Progress 08/01/09 to 07/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences that have been served by this project are families and youth in three North Carolina counties - Bertie, Durham and Scotland. Two of the counties are Tier 1 counties meaning they have been listed by the NC Department of Commerce as two of the most economically distressed counties in North Carolina. Specifically the project has served 1) low-income families with children, many of whom are in a racial minority – mostly African Americans 2) high-school aged youth involved in the juvenile justice system 3) K-6 school children at schools where the large majority received free or reduced price lunches and 4) seniors. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? - Educational opportunities were provided seasonally at each community garden site to teach gardeners and communities members about topics of importance to grow and maintain a successful food garden - Project staff at the state and county levels attended the CYFAR conference/professional development eventsin 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. - Fpur project staff from the state and county levels attending theAmerican Community Garden Assocation'sannual conference in 2011 to learn best practices for community gardens - All three site coordinators, Extension Agents and a member from the community gardens attended a project meeting in September 2012. They participated in a tour at a community farm, a garden tour at one of the project sites and learned about writing SMART goals. - Youth groups and site coordinators were invited to and attended a special educational Youth in Ag event during N.C. A&T State University Small Farms Week in March 2013. - The project coordinator, a site coordinator and 2 garden participants attended the Eastern Come to the Table conference to learn about others efforts in the area of faith and food initiatives. - The project coordinator, a site coordinator and an Agent attended a Shitake Mushroom workhop at N.C. A&T and afterwards incorporated programming into local schools and gardens. - The project coordinator attended the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association conference, the Resourceful Communities Conservation Fun leadership training and board development workshop, and a Navigating the GAP Audit workshop. - In October 2012, 50 community garden organizers and leaders from 31 counties across North Carolina came together for a 2-day workshop to learn about and engage in the Growing Communities: Community Building & Organizing through Community Gardening curriculum developed by the American Community Gardening Association. Staff from this CYFAR project provided key leadership in planning and organizing the event and site coordinators from all three CYFAR sites participated. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? - The project PI, project coordinator and one site coordinator attend the 2013 CYFAR Professional Development Event: Making a Positive Impact for People and Communities in the 21st Century and presented information from our project at a networking table - The N.C. A&T State University Agriculture Communications department annual publication for Cooperative Extension entitled Solutions, highlights one of our garden sites as a success story. This publication is distributed statewide and is sent to other land-grant Universities as well. The project coordinator has made a concerted effort to distribute the publication at any and all work-related events, workshops, etc. - Information about the community garden program was disseminated at multiple events including: Rural Advancement Foundation International’s Come to the Table regional conferences, the 2013 NC Master Gardener Volunteer Conference, the 2013 North Carolina Community Garden Partners annual conference, and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Conferences - The Growing Change youth group from Scotland were invited to the 2013 NC A&T Grassroots Leadership Conference to talk about their transformational experience working at the community garden - A 2-page color handout was specifically created to highlight the project's accomplishments and the economic, nutritional and community benefits noted by participants - A project blog highlights important events and activities, shares educational information and provides a link to project photos, social media sites and videos. http://nccommunitygardens.blogspot.com/ - A feature article about community gardens was featured in Recreation Management magazine with photos of the Durham garden - There was local news coverage of the community garden kickoff events in the three counties What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? According to the USDA Economic Research Service’s report on the Food Security Status of U.S. Households in 2012, 17 percent of North Carolina’s households are food insecure, meaning NC has one of the top 10 highest rates of food insecurity in the nation. Yet, NC was also named 10th in adult obesity rates and 11th in childhood obesity rates in the country according to a 2010 report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. These facts about food insecurity and obesity in NC indicate that many households are unable to provide enough affordable, healthy foods to meet the needs of family members and that they are not eating a balanced healthy diet with foods like fruits and vegetables. A multidisciplinary team from The Cooperative Extension Program at N.C. A&T realized that