Food insecurity is a challenge in the developing world, where many are finding healthy food inaccessible due to poverty. A pre-test, post-test design was applied to determine the impact of a vegetable gardening intervention in 25 experimental and 25 control households in Lesotho. Information about sociodemographic conditions and indicators of food security was collected by trained fieldworkers. As evidenced by the Living Poverty Index of 2.5, the sample was characterized by high levels of poverty. Although almost no households were scored very low or low using the Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning (MAHFP) tool, less than half of households were categorized as food-secure. Household Dietary Diversity (HDD) showed infrequent intake of vegetables and fruits and regular intake of fats and sugar. After intervention, the percentage of households with a low HDD score improved significantly in the intervention group (12%) compared to the control group (40%) (95% CI (2.5%; 50.7%)). Despite this, the percentage of households that consumed vegetables during the previous day was still below 30%. Food gardens have the potential to improve availability of food and frequency of vegetable consumption, but harsh environmental conditions need to be considered.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.