly people of color. Urban renewal destroyed homes and community institutions such as churches, schools, recreational facilities, and ethnic organizations (IHH-Urban renewal). Households of color with low incomes were displaced to under-resourced urban areas and experienced many environmental injustices (NEJAC 2006).

Throughout U.S. history, discriminatory housing, lending, and exclusionary zoning policies entrenched racial residential segregation and concentrated poverty (Zdenek 2017, Kaplan 2007). The built environment in under-resourced communities is a significant contributor to health inequities for people of color with low incomes (Prochnow 2022, McAndrews 2022, Brookings-Semmelroth 2020). Disinvestment in and unequal distribution of recreational facilities, parks, and green space means that communities with low incomes and communities of color have fewer places to engage in outdoor activities, have less access to cooling shade, and experience poorer air quality (CAP-Rowland-Shea 2020, TPL-Chapman 2021). In the present day, formerly redlined neighborhoods remain more likely to include vacant lots and blighted properties, older homes in poor condition, coal-fired power plants, hazardous waste disposal sites, and other health risks (Braveman 2022). As part of a broader effort to counteract urban disinvestment, vacant, blighted properties can be purchased and returned to productive use through redevelopment (FRB-Haralson 2005, WRLC), which can include transforming vacant lots into community gardens to improve human health and environmental sustainability (Lampert 2021, Sadatsafavi 2022, Brookings-Semmelroth 2020).

In the U.S. there is a long history of establishing community gardens to address social issues and improve city life. In the 1890s, vacant lot gardens were used to address hunger and unemployment during an economic recession. The wartime gardens of World War I and victory gardens of World War II helped feed the country. After WWII, government support for community gardens dwindled as more affluent, mostly white residents left urban areas for suburban homes with room for private backyard gardens. Since the 1960s and 1970s, grassroots organizers and community organizations have been working to establish more community gardens in neighborhoods harmed by disinvestment to support urban revitalization, environmental stewardship, and community well-being (Smithsonian-CGs).

• What neighborhoods in your community have vacant lots that could be transformed into community gardens? What neighborhoods have fewer green spaces and greater need for community gardening opportunities?
• What infrastructure, services, resources, or tools are needed to help your local community gardens increase participation and thrive? (i.e. Municipal water service? Clean soil, compost, or mulch deliveries? Gardening education opportunities? Starter seeds or plant seedlings? Soil testing? Raised bed construction? etc.)
• How can your community garden support local needs? What community building activities could increase participation? What outreach activities could raise awareness about opportunities to garden and increase neighborhood connections?
• How is your community engaging intended participants, such as residents of color, those with low incomes, or older residents, in the planning and development of community garden spaces, programs, and events for the community?

Numerous municipalities support community gardens. For example, Seattle has integrated some gardens into parks via city policies and interdepartmental agreements (Hou 2018) and its P-Patch program uses a community land trust to acquire and preserve land, provide educational programming, and distribute materials such as seedlings and compost (Seattle DON-CGs). The San Francisco Community Gardens Program is run by the city on city-owned land (SF R&P-CGP). Several municipalities have partnerships with land banks that donate property or help develop community gardens, as in Columbus, OH (Columbus-CGP) and Shelby County, TN (SC TN-CGs).

Community gardens often grow out of public and non-profit partnerships. For example, Grassroots Gardens of Western New York stewards 110 community gardens, and is applying to become the first accredited Community Garden Land Trust with the Land Trust Alliance (GGWNY-Land trust). Chicago NeighborSpace community land trust is authorized to purchase vacant land to preserve it for gardens (Chicago NeighborSpace) and the Detroit Garden Resource Program works toward a city where the majority of fruits and vegetables consumed by residents are grown within the city limits (KGD-GRP). The Boston Natural Areas Network works to preserve urban green spaces, including community gardens (Boston-Food justice).

Additional examples of organizations sustaining community gardens include: Nuestras Raíces in Holyoke, MA (Nuestras Raices); City Harvest in Philadelphia, PA (PHS-CG, Vitiello 2009); and the Summer Sprout community gardening program in Cleveland, OH (OSU-Community garden). The New York City Community Garden Coalition is an example of an organized group of gardeners using education, advocacy, and grassroots organizing to preserve and create community gardens (NYCCGC). Community Crops coordinates gardens in Lincoln, NE, offers gardening plots on a sliding fee scale, as well as training and technical assistance to beginning, immigrant, and limited-resource farmers (CC-Lincoln).

