Table 3.
Frames Used to Describe the Aim of Community Gardens in Community Garden Statements.
| Frame/goal | Description | Example(s) | Gardens using |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater good | Goals that focus on bettering humans or the environment in a top-down fashion (rather than through community participation in the garden or community building). Include references to educating people and to enlightening or spreading awareness about a beneficial practice (sustainable gardening, etc.). Include references to improving people’s ability (via tools, experience, etc.—needs to be more than just space or opportunity) to garden (needs to be more than just food—i.e., food and flowers, gardens, etc.). Include references to benefiting physical or mental health. It must include some explicit purpose for benefiting the environment and/or humans in a holistic manner. | “Beautify the neighborhood and help with community growth…” | 263 (64%) |
| Community orientation | Statements that articulate the benefits they are focusing on as aimed at a community holistically. Include statements that articulate the benefits targeted at the community or neighborhood (but not at individuals within a community/neighborhood). Statements must include either (1) a reference to the community/neighborhood/etc. as a whole, rather than as individual actors within the community or (2) a reference to helping individuals/participants/neighbors/etc. build community (friendships, social ties, coming together, etc.). | “To serve the surrounding community of …, by providing families the space, support, and leadership for a community garden at a reasonable cost” and “To build a diverse collaborative community committed to growing a sustainable organic garden.” | 200 (49%) |
| Healthy food access | Goals that are focused on providing access to healthy foods to the surrounding communities through community residents’ participation in the garden. Include references to enabling or teaching people to grow their own food or provide for themselves that involve the actual production of food. | “To provide our clients with a plot so they can receive fresh produce and learn to grow their own food.” | 88 (21%) |
| Food donation | Donation or giving of food grown in the garden in a top-down fashion (rather than through community participation in the garden). Sometimes this is articulated as serving the surrounding community but not through their participation in the gardening. Include references to providing food to the needy at the local level. Include statements that have a specific reference to providing or giving food. | “Our goal is to provide fresh food to our community, provide education and beautify our space.” | 71 (17%) |
| Self-empowerment | Goals of helping participants gain some kind of self-empowerment (something that allows the participants to increase their own agency or build a broader life skill that goes beyond the garden). Include gardens that are explicit about enabling or teaching people to provide for themselves. Include giving an opportunity for gardeners to improve/enhance their lives or empower themselves. Should include some articulation of how participants’ agency/self-sufficiency is being increased. | “To allow residents to grow home produce to help out on family grocery costs” and “Opportunity to grow food, meet neighbors, strengthen communities, empower disenfranchised residents.” | 70 (17%) |
| Symbolic food labels | Goals that use the terms local, organic, sustainable, natural, or similar terms describing the type of processes used to grow food. Include those that discuss rejecting industrial farming/food production practices or chemicals. Include references to inspiring support for local, organic, sustainable, and natural food. | “To build a diverse collaborative community committed to growing a sustainable organic garden …” and “To bring the community together to work for a sustainable future.” | 69 (17%) |