Center for Civic Partnerships

Food Security, Nutrition and Community Gardens

Current efforts to address hunger and food security use a comprehensive approach that draws the connections between poverty, environmentalism and community development. “Community food security is a condition in which all community residents obtain a safe, culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance and social justice.” (Pothukuchi, Kami, et al. (2002). What's Cooking in Your Food System? A Guide to Community Food Assessment. Community Food Security Coalition.) More information can be found at http://www.foodsecurity.org/pubs.html#cooking
One aspect of food security is that people can acquire food in socially acceptable ways, without having to resort to relying on emergency food supplies, scavenging or stealing. For many in the field, this means working cooperatively with food growers, distributors, anti-poverty activists, environmentalists, low-income people and local governments to develop local, sustainable food systems. Community gardens are one popular strategy that can help address the need for safe, nutritious food while simultaneously building connections among people. To address food security in your community, try implementing some of the tips below.

Top Tips

Promote policies that support urban agriculture. When inner-city residents gain the ability to grow and consume or market their own food, results may include improved health, economic development and community revitalization. Supportive policies may include free or low-cost water, simplified permitting requirements or interim land use agreements.
Transform vacant lots, rooftops, or designated areas of schoolyards or parks into community gardens. Community gardens not only provide access to fresh, nutritious food – they also serve as a place to build supportive relationships among people of all ages and backgrounds.
Organize a “tool library” where gardeners can share or rent tools. Seek supplies from local businesses.
Tap community expertise in gardening and food preservation. Community kitchens, Master Gardeners, food banks, vendors at farmers’ markets, university cooperative extension programs and new immigrants often have valuable skills and knowledge to share.
Expand access to locally grown food by making it available through school meal programs, hospitals, senior centers and farmers’ markets.
Advocate for food labeling that indicates where the food was grown.
Educate the community about the importance of good nutrition for child development and educational achievement, chronic disease prevention, and obesity prevention.
Communicate with policymakers about your ideas and concerns. Write a letter, call or visit your local, state and/or federal representatives to share your opinion.
Evaluate the outcome of your efforts to help gain community involvement, additional funding and support for new policies. Consider outcome measures such as increased consumption of fruits and vegetables or process measures such as the number of gardeners.

Examples of community nutrition and physical activity programs related to food security are provided in the following publications:

Online Tools and Resources

AgObservatory
www.agobservatory.org/
Sponsored by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, this site includes news, links and publications related to food and farming issues.

American Community Gardening Association
www.communitygarden.org/
This national nonprofit organization sponsors From the Roots Up, a program to mentor and provide support for fledging community garden organizations. The site includes fact sheets to assist in getting started as well as a variety of resource guides (available for purchase) that detail community building practices in combination with gardening. The site also has numerous links related to food security and community gardening – including sections on rooftop gardening, accessible gardening for people with disabilities, and gardening with children and elders.

American Dietetic Association
www.eatright.org/
For a variety of nutrition resources, visit the Knowledge Center at www.eatright.org/nuresources.html. Also see the Policy and Advocacy section for updates on legislative issues, tools for grassroots advocacy and press kits.

California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness (CANFit) Program
www.canfit.org/
CANFit is a non-profit organization that engages communities and builds their capacity to improve the nutrition and physical activity status of California’s low-income African American, American Indian, Latino, and Asian/ Pacific Islander youth 10-14 years old. Visit their site for information on their grants, scholarships and technical assistance opportunities, encouraging nutrition and physical activity; newsletters; and the PHAT (Promoting Healthy Activities Together) campaign for youth.

California Association of Food Banks
www.cafoodbanks.org
This site features a food bank resource center that includes fundraising tips and sources, fact sheets, information on federal and state legislative priorities, data on hunger and poverty and a food bank locator for California counties.

California Department of Food and Agriculture
www.cdfa.ca.gov/
Visit this site for information on agricultural statistics, food safety and a competitive grants program.

California Department of Health Services Cancer Prevention and Nutrition Section
www.dhs.ca.gov/cpns
Visit this site to link to the California Nutrition Network for Healthy, Active Families and Five a Day campaign. Go to the Press Room section to download a press kit, tip sheets and the campaign’s newsletter Fresh Facts.

