Creating Community Gardens to Improve Access Among African Americans: A Partnership Approach

Abstract

Inadequate access is increasingly recognized as a contributor to low consumption of healthy foods. This article describes the process and lessons learned from creating rural community gardens and the benefits and challenges of moving a partnership's focus from individual and social strategies to an environmental intervention strategy.

Data were collected using surveys and focus groups. Respondents noted that they ate more vegetables and fruit (88%), ate less fast food (72%), and spent less money on food (76%). Almost 50% of those who self-identified as being food insecure indicated that they were better able to provide food for themselves and their families as a result of taking part in the garden.

Community gardens may be a viable way to increase access to and consumption of vegetables and fruit within rural African American communities.

Keywords:

• African American
• food access
• food insecurity
• partnerships
• rural population

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the coalition chairs, Rutha Boyd, Tonya Mitchell, Betty Pulley, and Dorothy Walton, for their continued commitment to the health and well-being of their communities. We also thank Margret O'Neall, Sarah Denkler, and Imogene Wiggs for their contributions to the community gardens. This article was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number U48/DP001903 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Prevention Research Centers Program. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Saint Louis University Institutional Review Board approved the study.