Secure Food, Secure Community: An Analysis of Food Security and Community Gardens in Los Angeles County

Elena Lopez Urban and Environmental Policy Senior Comprehensive Project Occidental College

1

2 Acknowledgements 3 Abstract

4 Introduction

6 Literature Review

7 Community Gardens 8 Benefits

10 Food Insecurity 11 Federal Food Assistance

13 Community Based Methods to Alleviate Food Insecurity

16 Background

17 Garden Profiles 20 Community Gardening in Los Angeles

22 Methodology

27 Findings

28 Survey Data 36 Interview Data

42 Analysis

45 Recommendations

46 Increasing Technical Support and Knowledge 47 Continuing City and County Support 50 Promoting Community Gardens as Spaces for Equity and Education 51 Addressing the Rising Food Insecurity in L.A. County

53 Limitations and Areas for Future Research

53 Conclusion

55 Appendix

60 Bibliography

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Acknowledgements

Thetopicofmyseniorcomprehensiveprojectisonethatisveryclosetomyheart.AssomeonewhoisnotfromthecommunitieswhereIconductedmyresearchandisalsonotafluentSpanishspeaker,Iwascontinuouslyamazedatthegenerosity,kindness,andwarmthIwasgreetedwithasIgottoknowcommunitygardenersandtheirgardens.TheommunitygardenswithwhichIbuiltrelationshipsformyresearch,aretight-knitandspecialplacesthatarefilledwithcareandhope.ForthesereasonsandmanymoreIwouldliketobeginbythankingthecommunitygardenersfromProyectoJardin,VermontSquare,ElysianValley,andFlorenceFirestoneCommunityGardensforallowingmetolearnfromyou. I’dalsoliketosincerelythankValerieLizarragaforhelpingmefinddirectioninthisprojectduringatimewhenIfeltIcouldn’tgetmyfootinthedoor.Additionally,I’dliketoextendmygratitudetoRosaRomeroandSharonCechforbeingsuchinspiringinstructors,mentors,andrepresentationsofdedicationtofoodjusticethatIadmiregreatly.IalsowouldliketothankProfessorBhavnaShamasunderforadvisingmethroughthisprojectwithsuchpatienceanddiligence. AsincerethankyoutomyFoodJusticeHousefamilyforrevelinginthejoysofgoodfoodandsharinggoodfood,andforbeingmycomicreliefthroughthemoststress-filledoftimes.Lastly,thankyoutomyparentsandsisterforsupportingandgivingmemotivationthroughoutmytimeatOccidental.YouallaremyrootsthatkeepmegroundedandstrongandIcouldnothavedonethisworkwithoutyou.

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Abstract

Thetermfoodinsecurityisgenerallyusedtodescribeaconditionexperiencedbyanindividualthatdoesn’tknowwheretheirnextmealiscomingfromandhaslittletononearbyaccesstohealthyfoods.Today1.5millionpeopleinLosAngelesCountyexperiencethiscondition,makingitthelargestpopulationoffoodinsecurepeopleintheUnitedStates.ToaddressandalleviatefoodinsecuritybothpolicyandcommunitybasedapproachesareusedinLosAngelesCounty.Communitygardenshavebeencitedasatooltocreateafreshfoodsourceforpeopleinfoodinsecureareasthathavelittletonoaccesstohealthyfood.

ThesefactorsledtotheresearchquestionhowdocommunitygardensaffectaccessandavailabilityoffreshproduceforcommunitygardenersinfoodinsecureLosAngelesCountyneighborhoods?ToanalyzetherelationshipbetweencommunitygardensandfoodinsecurityinLosAngelesCountyamixedmethodsapproachwasusedwhichincludessurveyscompletedbycommunitygardenersfromfourdifferentL.A.CountygardensinadditiontointerviewswithcommunitygardeningexpertsfromvariousorganizationsthatworkonfoodissuesinL.A.County.Thesurveyresultsrevealedthatcommunitygardenerswhoareconsideredfoodinsecurearemorelikelythantheirfoodsecurecounterpartsto:a)considerthegardenassupplementingtheirfoodneedsb)workinthegardenonafrequentbasisc)anduseproducefromthegardenintheirmealsathome.Theexpertinterviewshighlightedtheimportanceofcommunitygardensinfoodinsecurecommunitiesasatooltoalleviatefoodinsecuritybecausetheypromoteeducationandequityaroundfoodaccessinadditiontoservingasaspacetoengagewithhealthyfood.Additionally,expertsexpressedseveralsetbackstocommunitygardensservingasafoodsource.Thesesetbacksincludememberturnout,payingforresourceslikewater,issuesovergardenlandandleases,andlackoftechnicalgardenknowledge. Thesefindingshighlighttheimportanceofrecognizingcommunitygardensasimportantfoodsourcesforgardenersthatarefoodinsecure.Communitygardenerswhoarefoodinsecurearemorereliantonthegardenthantheirfoodinsecurecounterparts.Communitygardensallowfoodinsecurecommunitiestotransformtheirfoodoptionsandshouldbesupportedbypolicy,non-profitpartners,andthecommunityasawhole.

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Introduction

Foodinsecurityremainsattheforefrontofpublichealth,social,andenvironmental

justiceissuesfacedbytoday’surbanandunderservedpopulations.Foodinsecurityis

definedasahousehold-leveleconomicandsocialconditionoflimitedoruncertainaccess

toadequatefood(USDA,2015).AnestimatedfourteenpercentofAmericanswere

consideredfoodinsecurein2014bytheUnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculture(USDA,

2014).Onacountylevel,nearly1.5millionpeopleinLosAngelesCountyarefoodinsecure,

makingitthelargestpopulationoffoodinsecurepeopleintheU.S.,ata14.7%food-

insecurityrate(FeedingAmerica,2015).Additionally,theLosAngelesCountyHealth

Surveyrevealedthathouseholdfoodinsecurityhasincreased40.4%overallbetween

2002-2011(CountyofLosAngelesDepartmentofPublicHealth,2015).Inrecentyears

therehavebeengrassrootseffortsandpolicychangesaimedatalleviatingfoodinsecurity

acrosstheCountyandthenation.FromthepolicylevelLosAngelesCountyhasincreased

supportoffoodbanks,haspromotedtheacceptanceofEBT(SNAP)atfarmer’smarkets,

andpassedtheSurplusFoodOrdinancewhichrequiresallediblesurplusfoodfromcity

facilitiestobedonatedtolocalfoodpantries(CountyofLosAngelesDepartmentofPublic

Health,2015)

Incontrasttotop-downsolutionstofoodinsecuritybypolicy-makers,community

gardensareagrassroots,collaborativeeffortstogrowfoodinagivencommunity(Okvat

2011).Participatinginacommunitygardenhasthepotentialtopositivelyaffectthe

wellbeingandfoodsecurityofcommunitygardenersandtheirfamilies.Inacommunity-

basedparticipatoryresearchstudyofHispanicmigrantfarmworkersandtheirfamiliesin

theOregonvalley,acommunitygardenprojectresultedinafour-foldincreaseofvegetable

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intakeamongadultsandthree-foldintakeamongchildren.Inaddition,therateoffood

insecuritydroppedfromthirty-onepercentofrespondentsbeforeparticipationinthe

communitygardentothreepercentafterparticipating(Carneyetal.,2011).Alongwiththe

findingsofthisstudy,theoverallrateofcommunitygardenparticipationhasincreasedin

recentyears.Onanationallevel,theAmericanCommunityGardensAssociationreportsthe

participationofhouseholdswithincomesunder$35,000incommunitygardenshasgrown

to11million,whichisa38%increasefrom2008-2014(ACGA,2014).Additionallywhile

theLosAngelesGardenCouncilreportsapproximately125gardensintheirnetwork,little

researchhasbeendonetoexaminetheaffectcommunitygardenshaveinalleviatingfood

insecurityinLosAngelesCounty.

