Food Studies Matter, Meaning, Movement Case Community Gardens; Howard Rosing, Ben Helphand, and Amy DeLorenzo

CASE COMMUNITY GARDENS HOWARD BEN AND AMY COMMUNITY GARDENS COUNT MEASURING HARVEST Howard is the Executive Director of the Center at University and teaches courses on urban food systems in the Department of Geography and the MA in Sustainable Urban Development . is a cultural anthropologist who has authored numerous publications on urban and community food systems including the book Chicago A Food Biography . He holds a in Anthropology from ton University . Ben is the Executive Director of , a nonprofit urban land trust dedicated to preserving and 586 COMMUNITY GARDENS

ing community managed open spaces in Chicago . Space owns a large network of growing spaces across the City so that community groups can focus on gardening and community building . He holds a University and a MA in the History the University of Chicago . Amy is an Extension Educator at the University of Illinois where she works on developing the pipeline of agricultural talent in the state and to create partnerships with food and beverage companies in the area . She holds a BA in ies from University and a MA in Geography from the University of . Learning Outcomes After reading and discussing this text , students should be able to Explain how urban community gardens address social and economic challenges to food access while building greater community cohesion . Examine the importance of community gardens in porting food security and food justice . Compare the case of community gardens in Chicago with a case in their own city or town . Describe the role of community gardens in improving the health and wellbeing of urban communities . HOWARD BEN AND AMY

INTRODUCTION Building sustainable communities requires a complex set of skills and talents that go far beyond technical knowledge and science . This text offers a multifaceted perspective on the practice , debates on , and process of producing and sustaining community dens in North American cities . Drawing from research on community gardens across Chicago , the study highlights how community gardens offer an important mechanism for creating resilient , socially cohesive communities that can respond to social , economic , and environmental . The study sheds light on gardeners as hood assets in urban sectors where access to fresh food is challenged by historical patterns of racial segregation and social exclusion . Given insufficient availability or increasing cost for healthy fresh food for large of Chicago population , researching how people organize to cultivate fresh food , how much food they produce , how and where their yields are distributed , the nutritional value of their crops , and the meaning of dens for gardeners , offers a holistic understanding of what it takes to build sustainable community food in large cities . Chicago is an ideal city to study community gardens in the century . The city historical motto , in ( city in a garden ) symbolizes longstanding horticultural practices among residents across neighborhoods and social Notwithstanding the city rich garden tory , for much of Chicago recent past , community has been primarily a grassroots effort with little in terms of municipal government investment . Starting 2008 . 588 COMMUNITY GARDENS

during the , Chicago created the job training gram , which provided resources to gardens , but the effort that was cut by the subsequent mayor . Until 2011 , there was no legal code for urban agriculture in Chicago , meaning community would in many cases be doing so outside zoning laws governing land use . This policy , or lack thereof , had particular impact on neighborhoods that lacked ity to fresh food resources . For decades , Chicago racist urban planning practices , combined with discriminatory mortgage lending and real estate development , resulted in neighborhood divestment and property devaluation on the south and west sides of the city . By the , the outcome was a shortage of supermarket retailers in distressed neighborhoods , largely populated by Black and Nonprofit and grassroots efforts to organize community gardens in these were thus partly a neighborhood resilience strategy in response to limited access to fresh food , and partly about community building and tion . The label food desert , or what some authors describe as supermarket , was ascribed to many side and westside Chicago neighborhoods by the early , due to a lack of The label misrepresented decades of growth of community gardeners , who offered food assets in their hoods . Indeed , the vast majority of the 260 community gardens researched in this study were located on the south and west sides of Chicago . describes . Block , Chavez 2008 Gallagher 2006 . 2001 . Gallagher 2006 . HOWARD BEN AND AMY 589

this urban growing movement as having an tory role , a type of active resistance through ecological stewardship with social Rather than ing community gardeners of color as passive victims of racial and economic , resulting in health disparities , community gardeners in gated cities like Chicago are better understood through their own agency and diverse ways and reasons for food . This study emerged out of an effort to light the importance of community gardens , especially for Chicago neighborhoods with limited access to fresh food . There is no one metric by which to evaluate what makes a community garden successful . Laura in Cig Bountiful states that the dominant narrative tends to link community gardens to community food security , but given the numerous reasons people state as to why they garden , food security should not be the only measure of The enormous harvest and nutritional yield from gardens in Chicago dispels a popularly held notion that community gardens do not produce significant amounts of food . Yet community gardeners have diverse motivations for organizing collectively to produce food from year to year . Understanding these motivations requires deeper inquiry into what people think about their gardens that is , why gardens matter to gardeners . While this study illustrates that community gardens count both at neighborhood and city levels in respect to building greater food security , there are numerous other reasons for community gardens , not the least of which is creating ecologically sustainable and aesthetically 2008 , 2005 . 590 COMMUNITY GARDENS

