Factors contributing to a school's decision to apply for the California Instructional School Garden Program

School Garden Prevalence Before and After the Implementation of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act

BACKGROUND

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 supported implementation of school gardens for promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. We examined school garden prevalence over time by school-level factors during the period before and after the implementation of HHFKA.

METHODS

Using data from the New Jersey Child Health Study, conducted in 4 low-income New Jersey cities, prevalence of school gardens among K-12 schools (n = 148) was assessed between school year 2010-2011 and 2017-2018. Multivariable analysis estimated changes in garden prevalence over time adjusting for school-level factors.

RESULTS

Overall, the sample included 97 elementary and 51 middle/high schools. Multivariable logistic regression showed that compared to 2010-2011 (19%) a higher proportion of schools reported having a garden in 2013-2014 (32%, p = 0.025). Over the entire study period, schools with majority Hispanic student enrollment had approximately half the odds of having a garden compared to schools with majority Black students (p = 0.036).

CONCLUSION

School garden prevalence increased in the year immediately following the implementation of the HHFKA but this increase was not sustained over time. Future research should investigate the reasons for this decline and potential disparities by race/ethnicity.

Evaluation of the effect of a school garden as an educational didactic tool in vegetable and fruit consumption in teenagers

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Increasing the consumption of vegetables and fruits in Mexico remains a challenge. Promoting sustainable food production systems through schools may be an effective way to educate young people about food and nutrition issues. A study of nutritional education in adolescents, based on the school garden, is necessary in order to evaluate its effects on the consumption of fruits and vegetables among middle- and upper-income segments of the population. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention, accompanied by a school garden as an educational teaching tool, to improve vegetable and fruit consumption by Mexican teenagers attending a private middle/high school.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

Teenagers between 12 and 18 years of age (n = 126) attending a private middle/high school in Queretaro, Mexico participated in a 3-arm, controlled, comparative impact study using a vegetable and fruit consumption frequency questionnaire, food consumption diaries, a psychosocial factor assessment questionnaire of vegetable and fruit consumption, and structured interviews. The participants were randomized into 3 experimental groups: 1) food education + school garden (FE + SG), 2) FE only, and 3) control group (CG).

RESULTS

The FE + SG and FE groups significantly increased the frequency and daily intake of vegetables and fruits compared to the CG. The FE + SG group showed greater understanding of, reflection upon, and analysis of the information they received about vegetable and fruit consumption, as well as a greater willingness to include these in their daily diet.

CONCLUSIONS

FE accompanied by a SG as a teaching tool is more effective at promoting vegetable and fruit consumption than either education alone or control in teenagers in middle-upper income segments of the population.

Predictors of School Garden Integration: Factors Critical to Gardening Success in New York City

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of integration of school gardens and identify factors that predict integration. 211 New York City schools completed a survey that collected demographic information and utilized the School Garden Integration Scale. A mean garden integration score was calculated, and multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine independent predictors of integration and assess relationships between individual integration characteristics and budget. The average integration score was 34.1 (of 57 points) and ranged from 8 to 53. Operating budget had significant influence on integration score, controlling for all other factors ( p < .0001). Partner organizations, evaluation/feedback, planning the physical space, and characteristics of the physical space were positively and significantly related to budget. The results of this study indicate that any garden can become well integrated, as budget is a modifiable factor. When adequate funding is secured, a well-integrated garden may be established with proper planning and sound implementation.

Facilitating Fresh: State Laws Supporting School Gardens Are Associated With Use of Garden-Grown Produce in School Nutrition Services Programs

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether state laws are associated with the presence of school gardens and the use of garden-grown produce in school nutrition services programs.

DESIGN

Nationally representative data from the School Health Policies and Practices Study 2014 were combined with objectively coded state law data regarding school gardens.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Outcomes were: (1) the presence of a school garden at each school (n = 419 schools), and (2) the use of garden-grown items in the school nutrition services program.

ANALYSIS

Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine each outcome. Contextual covariates included school level, size, locale, US Census region, student race/ethnic composition, and percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-priced meals.

RESULTS

State law was not significantly associated with whether schools had a garden, but it was associated with whether schools used garden-grown items in nutrition services programs (odds ratio, 4.21; P < .05). Adjusted prevalence of using garden-grown items in nutrition services programs was 15.4% among schools in states with a supportive law, vs 4.4% among schools in states with no law.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

State laws that support school gardens may facilitate the use of garden-grown items in school nutrition service programs. Additional research is needed regarding the types of messaging that might be most effective for motivating school administrators to appreciate the value of school gardens. In addition, another area for further research pertains to scaling garden programs for broader reach.