Thisisanimportantrelationshiptoexaminebecausetheliteratureoncommunity

gardensconsistentlycitesaccesstohealthyfoodasamajorbenefitofgardenparticipation

(Wakefield,etal.2007;Corrigan,2011;Carneyetal.2012).Althoughvariousresearchers

havemadethisclaim,therelationshipbetweengardenparticipationandaccesstohealthy

foodhasnotbeensystematicallyexaminedinthecontextofLosAngelesCounty.Los

AngelesCountyisacrucialplacetoanalyzetherelationshipbetweenfoodinsecurityand

communitygardeningbecauseitisboththelargestpopulationoffoodinsecurepeoplein

thecountryandhasastronggrassrootscultureactivelyattemptingtoalleviatethis

problem(Geller,2016).Inthisstudyoffruitandvegetableproducingcommunitygardens

infoodinsecureneighborhoodsofthecity,Icollectnoveldatafromcommunitygarden

membersandcommunitygardeningexpertsabouttheirperceptionsandexperiencesof

communitygardensasasourceoffreshproduceinfoodinsecurecommunities.The

researcherisawareoftheliteraturethatexamineshowcommunitygardenshaveco-

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benefitssuchasaccesstogreenspace,reducingheatislandeffect,andothers(Barnidgeet

al.,2013;Wang,Qiu,andSwallow2014;Irvine,Johnson,&Peters1999;Saldivar-tanaka&

Krasny,2004;Kirkpatrick&Tarasuk,2009).However,theliteraturealsocontinuously

citesprovidingafreshandhealthyfoodsourceasoneofmanybenefitsofcommunity

gardening.Thisresearchfurtherexaminesthisbenefitandwhetherornotcommunity

gardenscanbeatooltoalleviatefactorsoffoodinsecurity.Thisrelationshipiscriticalto

examineinordertounderstandhowfoodinsecurecommunitiescantransformtheirfood

landscapebyincreasingtheiraccesstohealthyfoods.Itismygoalastheresearchertouse

thefindingsofthisresearchtoanalyzethewayscommunitygardensimprovefoodsecurity

andpointtowaysthatcommunityactivism,allyshipfromnonprofitpartners,andpolicy

canfurthersupportcommunitygardensinfoodinsecurecommunities.Myresearch

questionis:howdocommunitygardensaffectaccessandavailabilityoffreshproducefor

communitygardenersinfoodinsecureLosAngelesCountyneighborhoods?

Literature Review

Thisresearchquestionsitsatanintersectionoftwobodiesofliterature.Thefirstis

theextensivecommunitygardeningliterature,whichexaminesthebenefitsofgardensto

communitiesaswellasindividuals’motivationsforjoiningagarden.Thisliteraturemakes

theclaimthatcommunitygardensarespacesforincreasinghealthyproduceintake(Ohri-

Vachaspatietal.,2011;Kamphuisetal.,2006)yetprovideslittleevidencethat

communitiesarelessfoodinsecurewhenacommunitygardenisutilized.Thesecondbody

ofliteratureisthefoodinsecurityliterature,whichexaminesthesystematicfactorsthat

createcommunitieswithlittleornoaccesstohealthyfood,inadditiontoevaluatingthe

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effectivenessoffederalfoodassistanceprograms.Thisreviewofthefoodinsecurity

literaturewillexaminesolutionsatthefedera,state,andcommunitylevels.

Despitetheriseofcommunitygardensbeingcitedasatooltoalleviatefood

insecurity(Wang,Qiu,&Swallow,2014;Hayes,2010;Bakeretal.2011)thereisverylittle

literaturethatdirectlyexaminestheeffectcommunitygardenshaveinaddressingfood

insecurity.Thegoalofthisliteraturereviewistooutlinetheresearchonthesingulartopics

ofcommunitygardeningandfoodinsecurity,followedbylinkingofthetwothemes,and

finallysituatingtheminthecontextofLosAngelesCounty.

