Color me healthy: Food diversity in school community gardens in two rapidly urbanising Australian cities

• Published in: Health & place 2014-03, Vol.26, p.110-117
• Main Authors: Guitart, Daniela A., Pickering, Catherine M., Byrne, Jason A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 21st century; Australia; Biological and medical sciences; Brisbane; Community; Community participation; Diversity; Environment. Living conditions; Feeding Behavior; Food products; Food Supply; Fruits and vegetables; Gardening; Gardens; Gold Coast; Health; Health promotion; Health Status; Health technology assessment; Healthy food; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Miscellaneous; Nutrition; Plants; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Qualitative Research; Queensland; School gardens; Schools; Urban agriculture; Urbanization
• ISSN: 1353-8292; 1873-2054
• DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2013.12.014

Community garden research has focused on social aspects of gardens, neglecting systematic analysis of what food is grown. Yet agrodiversity within community gardens may provide health benefits. Diverse fruit and vegetables provide nutritional benefits, including vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. This paper reports research that investigated the agro-biodiversity of school-based community gardens in Brisbane and Gold Coast cities, Australia. Common motivations for establishing these gardens were education, health and environmental sustainability. The 23 gardens assessed contained 234 food plants, ranging from 7 to 132 plant types per garden. This included 142 fruits and vegetables. The nutritional diversity of fruits and vegetable plants was examined through a color classification system. All gardens grew fruits and vegetables from at least four food color groups, and 75% of the gardens grew plants from all seven color groups. As places with high agrodiversity, and related nutritional diversity, some school community gardens can provide children with exposure to a healthy range of fruit and vegetables, with potential flow-on health benefits. •Study area school gardens grew 234 different plant types (159 species & 66 families).•Gardens were developed for education (91%), health (44%) and sustainability (40%).•Many schools used gardens as a part of their curriculum, including health classes.•Students cooked garden produce at school and often learned about nutrition.•Garden fruit and vegetables were used in tuck shops, taken home and sold to staff.