Growing Food in the City Provides Many Benefits

“In both the industrial and the developing world, poorer urban households typically spend a greater share of their income on food than wealthier urbanites do. In some cases, poor urbanites spend 60-80 percent of their income on food, making them especially vulnerable to price changes.

Beyond providing jobs and food nutrition, urban farming can have a whole range of other health benefits. Research has connected gardening to reducing risks of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and occupational injuries. For urban folks especially, working with plants and being in the outdoors can both prevent illness and help with healing. Some health professional use plants and gardening materials to help patients cope with mental illness and improve their social skills, self-esteem and use of leisure time. Urban agriculture can also benefit public health by improving the social determinants of health, including the beauty and safety of neighborhoods and the strength of community ties and social interactions.

Studies show that people at farmers’ markets have as many as 10 times more conversations, greetings and other social interactions than people in the supermarkets. City planners are learning that farmers’ markets can be used to bring people together in a central location, becoming a forum for politicians, activists and other community leaders to raise awareness about local issues.

A survey of community gardens in New York found that having a garden improved resident’s attitude toward their neighborhood, reduced littering, improved the maintenance of neighboring properties and increased neighborhood pride. They also found that the presence of gardens was four times more likely to spur other community efforts in low-income ones, due to a greater number pressing community issues and a lack of meeting places. Add to this the other well-documented effects of community gardens—including greater consumption of fresh vegetables, reduced grocery costs and the various psychological and health benefits associated with exercise in a natural setting—and it becomes clear that urban farming does a lot more than just replenish food supplies.”

Excerpt from “Farming in the Cities” by Brian Halwell and Danielle Nierenberg, January/February 2008 Issue of World Ark, published by Heifer International (Click here to view more information about this excellent magazine.)