Exploring Community Garden Access in Santa Clara County

An Introduction to Food Insecurity and Community Gardens

As urban areas continue to expand, the issue of food insecurity grows along with it. There is a huge opportunity to capitalize on the expansion of urban agriculture in a number of ways, one of which is through the study, creation, and expansion of community gardens. Food insecurity, which is defined as having “limited or uncertain access to adequate food,” burdens marginalized communities across the country, especially in urban areas where there is a lack of fresh and affordable produce (Horst et al. 2017). In urbanized areas across the United States, an estimated 14% of residents are classified as food insecure (Diekmann et al, 2018). As people continue to move into urban areas across the country, the question of how to properly address food insecurity remains at the forefront of many people’s minds. Santa Clara County, which encompasses the Silicon Valley, one of the West Coast’s most densely populated areas presents an intriguing case for the use of community gardens as a means to improving food security amongst vulnerable populations.

My goal through my research and analysis is to shed light on how the Bay Area, one of the most densely populated areas on the West Coast, can address food insecurity among its residents. Specifically, my research involves the ways in which community gardens can serve as a means for growing, harvesting and sharing fresh produce and food in and around marginalized communities in the Santa Clara County. My research and spatial analysis exist to explore the following topics within Santa Clara County: 1) the current state of community garden placement and usage, 2) the effects of pollution burdens and food insecurity in marginalized communities in the area, and 3) recommendations for local government as to where to place more community gardens. My analysis revealed areas of Santa Clara County where urban agriculture could be targeted and improved through the placement of additional community gardens for neighborhood access and empowerment.

Food Insecurity

Food insecurity continues to increase across the state of California with one in seven children considered to be food insecure (“Hunger in California”). The pandemic has also contributed to an increasing number of food insecure families as prices of food rise amongst widespread job losses and financial struggle across the Bay (Gabbert, 2020). There are a number of ways in which the government and local organizations address food insecuirty, such as Supplemanetal Nutrtion Assistance Program (SNAP) and food banks. Additional solutions are sought out to employ empowerment measures to help food insecure families build up their own mobility and access to the food they need.

Community Gardens

One way in which cities address food insecurity is through the placement of publicly accessible community community gardens. Urban agriculture, a developing field in the last decade, serves as a method to address the growing agricultural needs of urban populations (Diekmann et al, 2018). Residents are able to plant, grow, and harvest a variety of fresh produce as well as access green space which can be hard to come by. Given the Bay Area’s fertile soil, which makes for successful agricultural yields, and the wide disparity between the wealthy and low-income communities, this region serves as an interesting case study (Reese 2021).

The placement of community gardens serves as a gateway to food security, the state in which people have access materially and financially to nutritious foods that meet their dietary requirements (Centre for Studies in Food Security, 2016). Community gardens help target the five A’s of food security as identified by Ryerson University’s Center for Food Security: Availability, Accessibility, Adequacy, Acceptability, and Agency. The utilization of community gardening allows residents to learn and employ a holistic approach to eliminating food insecurity.

Santa Clara County Community Gardens

Santa Clara County presents local policymakers and community leaders with an interesting case for advocating for increasing access to community gardens. We can see through the success of current community gardens that residents not only increase their accessibility to fresh produce, but also gain invaluable skills that allow them to provide for themselves without relying on our flawed food system. Participation from local government plays an important role in informing and encouraging residents to utilize the existing garden space available as well as push for more in the future. The City of San Jose includes information on the government website about how to access personal garden plots in the community gardens in the city (“Community Gardening”). Similarly, the City of Santa Clara features information regarding the existing community gardens within the city as well as the planned operationaliztion of additional garden location in the coming year “Community Garden”)].

For the purposes of this analysis, I focus on community gardens, though I find it important to note that home gardens, which some organizations such as La Mesa Verde provide, are also important in addressing food insecurity among residents in Santa Clara County. Figure1 includes a map detailing the locations and addresses of community gardens in Santa Clara County. These are the established urban gardens in Santa Clara County and may not account for all urban gardens, including backyard gardens, in the county.

Figure 1. Community Gardens in Santa Clara County

The majority of community gardens are located throughout the city of San Jose, with a few in Santa Clara and surrounding cities. As we start to think about community gardens, their benefits, and opportunities, it’s important to consider who has access to them and why.

Equitable Access to Community Gardens

Given the ability of community gardens to make an immediate impact o the food security of residents in communities across Santa Clara County, it is important to examine the disproportionate environmental and social burdens some communities face compared to others. In order to evaluate the placement of community gardens in the areas of San Jose that need them the most, I used several existing measures of environmental and social burdens. The Bay Area’s unique demographic range contributes to a plethora of research from different policy and environmentally-focused entities on equity and access to resources.

Figure 2. Environmental Pollution Burden in Santa Clara County

Figure 2 displays the CalEnviroScreen 4.0 Cumulative Impact (CI) Score by percentage in Santa Clara County at the census tract level.The areas with the highest pollution burden are noted in the darker shades of oragne. Figure 2 also includes Santa Clara County community gardens.

Figure 3. Communities of Importance

Figure 3 combines the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Equity Priority Community data, which identifies communities of importance based on equity criteria, with the current spread of community gardens in Santa Clara County. The MTC’s criteria include thresholds for zero vehicle households, low-income households, people of color, and more. Since the neighborhoods identified in the figure are already flagged as “priority,” especially the neighborhoods in the South Bay, they should be considered when additional community gardens are added to the county.

