RESEARCH

Community Gardening as a Way to Build Cross-Cultural Community Resilience in Intersectionally Diverse Gardeners: Community-Based Participatory Research and Campus-Community-Partnered Proposal

This community-based research project explores how community gardening can improve food security, emotional well-being, and resilience among diverse, food-insecure individuals in Rochester, Minnesota. By partnering with a local community garden and using surveys, interviews, and photovoice, the researchers aim to inform policies and practices that promote health equity and strengthen community connections

Program Types: Social

Population Groups: Immigrants/Refugees, General Population

Setting or Context: Community Gardens

Health and Wellness Outcomes: Enhanced Emotional Well-being, Greater Sense of Purpose, Increased Social Engagement & Skills, Community Building

Type of Activity: Outdoor Gardening, Edible Plant Gardening

Evidence Type: Peer-Reviewed Studies, Case Studies

Measurement and Evaluation: Program Effectiveness

Access: Free

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Summary

This research project aims to understand how community gardens can help people from diverse backgrounds who struggle with food insecurity in Rochester, Minnesota. The researchers are working with a local community garden called “The Village Community Garden & Learning Center” to study how gardening affects people’s access to food, their emotional health, and their ability to bounce back from challenges (resilience). They’re particularly interested in how community gardens foster a sense of belonging and cultural identity, which can improve well-being and resilience. The project involves surveying and interviewing gardeners, and even having them take photos to share their experiences.

The researchers are using a community-based approach, which means they’re working closely with gardeners and community leaders throughout the entire research process. They plan to collect data in 2021 through surveys and interviews, and they’ll also use a “photovoice” project where gardeners share their stories through pictures. Ultimately, the goal is to gather information that can help improve community gardening projects and create policies that address food insecurity and health issues in the local community. The research was impacted by COVID-19, causing the research team to explore pandemic-related difficulties and increase the number of participants.

Link

Mejia, A., Bhattacharya, M., & Miraglia, J. (2020). Village Community Garden & Learning Center. Community gardening as a way to build cross-cultural community resilience in intersectionally diverse gardeners: Community-based participatory research and campus-community-partnered proposal. JMIR Res Protoc., 9(10), e21218.

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RESEARCH

Community Gardening as a Way to Build Cross-Cultural Community Resilience in Intersectionally Diverse Gardeners: Community-Based Participatory Research and Campus-Community-Partnered Proposal

Summary

Link

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