Development of the GREEN (Garden Resources, Education, and Environment Nexus) Tool: An Evidence-Based Model for School Garden Integration

BACKGROUND

Researchers have established the benefits of school gardens on students' academic achievement, dietary outcomes, physical activity, and psychosocial skills, yet limited research has been conducted about how school gardens become institutionalized and sustained.

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to develop a tool that captures how gardens are effectively established, integrated, and sustained in schools.

DESIGN

We conducted a sequential, exploratory, mixed-methods study. Participants were identified with the help of Grow To Learn, the organization coordinating the New York City school garden initiative, and recruited via e-mail.

PARTICIPANTS/SETTING

A stratified, purposeful sample of 21 New York City elementary and middle schools participated in this study throughout the 2013/2014 school year. The sample was stratified in their garden budgets and purposeful in that each of the schools' gardens were determined to be well integrated and sustained.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The processes and strategies used by school gardeners to establish well-integrated school gardens were assessed via data collected from surveys, interviews, observations, and concept mapping.

STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED

Descriptive statistics as well as multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to examine the survey and concept mapping data. Qualitative data analysis consisted of thematic coding, pattern matching, explanation building and cross-case synthesis.

RESULTS

Nineteen components within four domains of school garden integration were found through the mixed-methods concept mapping analysis. When the analyses of other data were combined, relationships between domains and components emerged. These data resulted in the development of the GREEN (Garden Resources, Education, and Environment Nexus) Tool.

CONCLUSIONS

When schools with integrated and sustained gardens were studied, patterns emerged about how gardeners achieve institutionalization through different combinations of critical components. These patterns are best described by the GREEN Tool, the first framework to identify how to operationalize school gardening components and describe an evidence-based strategy of successful school garden integration.

Increasing Prevalence of US Elementary School Gardens, but Disparities Reduce Opportunities for Disadvantaged Students

BACKGROUND

We examined the prevalence of school garden programs at US public elementary schools. The study examined time trends, demographic and regional disparities, and associations with related programs such as farm-to-school.

METHODS

Annual surveys were gathered from nationally representative samples of elementary schools between 2006-2007 and 2013-2014. Annual samples ranged from 553 to 748 schools.

RESULTS

The prevalence of gardens increased steadily from 11.9% in 2006-2007 to 31.2% in 2013-2014 (p < .001). In multivariate logistic regressions the prevalence of garden programs varied significantly by school characteristics. Gardens were more prevalent in the west than in other regions. Gardens were less prevalent at schools serving higher proportions of lower-income students, and were more prevalent at urban schools than in suburbs, towns, or rural areas. Gardens were more common at schools with farm-to-school programs. Gardens also were associated with offering formal classroom-based nutrition education.

CONCLUSIONS

Garden programs in elementary schools have increased over time, but there is room for wider implementation, particularly at schools serving lower-income students. Given the role of childhood in establishing food preferences and dietary consumption habits, such programs are important and can reinforce the messages imparted through nutrition education.

Sustenance and sustainability: maximizing the impact of school gardens on health outcomes

Objective

School garden programmes have become popular action-oriented learning environments in many countries, often driven by converging priorities of environmental sustainability and healthful diets. Many of these programmes have assessed the impact on dietary intake, specifically fruit and vegetable intake, and related dietary behaviours, such as knowledge, preference, motivation, intention and self-efficacy to eat and prepare fruit and vegetables. The objective of the present study was twofold: (i) to review published garden-based programmes conducted in schools targeting dietary intake and/or determinants of dietary behaviour in children; and (ii) to identify similar strategies and components employed by these garden-based programmes.

Design

The review included thirteen studies that have examined the impact of garden-based programmes conducted in school, either during school hours or in after-school settings, on dietary behaviours in children (kindergarten through 8th grade students).

Results

Three of the reviewed studies did not have a comparison or control group and simply evaluated within-group changes after a garden intervention. None of the reviewed studies were randomized, but were assigned based on school’s interest and timing of new school gardens being built. Out of the eleven programmes that examined dietary intake, six found that the programme resulted in increased vegetable intake, whereas four showed no effect. Seven of the eight studies that measured preference found that the programmes resulted in increased preference for vegetables. Gardening programmes also resulted in improved attitudes towards, willingness to taste, identification of and self-efficacy to prepare/cook fruit and vegetables. Similar strategies/components employed by the majority of the programmes included: ‘hands on’ curriculum, incorporation of a cooking component, providing the instructors, parental and stakeholder support, food provision and using the garden as the focal point for media promotion.

Conclusions

Some of the garden programmes resulted in increased vegetable intake, which has positive implications for both environment sustainability and health-related outcomes. Further, the majority resulted in some improvement in behaviour determinants more generally. However, more research is warranted to understand how to achieve long-term improvements in dietary behaviours and how to sustain the garden-based programmes in schools.