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. 2023 Mar;37(3):356-365.
doi: 10.1177/08901171221131710. Epub 2022 Oct 6.

Enablers and Barriers of Community Garden Use in New Orleans, Louisiana: An Environmental Assessment and Qualitative Analysis

Julie Cornfield  1 , Harmonii Odinga  2 , Jaleh Kermani  2 , Katherine P Theall  2   3 , M Pia Chaparro  2
Affiliations

Enablers and Barriers of Community Garden Use in New Orleans, Louisiana: An Environmental Assessment and Qualitative Analysis

Julie Cornfield et al. Am J Health Promot. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: To explore factors associated with community garden use.

Approach: Environmental assessment of community gardens and semi-structured interviews.

Setting: New Orleans, Louisiana.

Participants: 10 community gardens (environmental assessment), 20 community members (including garden users and non-users) and garden administrators (qualitative interviews).

Method: Gardens were assessed based on (1) accessibility, (2) information, (3) design, (4) cleanliness, (5) walkability, (6) parking, and (7) noise. Semi-structured interviews took place over Zoom; transcribed interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: Gardens assessed in the environmental assessment ranked high in design and cleanliness but low on accessibility and information availability. Salient themes from the qualitative interviews include skill-building, access to fresh foods, and increased social engagement as enablers of community garden participation, with availability of information and time as both potential enablers of, or barriers to, participation. Community members perceived that gardens could increase fresh food access, while administrators believed that it is not possible for community gardens to produce enough food to create community-wide impact, highlighting instead the importance of the social aspects of the garden as beneficial for health.

Conclusion: Community gardens should improve garden physical accessibility and information availability to incentivize use. Community gardens are valued as means for skill-building and social engagement. Future research should prioritize investigating the association between the social aspects of participating in community gardens and health outcomes.

Keywords: community gardens; food access; new orleans; purpose; qualitative analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Results of the community garden environmental assessment for the accessibility, design, and cleanliness (trash storage and litter) criteria (n = 10).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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