Written by: Emmanuel Dubure, MPhil & Kristen DiFilippo, PhD, RDN
Food insecurity is a global health problem affecting millions of people around the world. About 9.2% of the global population experienced hunger in 2022 (World Health Organization[WHO], 2023) and close to half of all deaths of children below the age of 5 years globally are related to undernutrition (WHO, 2024). Food security is achieved when people have access to food that is safe and sufficient to meet their nutritional needs for a healthy life (Food and Agriculture Organization, 1996). Over 12% of households in the United States experienced food insecurity in 2022 (Rabbit et al., 2023). Food security is assured when food is available, accessible and utilized to meet nutritional needs (Jones et al., 2013).
Home gardening has been used in many parts of the world as a means of supplying fresh foods to homes during the year and improving household food security. Growing food around the home existed in human history before large-scale commercial agriculture became prominent. Home gardening can provide a cost-effective way of making food available to families and increasing self-sufficiency in obtaining food in homes (Santos et al., 2022). Home gardening has many advantages and benefits:
Improves food security: Home gardening can contribute significantly to increasing household food security. Growing crops at home can increase the supply and availability of food in the household and reduce dependency on purchased food and food assistance programs. Gardening can be done throughout the year, and excess can be stored through freezing or canning, making food available even in times of scarcity or financial stress (Galhena et al., 2013).
Increases household dietary diversity: Gardening is a good way to have more food variety in a household. Cultivating a variety of crops including vegetables through gardening can increase dietary diversity in the household. Gardening also allows healthy eating at an affordable cost as healthful crops such as fruits and vegetables that may often be expensive to purchase can be grown at home (Nogeire-McRae et al., 2018).
Cost-effective way of obtaining food: The average individual expenditure on food in the United States was 11.2% of disposable income in 2023 (United States Department of Agriculture, 2024a). Gardening can be a good way of cutting down food expenditure allowing families to save money. Home gardening does not require a lot of resources and food can be grown in a small amount of space using locally available materials (Algert et al., 2016). Gardening has been used by many low-income families as an affordable source of food to feed families (Mitchell & Hanstad, 2004).
Source of household income: Gardening can contribute to livelihoods, serving as a source of income for some families. Food produced from gardening can be a source of supplementary income for the household as produce can be sold for additional income (Mitchell & Hanstad, 2004).
Gardening can be an important source of food for families helping to increase food security in the home and preventing malnutrition. It can also be of immense economic benefit to many families and communities.
References
Algert, S. J., Baameur, A., Diekmann, L. O., Gray, L., & Ortiz, D. (2016). Vegetable output, cost savings, and nutritional value of low-income families’ home gardens in San Jose, CA. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 11(3), 328–336.
Food and Agriculture Organization. (1996). Rome Declaration on World Food Security and World Food Summit Plan of Action. World Food Summit.
Galhena, D. H., Freed, R., & Maredia, K. M. (2013). Home gardens: a promising approach to enhance household food security and wellbeing. BioMed Central, 1–13.
Jones, A. D., Ngure, F. M., Pelto, G., & Young, S. L. (2013). What are we assessing when we measure food security? A compendium and review of current metrics. Advances in Nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 4(5), 481–505. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.113.004119
Mitchell, R., & Hanstad, T. (2004). Small homegarden plots and sustainable livelihoods for the poor. FAO LSP WP, 11.
Nogeire-McRae, T., Ryan, E. P., Jablonski, B. B. R., Carolan, M., Arathi, H. S., Brown, C. S., Saki, H. H., McKeen, S., Lapansky, E., & Schipanski, M. E. (2018). The role of urban agriculture in a secure, healthy, and sustainable food system. BioScience, 68(10), 748–759.
Rabbitt, M.P., Hales, L.J., Burke, M.P., & Coleman-Jensen, A. (2023). Household food security in the United States in 2022 (Report No. ERR-325). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://doi.org/10.32747/2023.8134351.ers
Santos, M., Moreira, H., Cabral, J. A., Gabriel, R., Teixeira, A., Bastos, R., & Aires, A. (2022). Contribution of Home Gardens to Sustainable Development: Perspectives from A Supported Opinion Essay. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(20). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013715
United States Department of Agriculture. (2024a). Food Prices and Spending. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/chart-detail?chartId=76967
United States Department of Agriculture. (2024b). Food Security and Nutrition Assistance. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/food-security-and-nutrition-assistance/
World Health Organization. (2023). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023: Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum (Vol. 2023). Food & Agriculture Org.
World Health Organization. (2024). Malnutrition. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutrition
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