Community Gardens

CommunitylevelgardeningtoproducefoodintheU.S.ishistoricallyrootedasa

responsetoanegativechangeinsocioeconomicclimate.Inaddition,themigrationofmany

Americansintocitiesandaneconomicdepressionattheendofthe19thcenturyleadtoa

rapiddemandforcheapfood.Asasolution,municipalleadersofthetimeofferedpoor

residentsthechancetogrowfoodonvacantlots.Additionally,keymomentsinU.S.history,

suchastheWorldWarsandtheGreatDepression,catapultedthenationintoashortageofa

basicfoodsupply.Inresponsetothesecrises,peoplestartedlibertygardensandrelief

gardensasameanstoeasethedemandforfood.FollowingtheSecondWorldWar,

however,interestincommunitybasedfoodgrowingdeclinedamongthepopulationsand

thegovernment(DraperandFreedman,2010).Thisshiftmostlikelyoccurredalongwith

thecountry’smovetolarge-scaleagricultureandpassingofthefirstFarmBill.Therewas

alsoacultureshiftaroundthistimetovaluepersonalownershipofmaterialgoodssuchas

carsandhomesaroundthe1950sthathasbeenlinkedtoadecreaseininteresttosharea

communityprojectsuchasgarden(Saldivar-Tanaka,2003).

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Nevertheless,communityscalegardeningreachedalulluntilthelate1960sand

early1970swhenurbanareasbegantoorganizeeffortstobeautifytheircommunities

throughincreasingtheamountofgreenspacesintheirneighborhoods(Irvineetal.,1999,

HannaandOh,2000).Inthetwentiethcenturyandon,communitygardening,whilealso

presentinaffluentcommunities,hasbeenaresponsetourbancrisespresentinAmerican

cities.Gardenshavebeenusedasacommunitybasedtooltorespondtoissuesofeconomic

instability,youtheducation,crimeprevention,andneighborhoodbeautification(Agustina

andBeilin,2012).Thehistoryofcommunitygardeningrevealstherelationshipbetween

continuedeconomiccrisisintheU.S.andthefluctuationofculturalattitudestowards

community-basedfoodgrowing.Astheseattitudeschanged,thedefinitionofacommunity

gardenchangedaswell.

Acommunitygardeniscurrentlydefinedasaplotoflandcultivatedbymultiple

people,eithercollectivelyorinindividualplots(Teigetal.,2009).Communitygardens

haveevolvedfrommerelyresponsestoafoodshortage,toawayforcommunitiesto

reconnecttonatureandtheenvironment,andthenbacktoawaytofillagapincommunity

needssuchasgreenspaces,communitycenters,andhealthyfoodsources(Poulsenetal.,

2014).Whileitisimportanttonotethemulti-functionalityofgardensthatiscitedinthe

literature,thepresentstudywillfocusonthebenefitofgardensasafoodsource.

Benefits

Thereisasubstantialbodyofplacebasedliteratureonthebenefitscommunitygardens

haveforthecommunitiesinwhichtheyarelocated.Thesestudiesinvestigatethesmall-

scalechangesthatoccurincommunitiesbyhavingacommunitygarden.Thesestudies

outlinebenefitssuchasphysicalactivity,socialexchange,education,andconnectionto

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nature.Additionallythereisafocusonresearchingcommunitygardeningprogramsin

underservedurbanareas(Draper&Freedman,2010).Poulsenetal.(2014)usedindepth

interviewsandfocusgroupstoassesstheperceivedbenefitsofparticipatinginaninner

cityBaltimorecommunitygarden.Benefitsofcommunitygardensidentifiedinclude

enhancingbodilyhealthandphysiologicalwellbeing,greatersocialties,connectingwith

thelargercommunity,andchangingthefoodenvironment.Poulsenetal.promotesthe

ideathatcommunitygardensrevitalizetheurbanenvironmentbycreatingan“urban

oases”,oraspacethatprovidesrefugefromurbandecaywhilerevitalizingcity

neighborhoods.Additionallytheycitethephysiologicalbenefitsofgardeningtobethemost

salientamongparticipants.

