Chicago has many urban agricultural projects that provide a source of local food for city dwellers. Urban garden soil, however, may contain lead pollution, and soil quality can vary dramatically from location to location. Soil testing and access to information should improve gardeners' abilities to grow food safely in urban soils, and to know if time-consuming or expensive measures to avoid lead exposure or enrich the soil are really necessary for their gardens. Soil quality including lead levels was profiled in 10 Chicago gardens. Gardens growing food within raised beds were compared to