by helping families learn to grow fruits and vegetables in a community garden, a number of issues could be addressed including hunger, obesity, high costs of food, community cohesion, and youth development. Cooperative Extension state and county staff worked to create an interdisciplinary community garden program in three counties targeting at-risk families and youth. The goals of the program were for more families to produce food to supplement their food budgets and for families to increase their knowledge of nutrition and provide more nutritious, diverse meals at home. Over the past 5 years activities have included: assessing the community’s interest in a community garden; identifying community partners, land and resources; organizing meetings and workdays with gardeners and volunteers; providing gardening and nutrition resources on a monthly basis to participants via meetings, one-on-one contact in the garden and computer technology; offering educational workshops and classes related to growing and preparing food; working with gardeners to encourage leadership and ownership of the gardens; and providing youth with meaningful hands-on experiences in the gardens. Evidence for the CYFAR community garden project was collected in a number of ways. Surveys were given to community gardeners (one per family) in the fall of 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and interviews (phone, in-person) were conducted with several gardeners to obtain more detailed information. Information collected by CYFAR garden coordinators and Extension agents included numbers and contact information for families and youth participating in the community garden, volunteer hours, estimates of pounds of produce harvested, money and resources donated to the project, and the names of partners and collaboration organizations. Partnership mapping and video interviews with gardeners were also conducted at various times throughout the project to gather additional qualitative data. The project has reached more than 100 adults and 430 youth involved with community and school gardens. Community gardeners grow more than 50 different types of fruits and vegetables each year in spring, summer and fall gardens. They harvest an estimated 9,000 pounds of produce each year valued at $18,000 (average $2/pound).Grants as well as in-kind donations and volunteers from the local communities have provided tremendous support for the projects -- valued at more than $500,000. One of the most impressive parts of this effort is the number of partners and collaborators ranging from churches and community colleges to city governments and private businesses (over 95 total) the community gardens have brought together to make this project a success in their communities. As a result of the gardens, at least 89 percent of gardeners said they spent less money on food and 87 percent said they were better able to provide food for their families. One gardener said “The garden really helps us save money and eat healthier especially on a tight budget!” and another claimed that it was “definitely cheaper than buying in grocery store”. Yet another gardener stated “We estimate that we have harvested well over $500 worth of produce from the garden. Of course we spent some money too, but the savings had to be well over $300” and “I have saved a lot. I love to eat organic food but it gets expensive at Whole Foods and Kroger’s”. Health benefits of the program were evident as well. At least 94 percent of families said that as a result of the garden members of their household were eating more fruits and vegetables, 97 percent were eating fresher foods, and 90 percent said they were eating new kinds of foods. “Starting this spring, we have eaten far more vegetables than we have in the past. We love them and did not want to waste them, so we ate a lot.” Another gardener said “I find that I eat what I plant. I love having this garden. I’m looking online for recipes for veggies I didn’t use to eat (kale).”One claimed that “The vegetables always taste better because you grew them”, which is a common phrase heard among community gardeners. Also, at least 89 percent of families said they were more physically active because of their involvement with the garden. Gardeners also have noticed the benefits of working together as a group. Consistently over the years, one hundred percent of families said they felt more involved in their community. "Being a part of the garden has made us feel more connected with the community." One said their favorite part of being involved with the garden was “Meeting new people and sharing produce with others” and another said “While we really enjoyed eating vegetables, for me it has been the opportunity to volunteer at the garden.” At least 94 percent gained new gardening skills (through educational programs, the garden coordinator, and importantly, from each other!) and at least 69 percent shared the food they harvested with family or other members of the community. -- Many Scotland County limited resource families have little access to fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables. As a creative solution, Scotland County Cooperative Extension and N.C. A&T State University partnered with Scots for Youth to afford a small racially diverse group of young men ages 14-16 involved in the juvenile justice system an opportunity to participate in a program that combines cognitive behavioral treatment, service learning and ag-entrepreneurial development in a youth empowered model. A pilot