Community gardening in poor neighborhoods in France: A way to re-think food practices?

Martín, Pauline; Consalès, Jean-Noël; Scheromm, Pascale; Marchand, Paul; Ghestem, Florence; Darmon, Nicole

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.023

Cited by 51 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In the context of a deep economic crisis, leading to increasing health and food consumption inequalities [2], low-income populations appear to face more food insecurity than before [3]. They eat less recommended food products, especially fruits and vegetables [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Providing a Smart Healthy Diet for the Low-Income Population: Qualitative Study on the Usage and Perception of a Designed Cooking App

Régnier¹,

Dugré²,

Darcel³

et al. 2018

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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BackgroundHealth behaviors among low-income groups have become a major issue in the context of increasing social inequalities. The low-income population is less likely to be receptive to nutritional recommendations, but providing cooking advice could be more effective. In this domain, taking advantage of digital devices can be a bonus with its own challenges.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to develop and deploy NutCracker, a social network–based cooking app for low-income population, including cooking tips and nutritional advices, aiming at creating small online communities. We further determined the usefulness, perceptions, barriers, and motivators to use NutCracker.MethodsThe smartphone app, designed jointly with beneficiaries of the social emergency services, was implemented in a disadvantaged neighborhood of Magny, (Paris region, France). Once the app became available, 28 subjects, living in the neighborhood, tested the app for a 6-month period. Logs to the app and usages were collected by the software. In total, 12 in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted among the users and the social workers to analyze their uses and perceptions of the app relative to their interest in cooking, cooking skills, socioeconomic constraints, and social integration. These interviews were compared with 21 supplementary interviews conducted among low-income individuals in the general population.ResultsNutCracker was developed as a social network–based app, and it includes cooking tips, nutritional advice, and Web-based quizzes. We identified barriers to uses (especially technical barriers, lack of knowledge in the field of new technologies and written comprehension, and search for real contacts) and motivators (in particular, good social integration, previous use of social networks, and help of children as intermediaries). Cooking skills were both a barrier and a lever.ConclusionsTargeting the low-income groups through a cooking app to promote healthier behaviors offers many advantages but has not been fully explored. However, the barriers in low-income milieu remain high, especially among the less socially integrated strata. Lessons from this intervention allow us to identify barriers and possible levers to improve nutrition promotion and awareness in deprived areas, especially in the time of social crisis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Providing a Smart Healthy Diet for the Low-Income Population: Qualitative Study on the Usage and Perception of a Designed Cooking App

Régnier¹,

Dugré²,

Darcel³

et al. 2018

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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“…Community gardening, for example, could raise gardeners' environmental awareness and encourage the adoption of more sustainable dietary practices by fostering collective thinking about biodiversity and eco-friendly practices [28]. Additionally, by providing access to fresh food harvested from the garden, community gardens could favor food affordability by reducing food expenses [29] or changing purchasing behaviors [30]. Community-based interventions targeting gardening thus appear as a relevant tool to positively influence the three fundamental pillars of sustainability -namely social (including health outcomes), environment and economy [31] and therefore, promote more sustainable lifestyles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving lifestyles sustainability through community gardening: results and lessons learnt from the JArDinS quasi-experimental study

et al. 2020

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Background Despite an increasing number of studies highlighting the health benefits of community gardening, the literature is limited by cross-sectional designs. The “JArDinS” quasi-experimental study aimed to assess the impact of community garden participation on the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles among French adults. Methods Individuals entering a community garden in Montpellier (France) in 2018 (n = 66) were compared with pairwise matched individuals with no experience in community gardening (n = 66). Nutritional quality, environmental impact and cost of monthly household food supplies, level of physical activity measured by accelerometers, as well as mental and social well-being, sensitivity to food waste, and connection with nature were evaluated at baseline (t0) and 12 months later (t1) to explore sustainability of lifestyles in social/health, environmental and economic dimensions. Linear mixed models were used to determine the independent effect of community gardening on investigated lifestyles components. In-depth interviews were conducted at t1 with 15 gardeners to better understand changes that may have occurred in gardeners’ lives during the first year of gardening. Results At t0, gardeners had lower education level, lower BMI and their household reported lower percentage of meals consumed outside of the home compared to non-gardeners (p < 0.05). Participating in the community garden had no significant impact, in spite of sufficient statistical power, on fruit and vegetables supplies (main outcome), nor on physical activity parameters, nor on others of the social/health, environmental and economic lifestyles components investigated. Qualitative interviews suggested the existence of pre-established health and environmental consciousness in some gardeners and revealed several barriers to the participation such as lack of time, lack of gardening knowledge, physical difficulty of gardening, health problems and conflicts with other gardeners. Conclusions The health benefits of community gardening previously reported by cross-sectional studies might be confounded by selection bias. The JArDinS study highlights the need to identify solutions to overcome barriers related to community garden participation when designing relevant public health interventions for the promotion of sustainable lifestyles. Trial registration The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03694782. Date of registration: 3rd October 2018, retrospectively registered.

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“…However, little is known about the contribution of garden productions to the diet of gardeners. In a previous study that we conducted in poor neighbourhoods of Marseille (France), we found that the household food supply of gardeners contained more F&V than that of their non-gardening neighbours (369 vs. 211 g/d per person, p = 0.03) [17]. Unexpectedly, this difference was mostly due to larger purchases of F&V, and not to the garden production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Baseline sample size was estimated based on a priori power analysis considering household supply of F&V as the primary outcome. The hypothesis was derived from our knowledge of the food supply content of community gardeners vs. non-gardeners, based on data collected in a cross-sectional study previously conducted in the south of France [17]. Assuming a potential attrition rate of 30% and a correlation of 0.6 across repeated measures, a total of 160 participants is required to detect a 30% increase in F&V supply in the new gardeners group (namely one portion of F&V) for 80% power at the 5% alpha level.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does participating in community gardens promote sustainable lifestyles in urban settings? Design and protocol of the JArDinS study

et al. 2019

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Background Despite growing evidence for the multiple health benefits of community gardening, longitudinal studies based on quantitative data are needed. Here we describe the protocol of JArDinS, a quasi-experimental study, aimed at assessing the impact of community garden participation (a natural experiment) in the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles. Methods Gardeners ( n = 80) starting gardening in a community garden in Montpellier (France) will be recruited. Volunteers with no experience in community gardening and matched for age range, gender, household income and household composition will be recruited in a control group ( n = 80). The sustainability of lifestyles in its social/health, environmental and economic dimensions will be assessed from a food supply diary (recording type, quantity and price of foods acquired in a 1-month period and the carbon impact of relevant food trips), a triaxial accelerometer (measuring physical activity) and online questionnaires on mental and social health, sensitivity to food waste, and connection with nature. Change of outcomes after 1 year will be compared between the natural experiment and the control groups. Discussion This study will provide information on the impact of participation in a community garden on the different dimensions of sustainability, based on a robust quasi-experimental design allowing causality evaluation. Trial registration The JArDinS study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03694782 . Date of registration: 3rd October 2018, retrospectively registered.

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Community gardening in poor neighborhoods in France: A way to re-think food practices?

Cited by 51 publications

References 38 publications

Providing a Smart Healthy Diet for the Low-Income Population: Qualitative Study on the Usage and Perception of a Designed Cooking App

Providing a Smart Healthy Diet for the Low-Income Population: Qualitative Study on the Usage and Perception of a Designed Cooking App

Improving lifestyles sustainability through community gardening: results and lessons learnt from the JArDinS quasi-experimental study

Does participating in community gardens promote sustainable lifestyles in urban settings? Design and protocol of the JArDinS study

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