Community gardens support high levels of food production, but benefit distribution is uneven across the gardener community

作者：Brenda B. Lin, Peter Bichier, Heidi Liere, Monika Egerer, Stacy M. Philpott, Shalene Jha · 发表于：Sustainability Science · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1007/s11625-024-01558-7 · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Urban Agriculture and Sustainability、Urban Green Space and Health、Organic Food and Agriculture

Abstract Urban community gardens are important social–ecological systems from which urban citizens receive many benefits. In this study of 18 urban community gardens in the Central Coast of California, USA, we use a combination of gardener surveys and field-based measurements to evaluate the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables produced by gardeners. We then investigate how food production differed between segments of the gardening population, specifically as a function of gardening experience, time spent in gardens, and food security status. Lastly, we ask gardeners to describe their motivations for gardening to better understand how motivations may relate to individual levels of food production. Thirty-eight percent of gardeners estimate harvesting one to five pounds of food per week, with another 26% estimating six to ten pounds. These estimates were corroborated by field measurements of tomato, squash, and pepper cultivation, where gardeners produced, at the height of the harvest season, an average of four pounds of food per week—an estimated savings of ~ $16USD per week (compared to the cost of local organic fruits and vegetables, June 2023 prices). Regarding the ability of community gardens to reduce food insecurity, gardeners who spent more time in the garden and with higher incomes reported higher food security, while those with larger families or lower incomes were more food insecure. These results show that gardeners in most need of food support were not necessarily...