California Food Policy Advocates
www.cfpa.net/
California Food Policy Advocates is a statewide public policy and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and well being of low-income Californians by increasing their access to nutritious and affordable food. The web site includes the latest news and legislative information related to food access, county profiles on hunger and poverty, best practices guides and Power Point presentations on current issues in nutrition, advocacy tips and tools, and data resources.

California Project Lean
www.californiaprojectlean.org/
This site includes a variety of materials for community wide educational campaigns for diverse adult and adolescent audiences. Radio and television commercials, lesson plans, recipes and tips for healthy eating, brochures and fact sheets are available for download (some in Spanish). The site also includes an interactive geographic information system (GIS) that allows users to view and query mapped nutrition data including: nutrition and school health programs, WIC grocery stores and other local nutrition resources, demographics (ethnicity and language), Department of Health Services regions and California Senate and Assembly districts.

Center for Food and Justice
http://departments.oxy.edu/uepi/cfj/index.htm
The Center for Food and Justice is a division of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College that works to improve access to fresh and healthy foods in all communities, particularly those where access is most limited. Visit their site for information on innovative programs such as California Farm to School and Project Grow, food security projects in Los Angeles and research and case studies on food access.

Center on Hunger and Poverty
www.centeronhunger.org/index.shtml
The Center on Hunger and Poverty promotes policies that improve the lives of low-income children and families. The Center conducts applied research and policy analysis, disseminates information on poverty and hunger, carries out public education initiatives, and provides assistance to policy makers and organizations on poverty and hunger-related issues. It is also home to the Food Security Institute (FSI), the national clearinghouse for hunger and food insecurity studies. Visit this site for statistics, data analysis and research on hunger, poverty and welfare policy.

Community Alliance with Family Farmers
www.caff.org/
CAFF is a nonprofit organization that builds alliances between rural and urban people to make the food and farming system more sustainable. Their site includes information on community supported and sustainable agriculture, policy information on land and water use, biological farming and farmland protection and a searchable database to find farmers’ markets in California counties.

Community Food Security Coalition
www.foodsecurity.org
The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to building strong, sustainable, local and regional food systems that ensure access to affordable, nutritious and culturally appropriate food for all people. CFSC works to develop community self-reliance in obtaining food and to create a system of growing, manufacturing, processing, making available and selling food that is regionally based and grounded in the principles of justice, democracy and sustainability. At this site you can access the CA Community Food Security Network, issue papers, newsletters, reports, upcoming events, the Com Food list serv and program information. There is an extensive list of links to food security related web sites in a variety of categories including community gardens, urban agriculture, farmers’ markets and more.

Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
www.cals.cornell.edu/
Visit the Department of Horticulture’s gardening page for gardening fact sheets and information on New York State’s Integrated Pest Management program at www.hort.cornell.edu/gardening/. From there you can link to “How to Start a Garden as a Community Project” at: www.hort.cornell.edu/gardening/gardenma/start.html. The site includes sample letters, suggestions for school newsletter articles and sample schedules.

Food and Agriculture Organization (of the United Nations)
www.fao.org/
This site includes information related to the FAO’s goal of building a world without hunger.

Food and Drug Administration
www.fda.gov
New regulations, food safety, food labeling and nutrition resources.

Food Research and Action Center
www.frac.org/
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) works to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States by improving public policies. Visit the website for research, news and analysis on hunger, federal food assistance programs and child nutrition, including the Campaign To End Childhood Hunger.

International Food Information Council
www.ific.org
Visit this site for food safety and nutrition information, a media guide to food safety issues, the bi-monthly newsletter, Food Insight, press materials and downloadable brochures.

kNow Hunger
www.knowhunger.org/
kNow Hunger is a free, downloadable high school curriculum that combines social studies education about hunger with community service activities.

National Cancer Institute’s Five a Day Program
www.5aday.gov/
Visit this site for tips on meal preparation and budgeting, recipes, publications and multimedia materials.

Nike
www.nike.com/nikebiz.com
Nike's 10-year, $2 million Bowerman Track Renovation Program provides matching cash grants to community-based youth-oriented organizations that seek to refurbish or construct running tracks. Grant recipients must provide track access to neighboring communities.