ing spaces that build pride in community and positive relationships with neighbors . Documenting the values attached to community gardens in urban spaces , in those spaces marked by racially motivated ment , helps to identify ways that cities can invest in food production as a means for building more equitable urban food systems . RESEARCH PROCESS One of the first tasks in researching community gardens in a city as large as Chicago is to define what is meant by the term community The definition for this study was developed by the organization , a nonprofit urban land trust charged with protecting and managed growing spaces across The organization takes on land ship and assists gardeners with insurance , access to water , and other resources . Gardens on land protected by are no longer susceptible to removal as a result of , for example , more powerful , development interests . Equipped with a definition of community gardens , researchers for this study visited 260 gardens across Chicago , of which 208 fit the tion during the 2013 growing season . Researchers defined community gardens in Chicago as growing sites that presented both internal and external properties . Internal community fostering properties refer to the development of social . The project was built on partnership between , University of Illinois at Chicago , University of Pennsylvania , Angelic Organic Learning Center and . This research was made possible by a generous grant from the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children and from a charitable donation made by the Walton Family Foundation . HOWARD BEN AND AMY 591

ties among people who work together at the garden . External properties refer to the potential impact that the garden has on the outside environment in the form of neighborhood improvement , beautification , food access , violence prevention , increase in property values , youth development , health benefits , and more . The study did not include sites where the majority of produce was sold , where there were paid employees , where the site was used exclusively for social service educational , or where the site was in a private , profit housing establishment exclusive to those residents and inaccessible to the public . Fieldwork for the study consisted of seven distinct ( a ) identifying community gardens ( counting square footage of food crops grown in the gardens during spring , summer , and fall ( sampling 29 sites that broadly represented a of Chicago community dens ( sampling seven gardens representing seven tinct neighborhoods and diverse growing conditions where gardeners agreed to weigh their harvest ( the replacement value of foods produced in the gardens through documentation at retail food outlets ( interviewing gardeners about their gardens history , organization , distribution , and use of food and ( nutritional values of the foods produced . At all 260 community gardens initially visited , detailed information was recorded about the garden and its food crops , including the total size of garden properties , the number of plots , water sources , evidence of support , and other data . Researchers recorded the total area ( square footage ) of each crop . These tabulations , along with the weight of crops at the seven selected munity gardens , enabled researchers to estimate the yield 592 COMMUNITY GARDENS

( pounds per square foot ) of vegetables and fruits within the areas under production . In order to provide a basis for estimating the productivity by weight , dollar value , ings , and nutritional scores , researchers arranged with gardeners and support organizations at the seven gardens to weigh their harvest . These gardens were in different neighborhoods with diverse soils , growing conditions , gardeners , and institutional affiliations , and constituted a fairly representative of Chicago gardens . Gardeners weighed their harvest by crop and researchers employed the results of the tallies to mate the average productivity of different crops and to arrive at yield estimates for the production of all gardens To calculate replacement value or cost of these foods , researchers visited twelve retail lets , representing a wide range of grocers ( luxury , priced , and discount ) and farmers markets in different Chicago neighborhoods . At each of the outlets , prices were recorded for the various vegetables , fruit , and herbs grown in the gardens . To understand garden distribution processes and the underlying meanings of community gardens for ers , researchers interviewed 53 gardeners at 32 gardens about garden history , organization , and especially and use of the food . The interviews helped explain what people do with food grown in the gardens , how community gardens affect the community , and the role of gardens in , youth development , food access , beautification , and the nutritional of residents . FOOD PRODUCTION IN CHICAGO . 2009 . HOWARD BEN AND AMY 593