ThefindingsofthisstudyareparalleltoastudyconductedinLatinoneighborhoods

inNewYorkCity.ResearchersSaldivar-Tanaka&Krasny(2003)soughttodescribethe

historyandcurrentproblemsoftheLatinogardens.Additionally,theyinterviewedthestaff

ofthemainorganizationworkingwiththegardenerstoassessresourcesavailableto

gardeners.Similartothe“urbanoases”,researchersconcludethatcommunitygardensfor

theLatinocommunitiescanbeviewedas“participatorylandscapes”,orspacesthat

combineadvocacy,organizing,andhorticulturalpracticestoprovideaconnectionbetween

immigrantsandtheirculturalheritage.ThisstudyisdifferentfromthatofPoulsenetal.

(2004)howeverbecauseitconcludesthatLatinogardensmaybesimilartomanygardens

inotherpoorandimmigrantcommunities.However,theycitetheLatinogardensas

differingfromgardensinmoregentrifiedcommunitieswhereenjoyingnatureand

productionoffreshproducearemostimportant.Theresearchers’conclusionthatfood

productionismostimportanttomoregentrifiedcommunitiesiscontrarytoseveralother

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placebasedstudiesthatindicatetheimportanceofcommunitygardensasanimportant

foodsourceinfoodinsecurecommunities(Bakeretal.2013,;Carnetetal.,2011;Corrigan,

2011).

Food Insecurity

Inordertoexaminefoodinsecurityinrelationtocommunitygardensitisimportant

toanalyzetheliteratureonthecomplexitiesoffoodinsecurity.Thedefinitionoftheterm

foodsecurityhasundergonemanychangessincethetermfirstemergedasaconceptinthe

1970s(FAO,2003).Additionallythereareover200differentdefinitionsofthetermcitedin

theliteraturetoday.Forthepurposesofthisresearchfoodsecuritywillbedefinedas,a

household-leveleconomicandsocialconditionoflimitedoruncertainaccesstoadequate

food(USDA,2015).Reversely,foodinsecurityreferstoaconditionthatexistswhenpeople

donothaveadequatephysical,social,oreconomicaccesstofoodasdefinedabove.The

termfoodinsecurityissignificantforthisresearchbecauseitisbothawidelyaccepted

conceptandthereareexistingmetricstoconsistentlysurveyandassessfoodinsecurity.

Foodinsecurityisasystematicdisparitydisproportionallyaffectinglow-income

communitiesofcolorbecausefoodinsecurityisempiricallylinkedtohealthproblemsand

chronicillnessessuchasobesityanddiabetes(Corrigan,2011).Gettingtotherootofthe

reasonsfoodinsecurityexistsisbothcomplexandinterdisciplinary.Thelackoffullservice

foodmarketswithaffordablefreshfoodwithinwalkingdistancehavebeendocumentedin

low-incomecommunitiesinbothurbanandruralareas(Hanna&Oh,2000;Wakefieldet

al.,2007;Bakeretal.,2013).Since2002,thesetrendscontinuedtoincreaseincommunities

wherehealthyfoodchoicesarelowandpoorfoodchoicessuchasfastfoodarehigh.

Additionallycommunitiessuchasthesecontainanabundantnumberofliquorand

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conveniencestoresor“foodmarts”,whichsellmostlypackagedandprocessedfoods.

