What does a garden do for my community, and what can it do for me?

We're glad you asked!

 

 

Sense of Community

Out of the people involved with the community garden, 79.6% are also working with neighborhood cleanup or beautification projects (Alaimo, Packnett, Miles, Kruger)

This is compared to 25.6% who aren’t working with community gardens but are involved with neighborhood cleanup.

 

Community gardens were also shown to build social integration - including a wide range of participants who share tools and responsibilities. (Macias) This engagements help to connect members of a community who would otherwise not share social connections or engagements. 

 

Shared garden spaces help to develop a natural human capital - gardeners learn from each other and learn how to grow their own food (Macias)

 

Studies have shown that presence of a community garden yields higher neighborhood satisfaction, and helps people to feel of responsibility for the neighborhood. It has also been found that active engagement in a garden leaves people with the feeling of knowing their neighbors better. (Alaimo, Reischl, Ober)

 

Health

Those who play an active role in a community garden consumed fruits and vegetables an average of 4.4 times per day, with 32.4% consuming fruit at least 5 times daily

Those who reported not being involved in community gardens, ate only 3.3 vegetables daily and 17.8% consuming fruit at least 5 times daily (Alaimo, Packnett, Miles, Kruger).

Natural areas like community gardens benefit mental health as well as physical health, supporting recovery from mental fatigue, improving life satisfaction, and helping people positively cope with stress (Maller, 2005)

 

Food Security

Many of Lexington’s community gardens are located in areas that are considered food deserts. These are communities where a “concentrated number of households do not own vehicles and are located more than a half mile from a grocery store.” (Elegant Themes). Food insecurity and the inability to obtain healthy food puts this community at an increased risk for diabetes, obesity, malnutrition, and a number of other chronic health problems. (Elegant Themes). By giving low income communities consistent

access to healthy foods, community gardens are increasing food security. 

 

Exact estimates of the amount of produce grown in Lexington area gardens are hard to come by due to the "you-pick" nature of the gardens. People can pick fruits and vegetables whenever they are ready. However, in 1999, the fifteen New York gardens produced close to 11,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables with nearly 50% being donated to soup kitchens and food pantries (Just Food 1999 Summary Report, as cited by Englander, 2001,p.14). 

 

By design, gardeners save significant amounts of money on produce. One project estimated that "community gardeners saved between $75 and $380 in food costs every season (adjusted for inflation from 1994 to 2011)" (Hlubik et al. 1994; Armstrong, 2000) .