COMMUNITY GARDENS The study estimated that pounds of food was produced on acres of community gardens during the 2013 Chicago growing season . Most of this food was produced in to hoods . Nutrient rich fruits and vegetables went directly into gardeners households and were in many cases through neighborhood social networks to other households multiplying the impact on food access for who might otherwise not regularly have access to fresh , healthy foods . As can be seen in Figure , the vast majority of community gardens are clustered in areas of Chicago as noted in Figure , these are also the areas of the city . 594 COMMUNITY GARDENS

Chicago Community Gardens with Census Tracts by Race Legend MY . Cu . Nu ( am ' Mum mu . I . I saw . Figure Community Gardens and Racial Demographics in Chicago HOWARD BEN AND AMY Community Gardens and in Chicago Community Areas Income El 25350 a , I 419 Community Area Index Wu am . saw . Sham um ( ma a nu As Milan on uni South hum sa . a ram van a Ia um so . fun ! an 51 South Dunn ! ran 51 an has in us . Wu ! mum IS Damn am 54 15 17 . 55 am . an 51 mum ( man mummy In Mum ) 59 . sa Smart ) um Imam ) a um 25 54 Gram 15 um as Wu ! Lawn 27 as ma wen we 57 west . Sam ( mum at man 71 Auburn Meal sum sun 72 Ian ?

Square Mann as emu . as came 75 Marlin um ) sun . van 31 71 hung . mu , i , mI mind my LAM . i . min Figure Community Gardens and Income in Chicago Among the many crops produced by Chicago community gardens , 20 stood out as yielding the highest poundage . See Table . Mapping these 20 crops by 77 community areas spatially revealed the cultural and nomic importance of crops across neighborhoods with 596 COMMUNITY GARDENS

diverse demographics . For example , more than pounds of collard greens were produced in the southside neighborhood of Washington Heights , a neighborhood populated by more than 95 percent Black or African American residents , and most of which was classified in research studies as a food Community gardens thus also provided neighborhood access to culturally important , food , the economic value of which can be seen in Table . Table Highest yield crops grown in Chicago community dens Highest yield crops by Weight Poundage per crop across all gardens ( Tomato Squash Beans Swiss Chard Peas Peppers Lettuce Onions Table Dollar value of top 10 crops grown in Chicago gardens . Gallagher 2006 . HOWARD BEN AND AMY 597

Highest value crops Replacement costs across all gardens ( Tomatoes Beans Peas Chives Chard Mint Squash Berries FOOD DISTRIBUTION , YOUTH ENGAGEMENT , AND COMMUNITY BUILDING Distribution of food from Chicago community gardens is a complex , informal , and often ad hoc neighborhood provisioning process described by gardeners through interviews . For example , gardeners described how many gardens are openly accessible to neighbors , as one interviewee explained The neighbors take some , ain nobody it , somebody might come by and take some , but most people come by and do it like they would from the it in a Interviewees were asked whether they distribute portions of their yield to friends and neighbors . Most described that they would give surplus produce away to family , friends , and others who they knew needed it . Many mentioned harvest days or days , when neighborhood residents would assist with the harvest or cook and eat together . manent or impromptu meeting spaces with furniture and ing resources were often visible at gardens , how the sites offered neighborhood social gathering points that aged community building . Indeed , as one gardener described , some gardens were highly accessible to neighbors So , for the most part , were eating what we grow . And if were not eating 598 COMMUNITY GARDENS

what we grow , people who walk by and pick it are eating what we Other gardeners emphasized the ethos of food sharing at the gardens We gave food to people , anybody we see . Cause we couldn use all that . We couldn use all the food ! Community gardens in Chicago were also important for aging positive youth development . As one interviewee noted , I think we really want kids to eat healthy . I mean we want families to eat healthy , but obviously starting with children . You know , teaching them why you re supposed to eat fruits and vegetables . I think we technically live in a food desert , where there is not a lot of access to fresh produce , so wanting kids to have that access , but also just wanting kids to know like , this is how coli grows , break it off and eat Other sentiments by highlighted how gardens provide important educational resources not offered in formal schooling . Youth learned about communal production , food sharing , and the origins of food . As another gardener noted , We also have kids who take a pot of greens and take it home with them . And kids really , really love it because I have this one kid who , two months ago , he was like , Hey , are we gon na grow those things that are orange and long ?

I was like , A He was like , Yeah , a carrot . Are we gon na grow those ?