Systematicoutcomesacrossbothraceandsocioeconomicstatusarecharacterizedbypoor

accesstofreshfoodandagreaterpresenceoffastfoodvendors.Theinabilityofthese

communitiestoaccessfreshfoodsisbothanequityproblemandasystematicfailurethat

canbetracedtothefoodretailindustry(Gottlieb&Fisher,2010).

Gottlieb&Fisher(1996)arguethatfoodinsecurityrepresentsacommunityneed

ratherthananindividual’sconditionassociatedwithhunger.Foodsecurity,incontrastto

hungerpoliciesexpandsitsbreadthtoproposepotentialstrategiesforinterventionwitha

focusonpreventingthefoodinsecurityofacommunity.Itcanbehelpfultoapproachfood

insecurityasamorenuancedassessmentofhunger,andshouldbemadeclearthatfood

insecuritycanexistwithouthunger.TheUSDAprovidesadefinitionoflowfoodsecurityas,

“Reportsofreducedquality,variety,ordesirabilityofdiet.Littleornoindicationofreduced

foodintake”andverylowfoodinsecurityas,“Reportsofmultipleindicationsofdisrupted

eatingpatternsandreducedfoodintake”(USDAEconomicResearchService,2015).

Federal and State Food Assistance Programs

AtopdownmethodtoalleviatefoodinsecurityintheU.S.andL.A.Countyare

federalandstatefoodassistanceprograms.TheSupplementalNutritionAssistance

Program(SNAP,formerlycalledtheFoodStampProgram)isthelargestU.S.food

assistanceprogram,servingover40millionpeoplepermonthin2010.Householdscan

qualifyforSNAPiftheyhavetherequiredlevelofincomeandassets(Nord,2011).Astudy

thatexaminedtheeffectivenessofSNAPonfoodinsecurityrevealedthattheoddsofvery

lowfoodsecurityamonghouseholdsthatcontinuedonSNAPthroughtheendofasurvey

yearwere28%lowerthanamongthosethatleftSNAP(Nord,2011).Alongwiththis

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finding,participationinSNAPisassociatedwiththeconsumptionoflowerqualityfoods

(Leungetal.,2012)anddoesn’tensurethatrecipientshaveanutritionallysounddiet

(Dinour,Bergen,andYeh,2007).Itshouldbenotedthatthebasisofnutritionallysoundis

biasedanddoesnottakeintoaccountculturalfoods.

Despitetheseshortcomingsthesefindingssuggestfoodassistanceprogramssuchas

suchasSNAP,whicharemeanttoimprovehousehold’sabilitiestomeettheirfamily’sfood

needs,oftenfallshortinprovidingadequateandhealthyfoodforfamiliesintheprograms.

Thereisresearchtodemonstratehowpeoplethatareeligibleforandutilizefederalfood

assistanceprogramshavelowerratesoffoodinsecurity(Nord,2011).Inadditionthereis

alsoevidencethatthepeoplewhouseSNAPbuylowqualityandlessnutritiousfoods

(Leungetal.,2012),yetthereisnoresearchtoshowifSNAPdependentindividuals

supplementtheirSNAPfoodswithfoodsfromothersourcessuchascommunitygardens.

Aresponsetothisassociationbetweenfoodstampsandpoorqualityfoodshasbeen

thepushforprogramsthatdirectandincentivizethespendingoffederalandstate

assistancedollarsonhealthyandfreshfoods.OneCaliforniaspecificeffortistheMarket

Matchprogram,whichmatchescustomer’snutritionassistancebenefitsincludingCalFresh

andWICatfarmers’markets.Inareaswhereithasbeenimplemented,MarketMatchhas

hadavisibleimpactonfoodsecurityandviabilityoflocalgrowers(Tamborello,2016).

Thisprogramallowspeoplewithnutritionassistancetoaccessbetterqualityfreshfoodsat

farmersmarketsbecausetheirbenefitsarebeingdoubledwhichallowsthemtoaffordthe

higherpricedfarmers’marketproduce.In2014,61%ofcustomerssurveyedreportedthat

MarketMatchwasaveryimportantconsiderationintheirdecisiontospendtheirbenefits

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atthefarmer’smarketinsteadofelsewhereand79%reportedthattheirconsumptionof

fruitsandvegetablesincreasedasaresultofMarketMatch.

