COMMUNITY GARDENS:
GOOD REGIONAL INVESTMENT
Daniel P. Olivas
Webster University

Abstract The concept of gathering people together in an outdoor space in order to collectively work towards the common goal of planting and harvesting produce can be traced in the US to the late 19th century. Community gardens still exist in the US today with the same goal as before, but the objectives that are witnessed in contemporary community gardens have grown to include goals such as training youth in agriculture and nutrition to serving as an important part of people’s health and wellness lifestyles. Several reasons will be listed in this paper that explain the growing and renewed popularity of community gardens which further include economic and medical benefits, as well as individual contribution to the community. This movement in community garden growth is reflected as most movements are in the US’ current political environment. Our current presidential administration sees the First Lady, Michelle Obama, actively promoting health consciousness in particular among youth while making a strong case on the benefits to be reaped from community gardens. On a different note, our recent national economic environment makes a reasonable argument for supporting cost-saving, and even income-generating, ideas such as community gardening.

Introduction El Paso County’s most recent addition to its collective gardening community was a unveiled less than a year ago. The Fit-To Grow community garden at Ascarate Park joined the growing number of gardens not only in the southwest region, but indeed worldwide. The motivations for such diverse communities to organize gardens are growing though they are generally the same motivations that propel a community in the western hemisphere, as they do in the east. This case study explores the purposes for gardens using the model in this local region and attempts to exploit the potential benefits if this trend where to be further extended.
Background
In the US, the Detroit area first offered locals the opportunity to garden collectively as a means to providing land and technical training to unemployed Americans. The benefits were also then recognized for young people in the way of teaching lessons on civics lessons and responsibility, an early version of community service that is often mandated for youth as part of educational programs today. The concept grows nationwide as the Federal government becomes involved by promoting community garden programs to grow domestic food supplies during the hardships of World War I. The United States School Garden Army (USSGA) was created as an educational program that taught the gardening concept in the common public school curriculum. Further economic turmoil during the Great Depression saw million of households participating in community gardens as a means to obtain some financial relief. World War II served to rebirth the federal government’s role in this concept. Victory Gardens became a campaign once again encouraging individuals to partake in being a part their own sustainment. Towards the end of the 20th century, the idea of urban development was championed and gardens were seen as a means to beautiful neighbors, in particular decrepit inner-city areas in addition to serving as a food source. Currently in the nation, all these previous motivations for supporting community gardens exist and also include others. The community gardens of today are a logical response to growing concerns over genetically-engineered foods, the use of pesticides and hormones, the impact of food delivery’s carbon footprint, and increasing costs in produce. Further the garden concept appeals to groups and individuals who seek to not only take more control over their nutritional and environmental decisions, but who are also motivated to generate additional income and in some cases, use profits from produce sales as the sole means of revenue.
The Case for Community Gardening: SWOT Analysis As aforementioned, the reasons are varied for establishing this type of community project. The reasons themselves are also the strengths in the garden concept. Community gardens began in the US and elsewhere, as a means to a close and low-cost resource for produce. That initial reason is still a strong motivation for citizens today to become interested in gardening. The economic realities of the first part of this century have lead to a renewed interest for individuals to become involved. Most gardens often establish a minimal membership or annual fee for participants. Beyond that the basic materials; soil, water, seed, equipment, know-how, and the land itself are often donated by local businesses, the city, educational organizations, and by experts in related fields (nutrition, food science, management, etc.). The process of beginning a garden requires the largest financial challenge and is again often largely financed by grant money and donations. Volunteer labor is responsible for preparing the gardening site yielding little remaining costs to the individual. The minimum fee for rental of an individual plot, put into context, could easily represent an individual’s grocery bill in a single week. Thus the food bill paid in one week would be sufficient to provide either an individual or even a family with fresh produce for that year’s plot rental fee.
A growing health consciousness in the US also promotes the community gardening concept as many Americans are not only more proactive about their personal health, but also more literate in terms of their food sources environmental impact. An interest in nutrition easily leads to better eating habits such as an increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables. However, instead of simply buying produce at a supermarket, individuals are turning to their own gardens as they will generally cultivate green gardening practices. These render produce that is organic and free of pesticide and growth-hormone use. Medical research continues to make negative conclusions on the consumption of crops using the techniques of large farms that supply almost all of our fruit and vegetable options. The community garden allows the participants control over what to grow and how to grow it. The actual gardening process also gives people an opportunity to engage in the outdoors and to build physical and mental fitness. The proximity to a community garden also means that these food sources are not being shipped over great distances which cause environmental pollution and less nutritious supply.
While these benefits, which represent the strengths of the gardening concept itself, may be achieved in any individual garden plot, the community garden concept also allows for the creation of community building. This collective project has been researched to strengthen the dynamics of the area by decreasing crime rates, fostering civic pride and even helping communities to heal after distinct regional tragedies, man-made or otherwise.
Weaknesses
Community gardens generally face their largest challenges at inception. The concept begins with a group of interested individuals committing to creating a garden. The planning and organizing phase entails gathering resources, with the designated public space being the most critical element. This can be accomplished a variety of ways, but finding a public space that is available and appropriate can make establishing a garden a longer endeavor than otherwise necessary. The associated costs with preparing the area are foremost and these may or may not include lease fees. As a non-profit organization, community gardens seek donors to contribute their own resources, whether monetary or skill-based to initiate preparation. Finding and compelling donors can be a slow and uncertain process.
Once these ends have been acquired, however, the gardens require the commitment of participants, all of whom are volunteering their time and energy. The payment of a rental/plot fee and application process serves to foster members’ responsibility over their own space. Nonetheless, volunteers’ interest may wane or they may simply not have sufficient time to dedicate. This can cause a garden to appear to be an abandoned and unsightly space which may upset neighbors, business owners or other surrounding community members.
Opportunities
On the flip-side to the latter weakness of decreasing an area’s value due to an underserved community garden, research has shown that the opposite is also true. Successful garden projects may add to the monetary value of properties in the area. This in addition to the financial gains members may make if they opt to sell a portion of their yields. The most common system witnessed in the local area is in the form of farmers markets. These are held at least once a week and allow participants to generate revenue and in some cases sales are responsible for the majority of a household’s income. In times of economic hardship, this idea should be better campaigned and expanded to create additional markets around the region. Currently, El Paso County counts with a single regular farmers market that is not centrally located or accessible to the majority of the area. Other types of outdoor markets are fairly prevalent around El Paso, and the farmers’ market idea could be assessed as an extension to these already established locations, in particular in Far East El Paso where growth is set to continue.
Conclusion
Community gardens are widely promoted not only in the El Paso County but in cities across the United States and in some cultures of the world are primary means of survival. The contribution of organic healthy foods is not only important to unbalance system in our society, but to our overall physical wellbeing as a human race. Community gardens foster feeding the needy, beautifying the neighborhood, saving energy and cleaning urban air for our planet. Many cities are looking for new ways to finance available land for gardening. The benefits would include promoting healthy organic foods and would also have a positive impact on neighborhood property values. Recent studies show that gardens have significant positive effects in poor and wealthy neighborhoods. Community gardens also provide local governments a new tool for communicating to the public. It gives the local governments a new means where public officials can engage citizens and to combat rising diverse issues dealing with diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and other new illnesses.

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