In general , gardeners explained how community gardens offered a safe space for local youth to engage with one another and to learn gardening and civic skills and the of mutual aid and care within neighborhoods . I have a lot of neighbors who have kids who help me garden , explained one gardener . they help me plant the seeds , they help me water . When I go out of town , I ask them to water , they love it . So , yeah , its reaching a lot of , a lot of HOWARD BEN AND AMY 599

NUTRITIONAL IMPACT FROM CHICAGO COMMUNITY GARDENS The nature of community gardens within many Chicago neighborhoods , especially for households that lack proximity to grocery stores , illustrates the relational process of communal food production . The informal social processes described above have an impact on the physical being of residents through nutritional intake . Using the mated production yields , researchers calculated the number of servings of specific foods per garden , as well as related data such as fiber content ( See Tables and ) For ple , gardeners produced an estimated servings of collard greens , averaging servings per garden , and delivering some grams of fiber . Along with the significant health benefits of such leafy green vegetables , these findings provide evidence for advocacy , planning and in support of gardens , especially for neighborhoods marginalized by the retail food tor . Table Mean number of servings of select vegetables per garden ( daily requirement to servings per day ) 600 COMMUNITY GARDENS

Item Minimum Maximum Mean Beans 166 Beets Asparagus Broccoli 111 Bok choy Brussel 37 Cabbage 107 Carrot 127 Celery 54 Collard 152 Data Analysis by Angela , University of Illinois at Chicago Table Mean grams of fiber for selected vegetables grown in Chicago community gardens Item Minimum Maximum Mean Alfalfa Beets Artichoke Beans 166 883 664468 Broccoli 111 Brussel 37 Cabbage 107 1285 Carrots 127 119926491 Celeriac Celery 54 152 Corn 101 HOWARD BEN AND AMY 601

Data Analysis by Angela , University of Illinois at Chicago THE VALUE OF COMMUNITY GARDENS IN CITIES Research on the yield from Chicago community gardens , with gardeners descriptions of how food is distributed across neighborhoods , counters popular perceptions of gardens as spaces that do not produce significant amounts of food . The study shows that Chicago community gardens are essential public health assets for providing highly nutritious foods that are often not otherwise locally available . The mated pounds of food produced by Chicago community gardens during the 2013 growing season had an estimated value of US , demonstrating the economic value of nal food production . Some gardens were so successful that they had explicit goals of being community food distribution hubs , creating direct supply chains to food or through large distribution events and community meals . No matter the manner in which food is distributed from gardens , the process of growing , harvesting , and distributing food positive relations among neighbors and especially for youth . Recurrent themes among interviewees included feeding the community spiritually or mentally , and that gardens provide a beautiful space of respite in a hectic , busy city . Gardeners described gardens as a community backyard , a place for dren to play safely , and a point of pride for their neighborhood . In some neighborhoods , gardens act as a bridge between comers to an area and residents , who come together with a common vision of a more beautiful neighborhood , ing potential for , and further emphasizing why gardens are important assets that should not be overlooked by and planners . 602 COMMUNITY GARDENS

Urban would do well to recognize the intrinsic value of gardens in feeding and healing communities and safe , educational spaces for children and adults alike . In Chicago , the study determined that 20 percent of all ( live within two blocks ( mile ) of a community den . Extrinsically , these gardens hold value in that they feed both the gardeners themselves and residents across neighborhoods . For some Chicago neighborhoods , the gardens are the only local place where people can have access to fresh , culturally ate produce . While gardens can not be the primary solution for food insecure neighborhoods , they should be recognized as an important piece of a larger process of systematically addressing disparities in urban food access . There are a variety of ways that cities can support community garden development . Interviewees noted the necessity of gaining access to land in proximity to water sources , such as water lines or fire hydrants , that are permissible to use by gardens . In tion to land and water , access to soil is critical , since creating gardens on what are often toxic or paved spaces requires building raised beds . To keep people safe from harmful contaminants , purchasing soil is an expense often difficult for gardens to maintain . Policies can be implemented to support composting and environmental of publicly owned vacant land suitable for gardening . In sum , gardeners recommended easing financial burden and removing barriers to entry for creating and maintaining gardens . Chicago community gardens were described by gardeners as places where people are seen as equals , where there is no archy between new and residents . Investing in these spaces is an investment in promoting peace , and can be weighed against the cost of policing cities . Community gardens support and , neighborhood , and caring for neighbors . Building sustainable HOWARD BEN AND AMY 603

producing communities thus requires an approach that goes far beyond applying technical knowledge . This study highlights how community gardens offer an important mechanism for creating resilient , socially cohesive communities that can respond to social , economic , and environmental challenges . As hood assets in racially segregated cities like Chicago , gardens offer a community response to insufficient availability or increasing cost of fresh food in a changing global economy and environment . Reducing the costs of gardening , and making munity gardening as easy as possible , is thus a valuable ment in public health . Prioritizing community gardens in urban planning , and development ensures that these spaces count and will lead to the development of more socially , economically , and environmentally sustainable food systems that are less reliant on importing food to feed cities . Discussion Questions Why are community gardens important for public health in North American cities and towns ?

