Food insecure community gardeners in rural Appalachian Ohio more strongly agree that their produce intake improved and food spending decreased as a result of community gardening compared to food secure community gardeners. Issue 4 (2nd October 2018) - Hopkins, Laura C.
ABSTRACT: Relationships among food security, produce intake and behaviors, health, and social capital in rural Appalachian community gardeners were examined. Gardeners ( n = 120) were surveyed, with 50 responding (42% response rate). Though most respondents were food secure, approximately 15% were food insecure. Results indicated that participants ate more produce (76%), made better eating choices (74%), spent less money on food (74%), were more physically active (66%), and made new friends (74%). Food insecurity was associated with eating more produce ( p < 0.05) and spending less money on food ( p = 0.05) due to gardening, which warrants further exploration.