Community gardens can take a variety of forms including rooftop gardens, schoolyard gardens, backyard gardens and neighborhood gardens. Vegetables and other produce in community gardens are grown for the producers themselves or for other people in the community and are usually nonprofit endeavors.

In contrast, farms tend to have greater capacity to grow larger quantities of produce and producers may sell their produce in local outlets.

Community gardens and farms, especially those located in urban areas, can be powerful contributors to healthy communities. They can:

• Improve access to fresh, healthy, local foods and increase consumption of vegetables and fruits
• Educate community members about food and nutrition.

A study conducted in Flint Michigan found that adults participating in a community garden were 3.5 times more likely than nonparticipants to consume the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables.

Researchers evaluating the Philadelphia Urban Gardening Project, an initiative serving a low-income and multi-ethnic community, found that participants ate a larger quantity and diversity of vegetables than nonparticipants. Each garden plot yielded an average of $160 worth of produce, ensuring that participants could have access to fresh fruits and vegetables without spending all of their limited income on similar food items at the grocery store. 

Other benefits of community gardens and farms include:

• Contributing to a more resilient food system
• Supporting social cohesion and building a sense of community
• Promoting safer neighborhoods by repurposing vacant lots and lands into attractive spaces where both people and plants can flourish
• Offering job training and economic opportunity for low-income individuals and families

Local food and vibrant communities

Urban and other farms may provide farmers and community members with important opportunities to participate in and support the local economy as vendors at farmers markets, wholesale sellers to neighbors and community members, or as produce sources for community supported agriculture (CSA) programs. This provides participants with additional income, enables growers to expand and diversify their production, and makes more fresh fruits and vegetables available to the community. According to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) publication, there is an economic multiplier of 1.66 for every dollar spent on local food. 

• Windy City Harvest and Chicago Botanic Garden (Chicago, Ill.)

  • In 2016, harvested 100,000 lbs. of produce
  • Produce was shared by garden participants and distributed to recipients of the local Veggie Rx program. 
  • Offers job training opportunities, internships, apprenticeships, and accredited certificate programs 
  • Youth development program educates and employs 80-90 low-income teenagers each year 
• Added Value Farms (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
  • In 2016, harvested 20,000 lbs. of produce at their Red Hook Community Farm location 
  • Sells fresh fruits and vegetables to local community members at farmers markets, farms stands, and through their CSA program. 
  • Operates the Red Hook Farm Stand, which accepts Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) vouchers, and Health Bucks to ensure that low-income consumers can afford the healthy foods offered. 

Recommendations for hospital participation

Health care facilities can support community garden and farm initiatives in diverse and exciting ways. 

Hospital gardens can promote employee and patient wellness, for example, through serving and promoting in the hospital cafeteria the fresh produce grown in the garden. This can be an important part of hospitals’ and health systems’ broader commitment to community health. Hospital garden and farm projects promote good health and set a great example for the rest of the community. However, in general, support for garden initiatives that primarily serve hospital staff and patients should not be “counted” as community benefit on IRS Form 990 Schedule H. See Tax reporting for healthy food access programs for more information.

However, many forms of hospital support for community garden and farm initiatives that serve the wider community can be an effective component of community benefit implementation strategies to address priority community health needs including obesity, food insecurity, healthy food access, poor nutrition, and diet-related health conditions.

Hospitals may provide space on their facility’s property to establish a community garden or farm. In order to address the needs of vulnerable individuals and households, it is important that these gardens and farms are welcoming and inclusive of all community members. 

Community benefit departments may also provide funding, technical support, or staff time for a community garden or farm that is being established in a low-income neighborhood. For example, facilities can provide funding to buy tools, fencing, or other materials to help get a community garden up and running.

Dieticians, nutritionists, and hospital-sponsored chefs can support community health by leading diet and nutrition education at a community garden or farm. This may include offering cooking classes, demonstrations, and tastings or preparing recipes for seasonal produce. 

Vegetables and fruits produced in hospital gardens or farms may be donated to community food pantries, or produce boxes may be provided directly to food insecure individuals and families.

Additional information about hospital roles and examples are included in the table below.

Examples of hospital roles and participation

Community gardens and farms: Considerations

Local agriculture and environmental health 

Local, sustainably grown gardens and farms can mitigate environmental health impacts through practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, use fewer chemical inputs, and regenerate unhealthy soils. 

• Composting - Composting is a process that decomposes or recycles organic food scraps into the soil providing multiple ecosystem benefits. One such benefit is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. Compost also works to improve soil health and can assist in soil’s ability to function as the largest terrestrial pool of carbon.
• Use fewer chemical inputs - Agricultural chemicals, such as pesticides and herbicides, can have multiple negative impacts on community health. Chemical inputs can also disrupt the surrounding natural ecosystem. Alternative, certified organic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides may be used to reduce this negative impact. There are also many chemical-free farming strategies such as rotational farming schemes and polyculture that are viable commercial farming strategies.
• Regenerate damaged soils - Urban agriculture sites may carry lead and other contaminants from past industrial or commercial activities, for example, former parking lots and demolished buildings leave behind chemicals that can pose health risks to humans and the environment. Exhausted or over-treated soils also many have unbalanced chemical compositions. Strategic planting of crops, such as lead mitigating plants and nitrogen-fixing plants, may help restore the balance to soils. Plants used for lead or contaminant mitigation should be disposed of as waste before planting crops for human consumption.

Soil quality, safety, and contamination

There are unique aspects of soil quality, safety, and contamination that community members who are participating in urban gardens and farms must consider. When establishing a new garden or farm, soil tests should be conducted. Urban soils may have an uneven chemical composition hindering the gardeners’ ability to grow healthy fruits and vegetables. Urban soils may also be saturated with contaminants such as lead, petroleum products, and asbestos. To help urban farmers and gardeners mitigate against these potential risks, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future developed a Soil Safety Resource Guide for Urban Food Growers. Another strategy that many project leaders employ is building raised beds, which both eliminates the risk by introducing new soil with a known chemical composition and allows gardens and farms to be developed on infertile land or pavement.

Growing and handling fresh produce safely

The federal government sets standards, conducts inspections, and maintains an enforcement procedure to maintain food safety for retail food outlets that distribute fresh produce, but does not provide the same guidance for community gardens and farms. However, there are many local and state guidelines and resources available for small-scale producers to safely distribute their produce. For example, California’s Department of Food and Agriculture has a certified farmers market program including inspections and requirements for compliance. The following resources provide guidance for safe agricultural practices in the field, handling fruits and vegetables after harvest, and a sample food safety manual.

• University of California Good Agricultural Practices 
• National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) Sustainable Agriculture Program Post Harvest Handling of Fruits and Vegetables
• California Small Farm Food Safety Manual

Learn more

Johns Hopkins’ Center for a Livable Future published a report, Vacant Lots to Vibrant Plots, that reviews the sociocultural, health, environmental, and economic benefits and potential limitations of urban agriculture.