Should governments invest tax dollars in gardens ?

Why or why not ?

In what ways can community gardens respond to racial injustice ?

How does your city or town support community food production ?

How can you get involved ?

Exercises 604 COMMUNITY GARDENS Visit a local community garden This exercise should take about four hours of time . Visit an existing community garden in your city or town . If possible , choose a garden close to where you live . Answer the following questions about the garden in a notebook , laptop , or tablet What did you see when you visited the garden ( physical , social environment ) Does the garden seem like it is well taken care of ?

Do you get a sense that the garden is an active growing space ?

Why ?

Is there something that makes this garden distinct from others ?

Did you talk to anyone at the garden ?

What did they say ?

Describe the garden in as much detail as possible . Your answer should be a minimum of 500 words , but there is no maximum limit . Using your phone or a camera , make an audio or video recording of yourself while visiting the garden . The recording should describe the garden in as much detail as possible , but should be no longer than five minutes in length . In particular , identify any symbols of how members are working together to grow food ( nal growing ) and ways in which the garden seems to be designed to build or support community ( tables , barbecue , Make sure to avoid filming people faces , and include the location and name of the garden in your recording . HOWARD BEN AND AMY 605

Submit your notes and recording to a shared drive where students can review each others submissions . Note to instructors Following review of all the , prepare for class discussion by determining what patterns or themes you see occurring across the different community gardens visited by students in your class . What can these patterns tell you about the culture and practice of community gardening in your town or city ?

Map community gardens in your town or city Using Google maps or another mapping tool , work with your class to begin mapping community gardens in your neighborhood , town , or city . For an example of what you can map , see the Chicago Urban Agriculture Mapping Project ( which was developed in conjunction with the Community Gardens Count study . Pay special attention to the Advanced Search features of and explore the types of garden features that can be added to the public map . Decide as a class or in small groups what you would like your map to look like and contain . Make sure to visit the gardens that you map to ensure that they are still there . As you add gardens to the map , discuss with the class what the geography of community gardens says about local food production in your town or city . How does the location of gardens and what they contain relate to the demographics in your region ?

How does racism and class play a role in where and how community gardens operate ?

Engage in with a community garden can be defined in several ways , but in general it involves intentionally integrating relevant and meaningful service with the community with academic 606 COMMUNITY GARDENS and civic learning . While it involves students in service as a learning strategy , is not synonymous with community service or volunteering . For this exercise , students will be assigned to one of eral community gardens , where they should serve a minimum of 20 hours of service , spread out over the school semester . Students should maintain a journal of their weekly experiences . A set of guided questions should be developed by the instructor , linking student and to course readings , guest speakers , and learning resources . During several class sessions , dents and the instructor should on their and discuss the value of this type of learning , both for students and for communities . Additional Resources in community food growing An online informational resource from the organization , Capital Growth . Strengthening Equity Inclusion in Garden Education An online informational resource from the School Garden Support Organization . Inclusive Community Gardens A downloadable resource from the City of Vancouver . References a Block , Daniel , Noel Chavez and Judy . Finding food in Chicago and the suburbs the report of the HOWARD BEN AND AMY 607

eastern Illinois community food security assessment report to the 2008 . Elizabeth . 2001 . In poor health ket and urban 53 33 . Gallagher , Mari . Examining the impact of food deserts on public health in 2006 . Laura City Bountiful A Century of Community Gardening in America . Berkeley , CA University of nia Press , 2005 . Cathy Jean . Chicago Gardens The Early History . University of Chicago Press , 2008 . Nathan . From industrial garden to food desert Unearthing the root structure of urban agriculture in Oakland 2008 . Dominic and Michael . Community in Philadelphia 2008 harvest 2009 . 608 COMMUNITY GARDENS