project was developed in which the youth grew fruits and vegetables during their summer break at three local sites including the high school greenhouse, a church-sponsored community garden and the CYFAR-sponsored Wagram Community Garden. The youth met twice a week during the summer to harvest the produce and prepare food bags for delivery to nine needy families and two local charities while also working towards their clinical goals. This service learning opportunity provided participating youth with: practical experience in growing food, increased understanding of civic responsibility and engagement, and a sense of pride and accomplishment. The group met their goal to grow, harvest and distribute their body weight in food during the summer of 2012. The pilot also helped to launch a successful youth entrepreneur who has received outside investors in his vermiculture program. Other youth participants are developing businesses in cut flower production, bee keeping and compost bin construction. These youth now help to lead the initiative called GrowingChange.org whose mission includes reclaiming an abandoned prison site by converting it into an educational/vocational center and sustainable farm for veterans and young people at risk of falling into the criminal justice system. Five of these young men successfully presented their story during a panel session at the N.C. A&T Grassroots Leadership Conference focusing on entrepreneurship in March 2013.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2012 Citation: Growing Food and Community in North Carolina Community Gardens. Lisa Poser 1, Keith Baldwin 1, Montreka Dansby 1,2, Michelle Eley 1, Sharon English 3, Santos Flores 4, Travella Free 1, James Peele 1, Melissa Tomas 1, Michelle Wallace 4 & Meeshay Williams-Wheeler 5 1 The Cooperative Extension Program North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC 2 Currently at Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 3 Scotland County NC Cooperative Extension, Laurinburg, NC 4 Durham County NC Cooperative Extension, Durham, NC 5 N.C. A&T State University Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Greensboro, NC Presented at the 2012 Association for Extension Administrators Conference in Memphis, TN. Won first place in the Community Resources and Development poster session.
• Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2009 Citation: Baldwin, K. and Bradley, L. How to Organize a Community Garden. North Carolina Cooperative Extension publication, revised 2013. http://cals.ncsu.edu/hort_sci/extension/documents/ag-727.pdf

Progress 08/01/12 to 07/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences that have been served by this project are families and youth in three North Carolina counties - Bertie, Durham and Scotland. Two of the counties are Tier 1 counties meaning they have been listed by the NC Department of Commerce as two of the most economically distressed counties in North Carolina. Specifically the project has served 1) low-income families with children, many of whom are in a racial minority – mostly African Americans 2) high-school aged youth involved in the juvenile justice system 3) K-6 school children at schools where the large majority received free or reduced price lunches and 4) seniors. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? - The project PI, project coordinator and one site coordinator attend the 2013 CYFAR Professional Development Event: Making a Positive Impact for People and Communities in the 21st Century. - In October 2012, 50 community garden organizers and leaders from 31 counties across North Carolina came together for a 2-day workshop to learn about and engage in the Growing Communities: Community Building & Organizing through Community Gardeningcurriculum developed by the American Community Gardening Association. Staff from this CYFAR project provided key leadership in planning and organizing the event and site coordinators from all three CYFAR sites participated. - All three site coordinators, Extension Agents and a member from the community gardensattended a project meeting in September 2012. They participated in a tour at a community farm, a garden tour at one of the project sites and learned about writing SMART goals. - Youth groups and site coordinators were invited to and attended a special educational Youth in Ag event during N.C. A&T State University Small Farms Week in March 2013. - The project coordinator, a site coordinator and 2 garden participants attended the Eastern Come to the Table conference to learn about others efforts in the area offaith and food initiatives. - The project coordinator, a site coordinator and an Agent attended a Shitake Mushroom workhop at N.C. A&T and afterwards incorporated programming into local schools and gardens. - The project coordinator attended the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association conference, the Resourceful Communities Conservation Fun leadership training and board development workshop, and aNavigating the GAP Audit workshop. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? - The N.C. A&T State University Agriculture Communications department annual publication for Cooperative Extension entitled Solutions, highlights one of our project sites as a success story. This publication is distributed statewide and is sent to other land-grant Universities as well. The project coordinator has made a concerted effort to distribute the publication at any and all work-related events, workshops, etc. - A 2-page color handout was specifically created to highlight the project's accomplishments and theeconomic,nutritional and communitybenefitsnoted by participants. - A project blog highlights important events and activities, shares educational information and provides a link to project photos, social media sites and videos. http://nccommunitygardens.blogspot.com/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Families growing their own healthful fresh food have the power to cut grocery bills, improve families’ nutrition, and help connect communities. Achieving these goals is at the heart of the CYFAR Community Gardening Project conducted by The Cooperative Extension Program at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Over the last five years a hub community garden has been built at three sites (Bertie, Durham and Scotland counties) where families are now growing fruits, vegetables and herbs for themselves and to donate to the local community. To date, the project has reached more than 100 adults and 200 youth involved with community and school gardens. Community gardenershave grownover 54 different types of fruits and vegetables and harvested an estimated 9,200 pounds of produce valued at approximately $18,418. According to surveys completed by 34 participating families,the large majority have spent less money on food and were better able to provide food for themselves indicating ecnomic benefits to families that participatein community gardens.Stronger and increased number ofparternships within a community as well associal benefits to gardenersare often cited as additional benefits. Across the three county sites, over 80 community partners ranging from churches and community colleges to city governments and private businesses have contributed to and/or benefited from the community garden project. Approximately $53,000 in total (notincluding the CYFAR grant)has been provided through grants or in-kind donations to support the projects. Community gardeners stated often that their favorite part of the garden is meeting new people and sharing food with others. All families surveyed said they felt more involved in their community and had gained new gardening skills.Ninety-six percent said they were teaching other people to garden. -- North Carolina has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the United States, yet is also named thetenth most obese state. These facts indicate that many people don’t have access to enough healthy, safe and/or affordable food on a consistent basis. Community gardens, places where people work together to grow their own food, have been shown to break down barriersto peopleeating healthy food that include access, cost and acceptance. Cooperative Extension faculty cooperates with local Extension Agents, gardensite coordinators and community members to develop community gardens in order to address issues of food security and unhealthy diet in at-risk communities. These garden sites provide safe, supportive, low-cost places for families to learn how to grow their own food. Educational opportunities are provided monthly to teach participants about soil, composting, insect and pest management, food-system issues, leadership development, nutritionand other relevant issues. A Vegetable/Fruit of the Month handout is provided to give participants information on food preparation, storage, nutrition and new recipes for a seasonal produce item. Community events such as picnics and potlucks are held to encourage sharing of food and increase interactions and a feeling of community among participants. According to surveys completed by 34 participating families,over ninety-three percent ofparticipantsare eating more fruits and vegetables, are eating fresher, less packaged foods, are eating new kinds of foods, and learned new and healthier ways to prepare garden produce.Ninety percentalso said they were more physically active as a result of the garden. Gardeners consistently comment on how much they love the fresh produce, saying things like "Starting this spring, we have eaten far more vegetables than we have in the past. We love them and did not want to waste them, so we ate a lot" and "The vegetables always taste better because you grew them!" -- Many Scotland County limited resource families have little access to fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables. As a creative solution, Scotland County Cooperative Extension and N.C. A&T State Universitypartnered with Scots for Youth to afford a small racially diverse group of young menages 14-16 involved in the juvenile justice system an opportunity to participate in a program that combines cognitive behavioral treatment, service learning and ag-entrepreneurial development in a youth-empowered model. A pilot project was developed in which the youthgrewfruits and vegetables during their summer break at three local sites including the high school greenhouse, achurch-sponsored community garden and the CYFAR-sponsored Wagram Community Garden. The youth met twice a week during the summer to harvest the produce and preparefood bags for deliveryto nine needy families and two local charitieswhile also working towards their clinical goals. This service learning opportunity provided participating youth with: practical experience in growing food, increased understanding of civic responsibility and engagement, and a sense of pride and accomplishment. The group met their goal to grow, harvest and distribute their body weight in food during the summer of 2012. The pilot also helped to