Community Based Methods to Alleviate Food Insecurity

Communitybasedfoodassistancemeasuresincludingfarmers’markets,community

supportedagriculture(CSA),urbanfarms,andcommunitygardens(Gottlieb&Fisher.

2010)canboosttheeffectivenessoffederalandstatefoodassistance,however,this

researchwillfocusoncommunitygardening.Thecommunitygardeningliteraturemakes

theclaimthatcommunitygardensbringahostofcommunitybenefitsincludingprovidinga

freshandhealthyfoodsourceforgardeningmembers.Thereislittleevidenceastowhat

extentcommunitygardenersaremorefoodsecurewhentheyhaveaccesstocommunity

gardenproduce.Beyondthis,thereisevenlessdatathatexaminestheroleacommunity

gardencanplayinsupplementingthenutritionalneedsofafoodinsecureperson.

Asubsetofthecommunitygardeningliteratureattemptstoanalyzethelink

betweencommunitygardensandincreasedconsumptionoffreshproduce.Carneyetal.

(2011)examinedtheimpactofcommunitygardeningandvegetableintakeinaCommunity

BasedParticipatoryResearchStudywithHispanicfarmworkerfamilies.Theyusedapre

andpost-testverbalsurveywiththefemaleadultofthehousehold.Theirresultsrevealeda

decreaseinmeasuresoffoodinsecurityandanincreaseofvegetableintakeforboth

childrenandadults.ThesefindingsdifferfromthoseofKirkpatricketal.(2009)thatstated

communitygardeningasanunderutilizedoptionforacommunityofurbanlow-income

foodinsecurefamilies.

ResearchersBakeretal(2013)examinedtheeffectonfreshproduceaccessa

communitygardenhadonaruralmajorityblackcommunityinMissouri.Theyused

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surveysandfocusgroupsandfoundanincreasedconsumptionofvegetablesandfruit,

decreaseinconsumptionoffastfood,anddecreaseinamountofmoneyspentonfood.This

studywaslimitedonlytoposttestdataandusedarelativelysmallsample.Similarly,a

differentstudyinamoremixedracesettingalsoconductedinruralMissouri,revealedthat

participationinacommunitygardenwasassociatedwithhigherfruitandvegetable

consumption.Thegardenswereestablishedasaninterventiontodeterminewhether

frequencyparticipatinginthegardenaffectedfruitandvegetableconsumption.

Furthermorethosewhoworkedinthegardenatleastonceaweekweremorelikelyto

reporteatingfruitsandvegetablesbecauseoftheircommunitygardenmembership.The

researchersassertthattheirstudyprovidesevidencethatcommunitygardensarea

promisingstrategyforpromotingfruitandvegetableconsumptioninruralcommunities

(Barnidgeetal.,2013).

Thefindingsofthesestudiesaresignificant,howeverresearchersdonotaddress

theincomeleveloftheparticipantsinthestudiesanddonotprovideinformationon

whethertheparticipantswerefoodinsecureandhadlowlevelsofvegetableconsumption

orhadlowvegetableconsumptiondespitebeingfoodsecure.Establishingalinkbetween

thesetwovariableswouldhavebeenhelpfulindeterminingifthefoodinsecuritylevelsof

theparticipantswerethefactorinfluencinglowvegetableconsumptionbeforethestudies

tookplace.

Incontrasttotheruralsettingoftheaforementionedstudies,researchbyLittetal.

(2011)studiedtherelationshipbetweengardenparticipationandvegetableconsumption

intheurbansettingofDenver,Colorado.Researchersusedapopulation-basedsurveythat

revealedcommunitygardenersconsumedfruitsandvegetables5.7timesperday

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comparedtonon-gardenersatarateof3.9timesperday.SimilartotheBarnidgeetal.