Community gardens can also be sustained in rural areas and smaller municipalities; for example, Community Food Initiatives supports five community garden locations in Athens County in southeastern Ohio (CFI-CGs). Twelve Stones CDC is a non-profit organization that operates 2 community gardens in Barbour County, Alabama that provides free, fresh food to the Eufaula and Clayton communities (Twelve Stones).

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* Journal subscription may be required for access.

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Alaimo 2016 - Alaimo K, Beavers AW, Crawford C, et al. Amplifying health through community gardens: A framework for advancing multicomponent, behaviorally based neighborhood interventions. Current Environmental Health Reports. 2016;3(3):302-312.

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CC-Lincoln - Community Crops (CC). Community gardens in Lincoln, Nebraska.

CFI-CGs - Community Food Initiatives (CFI). Community gardens and orchards.

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Chicago NeighborSpace - Chicago NeighborSpace. NeighborSpace gardens: Grow together.

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George 2013* - George DR. Harvesting the biopsychosocial benefits of community gardens. American Journal of Public Health. 2013;103(8):e6.

GGWNY-Land trust - Grassroots Gardens of Western New York (GGWNY). Our work as a land trust: Preserving Buffalo-Niagara’s community gardens for future generations.

Gichunge 2014* - Gichunge C, Kidwaro F. Utamu wa Afrika (the sweet taste of Africa): The vegetable garden as part of resettled African refugees' food environment. Nutrition & Dietetics. 2014;71(4):270-275.

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Hopkins 2018* - Hopkins LC, Holben DH. Food insecure community gardeners in rural Appalachian Ohio more strongly agree that their produce intake improved and food spending decreased as a result of community gardening compared to food secure community gardeners. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition. 2018;13(4):540-552.

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KGD-GRP - Keep Growing Detroit (KGD). Garden resource program (GRP).

Kunpeuk 2020* - Kunpeuk W, Spence W, Phulkerd S, Suphanchaimat R, Pitayarangsarit S. The impact of gardening on nutrition and physical health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Promotion International. 2020;35(2):397-408.

Lampert 2021 - Lampert T, Costa J, Santos O, et al. Evidence on the contribution of community gardens to promote physical and mental health and well-being of non-institutionalized individuals: A systematic review. PLOS ONE. 2021;16(8):e0255621.

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Litt 2023 - Litt JS, Alaimo K, Harrall KK, et al. Effects of a community gardening intervention on diet, physical activity, and anthropometry outcomes in the USA (CAPS): An observer-blind, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Planetary Health. 2023;7(1):e23-e32.

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Nuestras Raices - Nuestras Raices. Celebrating agri-culture.

NYCCGC - New York City Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC). Promote the preservation, creation, and empowerment of community gardens through education, advocacy, and grassroots organizing.

OSU-Community garden - Ohio State University (OSU). Summer Sprout: Cleveland's community gardening program.

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PHS-CG - Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS). Community gardens.

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SC TN-CGs - Shelby County Tennessee (SC TN). Community gardens.

Seattle DON-CGs - Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (DON). P-Patch community gardening.

SF R&P-CGP - San Francisco Recreation & Park Department (SF R&P). Community gardens program (CGP).

Smithsonian-CGs - Smithsonian Gardens. Grown from the past: A short history of community gardening in the United States.

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TPL-Chapman 2021 - Chapman R, Foderaro L, Hwang L, et al. Parks and an equitable recovery. San Francisco, CA: The Trust for Public Land (TPL); 2021.

Twelve Stones - Twelve Stones CDC. Community gardens serving the communities of Eufaula and Clayton, Alabama by providing free fresh food.

US DHHS-PAG - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. DHHS). Physical activity guidelines for Americans (PAG).

USDA NAL-Gardening - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Library (NAL). Plant production and gardening.

UW Ext-WI CGs - University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension (UW Ext); Wisconsin Horticulture. Growing and caring for plants in Wisconsin: Foundations in gardening.

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WI DHS-Got Dirt - Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WI DHS). Nutrition and physical activity program: Got dirt? Gardening initiative.

WRLC - Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC). History of land banks. Moreland Hills, Ohio.

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