Why food?

As evidenced by Costa et al, “By successfully improving nutrition, community gardens not only contribute to reducing the risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and some cancers, but are also highly relevant to reduce inequalities in urban food systems.”
Lampert, T., Costa, J., Santos, O., Sousa, J., Ribeiro, T., & Freire, E. (2021). Evidence on the contribution of community gardens to promote physical and mental health and well-being of non-institutionalized individuals: A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 16(8), 1–19.

Further, van Lier et al states that “Students who participate in gardening are twice as likely to meet the recommendation for fruit and vegetable consumption compared to students who do not have a garden Likewise, students who participate in gardening and students who have a garden but do not participate were significantly more likely to always have fruits and vegetables available at home compared to students without a garden.”
van Lier, L. E., Utter, J., Denny, S., Lucassen, M., Dyson, B., & Clark, T. (2017). Home gardening and the health and well-being of adolescents. Health Promotion Practice, 18(1), 34–43.

Van Lier et al highlights that, “Adolescents commented that working in the garden gave them time to reflect, feel centered, and let go of school stress. Moreover, almost all of the youth indicated that their capacity to pay attention improved and that they were better able to do their schoolwork after gardening.”
van Lier, L. E., Utter, J., Denny, S., Lucassen, M., Dyson, B., & Clark, T. (2017). Home gardening and the health and well-being of adolescents. Health Promotion Practice, 18(1), 34–43.

In addition, “Research has shown that time in the garden reduces stress and builds empathy, self-reliance and reverence for all life.”
Fuchs, J. (2022). Environmental Education and Gardening with Children. Exchange (19460406), 264, 78–82.

Evidence on the contribution of community gardens to promote physical and mental health and well-being of non-institutionalized individuals: A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 16(8), 1–19.

In a study conducted by Raymond et al, 62% of home gardeners described that their garden fostered a connection to nature.
Raymond, C. M., Diduck, A. P., Buijs, A., Boerchers, M., & Moquin, R. (2019). Exploring the co-benefits (and costs) of home gardening for biodiversity conservation. Local Environment, 24(3), 258–273.

Additionally, Lampert et al found that “Community gardens are an affordable and efficient…way to bring nature back to cities and potentially contribute to the provision of ecosystem services. As green spaces, community gardens serve as a habitat for fauna and flora, being considered a potential reservoir of urban biodiversity. They also contribute to increasing the proportion of permeable soil surface, filtering and storing water from the rain, thus contributing to flood prevention.”
Lampert, T., Costa, J., Santos, O., Sousa, J., Ribeiro, T., & Freire, E. (2021).

Van Lier et al found that “…gardening (in any location) offers young people the opportunity to develop skills, spend quality time with adults (e.g., parents, teachers), and contribute something valuable to their families or local community.”
van Lier, L. E., Utter, J., Denny, S., Lucassen, M., Dyson, B., & Clark, T. (2017). Home gardening and the health and well-being of adolescents. Health Promotion Practice, 18(1), 34–43.

Furthermore, a study out of Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) found that the implementation of a garden space provided even more benefits than initially anticipated. Researchers said, “Community building was not necessarily an intention of OISE/UT’s learning garden project but became a significant outcome of the process. In fact, it may be the most long-lasting dimension of the learning garden.”
Jagger, S., Sperling, E., & Inwood, H. (2016). What’s Growing on Here? Garden-Based Pedagogy in a Concrete Jungle. Environmental Education Research, 22(2), 271–287.