With food security increasingly seen as an urban concern, urban agriculture (UA) has emerged as one strategy for improving access to healthy, affordable food within cities in the Global North. This research evaluates the contributions of three types of urban gardens in Santa Clara County, California, to food security. Survey, interview and harvest data were collected from home gardeners, community gardeners and gardeners participating in community food security (CFS) programs, which provide low-income families with the materials and training to grow their own vegetables. To assess food security we use a multi-dimensional framework that encompasses food availability, accessibility, nutritional adequacy and cultural acceptability as well as agency within the food system. Over the summer of 2015, median garden production ranged from 26 kg for participants in CFS programs to 56 kg for home gardeners. All garden types produced enough produce for at least one adult to consume the number of cups of vegetables recommended by federal nutritional guidelines. Gardening also increased some low-income gardeners’ access to healthy food, allowing them to have the diet they wanted—one high in organically grown vegetables—but could not otherwise afford to purchase. Interviews showed that gardeners do not think of cultural acceptability strictly in terms of the presence of certain types of cultural crops; they also articulated a broader set of values concerning the environmental and social conditions of food production. At all income levels, gardeners frequently described a set of food values related to knowledge, control, trust, freshness, flavor, organic production methods and sharing, which they were able to enact through gardening. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the nutritional contributions that urban gardens make but also highlight the importance that low-income gardeners place on having food that aligns with their cultural and ethical values and being able to exercise greater autonomy in making food choices. In conclusion, we suggest that more robust, holistic assessments of UA's contributions to food security will include the subjective aspects of food as well as quantitative measures related to food production.

中文翻译：

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种植“美食”：城市花园、文化上可接受的农产品和粮食安全

随着粮食安全日益被视为城市关注的问题，都市农业 (UA) 已成为改善全球北部城市获取健康、负担得起的食物的一项战略。本研究评估了加利福尼亚州圣克拉拉县三种类型的城市花园对粮食安全的贡献。从家庭园丁、社区园丁和参与社区粮食安全 (CFS) 计划的园丁那里收集调查、访谈和收获数据，这些计划为低收入家庭提供种植自己蔬菜的材料和培训。为了评估粮食安全，我们使用了一个多维框架，包括粮食供应、可及性、营养充足性和文化可接受性以及粮食系统内的机构。2015年夏天，菜园产量中位数从 CFS 计划参与者的 26 公斤到家庭园丁的 56 公斤不等。所有类型的花园都生产了足够的农产品，至少可以让一名成年人食用联邦营养指南推荐的蔬菜杯数。园艺还增加了一些低收入园丁获得健康食品的机会，使他们能够获得他们想要的饮食——一种富含有机种植蔬菜的饮食——但否则他们买不起。采访表明，园丁们并不严格根据某些类型的文化作物的存在来考虑文化可接受性。他们还阐明了关于粮食生产的环境和社会条件的更广泛的价值观。在所有收入水平上，园丁们经常描述一组与知识、控制、信任、新鲜度、风味、有机生产方法和分享，他们能够通过园艺来实现。总而言之，这些研究结果证明了城市花园对营养的贡献，同时也强调了低收入园丁对食物的重要性，使其能够获得与其文化和道德价值观相一致的食物，并能够在选择食物时行使更大的自主权。总之，我们建议对 UA 对粮食安全的贡献进行更稳健、更全面的评估，将包括粮食的主观方面以及与粮食生产相关的定量措施。这些研究结果证明了城市花园对营养的贡献，同时也强调了低收入园丁对食物的重要性，这些食物符合他们的文化和道德价值观，并且能够在选择食物时行使更大的自主权。总之，我们建议对 UA 对粮食安全的贡献进行更稳健、更全面的评估，将包括粮食的主观方面以及与粮食生产相关的定量措施。这些研究结果证明了城市花园对营养的贡献，同时也强调了低收入园丁对食物的重要性，这些食物符合他们的文化和道德价值观，并且能够在选择食物时行使更大的自主权。总之，我们建议对 UA 对粮食安全的贡献进行更稳健、更全面的评估，将包括粮食的主观方面以及与粮食生产相关的定量措施。