The experience of community urban gardens: Social organization and food security

Abstract

Objective To characterize Salvador-Bahia community gardens, with regard to social organization, work, supply and access to food, in line with the concept of Food Security. Methods A cross-sectional, exploratory study was carried out involving information collection, identification and selection of community gardens. Seven community gardens were located, although only five participated, with data collected through the application of semi-structured questionnaires, used with 13 horticulturists. Results Most of the gardens (80.0%) were located in popular neighborhoods and had been in place for less than five years; they operated with no land legalization (80.0%), in assigned areas (80.0%) and without any technical support (100.0%). No social organization was available in most of the initiatives (60.0%). The greatest difficulties included: lack of funding (80.0%) and volunteers for work (80.0%), as well as water use restrictions (80.0%). The crops included different fruits and vegetables, for self-consumption (80.0%), donation (60.0%), and/or commercialization (40.0%). Horticulturists included women (50.0%) and men (50.0%), mean age 44.8 years, education between illiterates (25.0%) and upper level (37.5%), rural migrants (50.0%) and experienced farmers (62.5%). Positive aspects included the production and access to natural food and the pleasure of working with earth. Conclusion Insufficient policies limited technical support and financing were observed in this segment, although there were contributions to the generation of work opportunities, supply and access to food. The study showed a strong link between community gardens and strategies to promote Food and Nutrition Security.