Recommendations

The success and future wellbeing of marginalized communities in the Bay Area remains on the minds of many as we continue to see increasing costs of living across the region. Gas and rent prices are the metrics most typically shared, but it is equally as important to consider rising costs of food across the board. Between December 2020 and December 2021, the price food consumed, both in the home and at restaurants, rose 5.4% (Avalos, 2022). By utilizing greenspace and placing additional community gardens in high density areas, people spend less time, gas, and money to buy groceries at high prices. By bringing fresh produce to neighborhood streets, Santa Clara County has the opportunity to provide residents with accessible, healthy foods that meet their immediate needs.

The placement of community gardens is in part a responsibility for local government. Given the increased attention urban agriculture has received in recent years, there are options available to increase the number of community gardens in the county over the next few years.

Reccomendations for community garden placement

- Engage with community members to determine interest and specific needs
- Organize the placement of more home gardens across Santa Clara County
- Include requirements for community garden placement in local policy

Community Engagement

In order to form successful community partnerships, it is important for Santa Clara County representatives interested in placing more community gardens throughout the region to meet consistently with community members to gauge their interest and specific needs. Given the wide range of cultural backgrounds in the county, understanding traditions and practicing cultural competency will help build strong, sustainable community relationships which will in turn help community gardens flourish. One study about the success of community gardens established by Southeast Asian refugees found that while community gardening provided a gateway to economic empowerment, the conditions in the United States were much different than the traditional agricultural practices the refugees were accustomed to (Tsu, 2021).

Home Gardens

To build off the momentum of community gardens in Santa Clara County, partnering with local organizations such as La Mesa Verde to put more resources toward the placement of home gardens across the region would improve food access as well. Research shows that home gardens have the ability to improve health and independence for residents as well as provide consistent access to fresh produce (Gray et al., 2014).

Policy Development

A number of cities across the country have developed policies and action plans to promote urban agriculture. Santa Clara County has the ability to adopt action plans similar to the City of Seattle’s Food Action Plan, which encourages people to grow their own food and source locally (Dvorkin, 2017). Not only does locally-sourced food improve the quality of the produce, but it also cuts down on the negative environmental effects of transporting food unnecessarily. Santa Clara County can address city building codes that may make it harder for urban gardens to be placed in a given neighbirhood. Seattle’s Ordinance No. 123378 amends the city’s “development regulations to support urban agriculture” (Dvorkin, 2017). Cities across Santa Clara County can adopt similar ordinances to improve the ease of community garden placement.

Concluding Thoughts

Santa Clara County’s demographic and environmental diversity is a promising opportunity to explore the benefits of community gardens. By combining environmental improvement and equity work, policymakers and service organizations have the ability to successfully address the complicated issue of food insecurity in the Bay Area. As more attention is given to providing food insecure families with culturally relevant foods, community gardens may provide an answer to more than one problem. Urban agriculture stems from the idea that urban areas still provide ample opportunities to farm – just in a new way. Innovation, something that makes the Bay Area thrive, has a place in agriculture just as much as technology.

Link to R Script

My R Script can be found here.

References

Algert, S. J., Baameur, A., & Renvall, M. J. (2014). Vegetable output and cost savings of community gardens in San Jose, California. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 114(7), 1072-1076.

Avalos, G. (2022, January 12). Bay area prices rocket higher, inflation grips region: New report. The Mercury News. https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/12/bay-area-price-rocket-higher-inflation-economy-gas-electric-food-meat/.

Centre for Studies in Food Security (2016) The Five A’s of Food Security [online]. Available at: https://www.ryerson.ca/foodsecurity.

Community Garden. City of Santa Clara. (n.d.). https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/departments-g-z/parks-recreation/community-garden.

Community Gardening. City of San Jose. (n.d.). https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments/parks-recreation-neighborhood-services/reservations-permits/community-garden-plots.

Gabbert, L. (2020, December 24). Covid-19 has led to widespread food insecurity in Silicon Valley. Thousands of volunteers are helping fight it. San José Spotlight. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://sanjosespotlight.com/covid-19-has-led-to-widespread-food-insecurity-in-silicon-valley-thousands-of-volunteers-are-helping-fight-it/.

Hunger in California. Feeding America. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/california.

Horst, M., McClintock, N., & Hoey, L. (2017). The intersection of planning, urban agriculture, and food justice: A review of the literature. Journal of the American Planning Association, 83(3), 277-295.

Dvorkin, J. (2017, March 30). Growing Cities: How Local Governments Can Promote Urban Farming and Community Gardens. MRSC. https://mrsc.org/Home/Stay-Informed/MRSC-Insight/March-2017/How-Local-Governments-Can-Promote-Urban-Farms.aspx.

La Mesa Verde. (n.d.). https://lamesaverdeshcs.org/.

Reese, M. (2021, July 28). San Jose’s community gardens fight food insecurity, build connections. San Jose Inside. https://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/san-joses-community-gardens-fight-food-insecurity-build-connections/.

Tsu, C. M. (2021). Refugee Community Gardens and the Politics of Self-Help. Amerasia Journal, 47(1), 96-111.