Nutrition.gov
www.nutrition.gov/home/index.php3
This site includes a comprehensive assortment of resources and information on food safety, nutrition, life cycle issues, health management, food assistance programs and research.

Permaculture’s Intergarden
www.ibiblio.org/london/permaculture.html
Connected with an online public library based in the United Kingdom, this site will link you to a variety of farming, gardening and ecological resources.

Second Harvest
www.secondharvest.org
Visit this site to learn more about the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization. Through a network of over 200 food banks and food-rescue programs, America's Second Harvest provides emergency food assistance to more than 23 million hungry Americans each year. The site includes facts and figures about hunger in the U.S., a section on child hunger, research studies, fact sheets, a local food bank locator and information on food policy and food programs.

Smart-Mouth
www.smart-mouth.org/
Sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), this site provides middle-school aged youth, parents and educators with games and interactive tools to learn how the food environment (advertising, portion sizes, school vending choices) influence their food choices and how to eat well. You can discover how restaurant foods rate, play “true or false” with a food industry spokesperson and “bite back” by asking food companies and government officials to support healthy eating.

Sustainable Communities Network
www.sustainable.org/
Look for the section on sustainable economies for information on agriculture and food systems at www.sustainable.org/economy/agriculture.html

Texas A&M University’s KinderGARDEN
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/kindergarden/child/cgintro.htm
Includes information on school, community and botanic gardens, including a step-by-step guide and curricula for beginning a school garden.

Theology Library at Springhill College
www.shc.edu/theolibrary/hunger.htm
Sponsored by a Jesuit College, this page links to organizations, articles and programs related to hunger.

University of Arizona, Cooperative Extension
http://ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/
This site has a section on community gardens that includes gardening references, seed sources and links to nationwide gardening programs. There also is a link to potential funding sources at: www.ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/funding/fund.htm.

University of California, Davis Center for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing
http://socialmarketing-nutrition.ucdavis.edu/
As part of UCD’s School of Medicine, the Center for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing was established to enhance social marketing strategies to improve nutrition and physical activity behaviors related to the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases. The site includes information about the Center’s lecture series and research opportunities; publications on social marketing, nutrition and physical activity; a video lending library; a searchable database of over five hundred articles and presentations on social marketing, health promotion and epidemiology related to nutrition and physical activity; and literature reviews on nutrition and physical activity social marketing campaigns.

Urban Agriculture Notes by City Farmer
www.cityfarmer.org/
Sponsored by Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture, this site includes information on urban agriculture, online resources, a listing of useful books and various community garden issues.

Urban Community Gardens
http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~sewells/communitygardens.htm
Visit this site for tips on getting started in urban community gardening, including funding opportunities.

Urban Harvest
www.urbanharvest.org/
Urban Harvest is a membership organization that seeks to build healthier communities through gardening in the Houston area. The website includes gardening tips, information in Spanish, links, and a quarterly newsletter with a planting calendar, articles and book reviews.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
www.usda.gov
This site includes information on national food and nutrition programs and services. Link to the USDA’s National Agriculture Library for links to publications and databases at www.nal.usda.gov./general_info/about_nal.html. Using the Food Guide Pyramid: A Resource for Nutrition Educators is located at www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/Fpyr/guide.pdf.

USDA Community Food Security Initiative
www.reeusda.gov/food_security/foodshp.htm
Visit this site for technical assistance, information on funding sources, data and program ideas related to improving nutrition and strengthening local food systems. The goal of the initiative is to reduce hunger by 50 percent by 2015. Link to www.reeusda.gov/crgam/cfp/ for information about the Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program.

Welfare Information Network
http://www.financeprojectinfo.org/win/
www.welfareinfo.org/federal_nutrition_programs.asp.

World Hunger Year
www.worldhungeryear.org
Visit this site to access the National Hunger Clearinghouse, a database of food, nutrition, anti-hunger and agricultural organizations, as well as sections on grant funding, awards, media and education guides and other resources.

Food Security, Nutrition and Community Gardens

Top Tips

Online Tools and Resources

Suggested Reading