The effect of community gardening on social integration of refugees : A process evaluation of Global Growers Network, Atlanta, Georgia Public

Abstract

Background: Metropolitan Atlanta, specifically Clarkston and the nearby areas in DeKalb County, is en epicenter for refugee resettlement. It is called the most diverse square mile of the U.S. due to its high refugee and immigrant population. The city has a poverty rate of 29% and is weighed between two food deserts, contributing to difficult access to affordable, nutritious, culturally relevant foods. Global Growers Network (GGN) was created to help refugees with a passion of farming find lands and grow food for consumption and for the market. Global Growers Network includes community gardens, community supported agriculture, and training farmers programs.

Methods: The purpose of this Master's thesis was to use process evaluation methodology to describe the implementation of three programs within Global Growers and point out challenges and success that arose as the programs were implemented. Each program was evaluated for the population reached, recruitment methods used, proportion of program delivered and received (dose) and the extent to which each program was implemented as planned (fidelity). Overall challenges and barriers to implementation are also detailed. A variety of data sources were used to gather this information, including community surveys, program records and meeting notes.

Results: All three programs lacked consistent data recording and didn't have measurable goals when starting. Community gardens lacked information on participant characteristics and quantifiable information on the dose received by members of the CSA was not gathered. Finally, the training farmers met challenges such as recruitment procedures and refugee population. Despite these barriers, all programs are working and contribute to the overall of Global Growers to help refugees.

Conclusion: Individual recommendations were made to improve each of the programs, in addition to overall recommendations to quantitatively establish need and baseline information, establish consistent record keeping systems and put in place systems to begin measure the impact of programs. This evaluation serves as a guide to executing community food security programs and highlights problems that can arise during the process of implementation.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION & RATIONALE............................................................. 3

1.1 Problem Statement............................................................................................... 8

1.2 Purpose statement................................................................................................ 10

1.2.1 Objectives...................................................................................................10

1.2.2 Significance...............................................................................................11

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................... 12

2.1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 12

2.1.1 Origins of community gardening..........................................................................12

2.1.2 Benefits of community gardening.............................................................................14

2.1.3 Community gardening as one of the solution to food insecurity......................................... 18

2.2 Program Description............................................................................................. 18

CHAPTER 3: METHODS................................................................................................ 21

3.1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 21

3.2 Population and sample......................................................................................... 22

3.3 Research design....................................................................................................... 25

3.4 Procedures............................................................................................................... 27

3.5 Instruments.............................................................................................................. 30

3.6 Farmers training program...................................................................................... 30

3.7 Community gardens................................................................................................ 31

3.8 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)............................................................. 32

3.9 Plans for data analysis............................................................................................. 32

3.10 Limitations and delimitations................................................................................. 33

3.11 Delimitations.......................................................................................................... 34

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS............................................................................................... 35

4.1 Introduction............................................................................................................. 35

4.2 Implementation process of Global Growers Network.............................................. 36

4.3 Major activities and accomplishments..................................................................... 38

4.3.1 Growing the Network.......................................................................................38

4.3.2 Creating economic opportunities............................................................... 47

4.3.3 Challenges........................................................................................ 48

4.3.2 Dissemination activities.............................................................................. 50

4.4 Program Description............................................................................................... 51

4.4.1 Community gardens.................................................................................................51

4.4.2 Community Supported Agriculture..................................................................60

4.4.3 Farmers' Training Program.....................................................................................63

4.5 Qualitative............................................................................................................ 67

4.6 Summary.............................................................................................................. 70

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, CONCLUION & RECOMMENDATIONS............... ........72

5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................. 72

5.2 Community Gardens............................................................................................... 72

5.2.1 Community Garden Recommendations.......................................................................74

5.3 Community Supported Agriculture......................................................................... 75

5.3.1 CSA Recommendations...........................................................................................78

5.4 Farmers' Training Program................................................................................... 79

5.4.1 Farmers' training Recommendations............................................................................79

5.5 Conclusion............................................................................................................... 80

5.6 Strengths and Limitations........................................................................................ 82

5.7 Broader implication................................................................................................. 84

References................................................................................................... 88

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Hubert Department of Global Health
Degree	MPH
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Environmental Sciences
Mot-clé	Social integration Farm Nutrition Community gardens Umurima Farmers training Process evaluation Food security Community CSA
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	McFarland, Deborah A, Emory University
Partnering Agencies	Community-based non-profit organization (e.g., AID Atlanta)

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