(2013)study,incomewasnotincludedinthisstudy,howeveraneighborhood

socioeconomicstatusvariablewasincluded.Approximatelyhalfofparticipantshada

collegedegree,andapproximately40%ofrespondentsreportedreceivingsomepublic

assistanceduringthepastyear.Itwasunclearhoweverwhattypeofpublicassistanceit

wasandifitwasfoodassistancespecifically.

Whatismissingfromtheliteratureisafocusedexaminationofthebenefitsof

communitygardensasafreshfoodsourceforpeoplewhoarefoodinsecure.Thereare

studiesofcommunitygardensthataresituatedincommunitieswithalackofeconomicand

naturalresources(Barnidgeetal.,2013;Wang,Qiu,andSwallow2014;Irvine,Johnson,&

Peters1999;Saldivar-tanaka&Krasny,2004;Kirkpatrick&Tarasuk,2009)howevertheir

methodologiesdonotincludeanevaluationofparticipants’historywithfoodinsecurity.

Thereisevidencetosupporttheclaimthatcommunitygardenparticipationincreasesfresh

produceintakeforcommunitygardenersoverall,drawingfromabroadrangeof

participantswithvaryingsocioeconomicstatuslevel(Littetal.,2011;Poulsenetal.,2014).

Additionally,presentresearchaffirmsthatvulnerablepopulationssuchasurban,low-

income,andimmigrantparticipantsparticipatingincommunitygardeningarepositively

benefitedinseveralwaysincludingincreasedaccesstohealthyfood(Wakefield,etal.

2007;Corrigan,2011;Carneyetal.2012).Thesestudiesdonotquantify,howeverthe

extenttowhichfoodinsecuritywasafactortothecommunityorparticipants.Itisthe

interestofthisresearchertonarrowthisfocustopeoplewhoarefoodinsecurebasedon

thedefinitionsandassessmentmethodsusedbytheUSDA.TheUSDA’smetricswillbe

usedinthisstudybecausetheyhavebeenusedtoassessfoodinsecurityonanationaland

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countywidelevel.Thisresearchisurgentandpressingtopromoteandprovide

recommendationsforcommunitygardensinLosAngelesCountyasthelargestfood

insecurepopulationintheU.S.

Background

LosAngelesCountyhasthelargestpopulationoffoodinsecurepeopleinthe

country(FeedingAmerica,2014).TheprevalenceoffoodinsecurityamongLosAngeles

Countyhouseholdswithincomeslessthan300%FederalPovertyLevelinLACounty

increasedfrom21.8%to30.6%,arelativeincreaseof40.0%(LosAngelesDepartmentof

PublicHealth,2015).ThisincreaseinfoodinsecurityamongLosAngelesCounty

householdsisconsistentwithincreasesobservedatthenationalandstatelevels.While

thereare125reportedcommunitygardensintheL.A.Countyarea(LACGC,2016),thereis

littleevidencetodemonstrateifthesegardensareaddressinganeedforafreshfood

sourceincommunitiesthatarefoodinsecure.

Somecitypoliciesmaysupporteffortstobuildcommunitygardensinfoodinsecure

areas,buttheactualsustainabilityofthegardenhasbecomeachallenge.Itiscommonfor

gardenlandtonothavesecurestatusforpermanentuseasacommunitygarden,whichis

thecaseforoneofthegardensinthisstudy.Inaddition,someofthelandsthese

communitygardensnowsitonhaveimportanthistoriesinthecommunity.OneLos

AngelesCountygardenisonlandthatwasconvertedfromadrughouse.Amemberofthis

gardennotedhowatfirstitwashardtogetmanyvolunteersouttothegardenbecausethe

spacestillhasapainfulhistoryforsomeofthecommunity.Thisgardenwasultimatelynot