launch a successful youth entrepreneur who has received outside investors in his vermiculture program. Other youth participantsare developing businesses in cut flower production, bee keeping and compost bin construction. These youth now help to lead the initiative called GrowingChange.org whose mission includes reclaiming an abandoned prison site by converting it into an educational/vocational center and sustainable farm for veterans and young people at risk of falling into the criminal justice system. Five of these young men successfullypresented their story during a panel session at the N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension Grassroots Leadership Conferencefocusing on entreprenurship in March 2013. -- Community gardens have been shown tooffer a host of economic, social andenvironmentalbenefits to gardeners and the wider community. In order for the garden to be successful andsustainable over time, the community mustbe involved fromits inception andtakeownership of the project.In October 2012, the CYFAR project coordinator provided key leadership in bringing together 50 community garden organizers and leaders from 31 counties across North Carolina for a 2-day workshop to learn about and engage in the Growing Communities: Community Building & Organizing through Community Gardening curriculum developed by the American Community Gardening Association. Approximately $6,700 was raised to support the event and financial need based scholarships were awarded to 10 participants. The interactive workshop provided participants with tools for creating sustainable, community-supported gardens and included information on community organizing, leadership, fundraising, meeting facilitation,communication and decision making. Eighty-seven percent of participants found the information presented to be "very useful" and the networking and relationship building was said to be the most useful part of the workshop. In a 6 month follow-up survey 75 percent of respondents said they started or helped a community garden project get started and 65 percent were approaching their work with community gardens differently as a result of the workshop. One participant stated “I have taken to heart the admonition to 'never do for someone what they can do for themselves'. I have also required gardeners to meet specific criteria to demonstrate their commitment to community, not just gardening" and another one stated "[We] made major changes in our approach to developing new gardens. [You] must have a core group of motivated people [and] let the gardening team drive the process with guidance from us.” Four participants have used the information they learned in workshops or presentations they have given and eight participants are interested in helping to organize a similar workshop in their region of NC.

Publications

Progress 08/01/11 to 07/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Project activities include: Garden Coordinators continue to work towards the project goal of helping more families garden and produce food for themselves. In addition to recruiting families to the garden or helping to start new gardens, educational activities and technical assistance are provided to the gardeners so that they are successful in growing fruits and vegetables. This includes one-on-one time in the garden between the Coordinator and gardeners. During the start of the gardening seasons, transplants are provided to participants to give them a head start on growing vegetables. Gardeners are provided with a monthly Vegetable/Fruit of the Month document that includes nutritional information and recipes for a vegetable or fruit that is in season. Coordinators also provide additional information at garden meetings, work with County Agents to offer nutrition/health classes to participants or organize simple cooking demonstrations. To address long-term sustainability of the gardens, leaders within the group are identified and given the skills they need to manage the garden on their own. In Durham County the advisory board continues to meet to provide guidance to the development of the larger site that the garden sits on and the gardeners meet monthly to discuss management issues, talk about problems and share food from their garden plots. In addition to the community garden site where families garden, Scotland County provides assistance to several youth gardens along with educational activities. In Bertie County several meetings were held at a church over the last year to garner support for a community garden and a group now meets monthly to discuss management of the site. All three sites are collecting information on harvest yields from the garden. This information will be translated into an economic value for production in the garden. Phone/paper surveys were conducted in fall 2011 to determine if gardeners were successful growing food and if they did indeed eat more nutritious food and a better diversity. Events include potlucks to celebrate the garden harvest and season kickoff events. In May there will be a widely publicized three-hour composting workshop offered at the Durham garden. Products that have been produced include: an integrated community gardening curriculum; a project blog (http://nccommunitygardens.blogspot.com) Facebook page and YouTube video channel (36 videos uploaded to date with 30,000+ video views). Dissemination has occurred through: recruitment in the community sites, monthly meetings with gardeners that are held near the garden site; educational events at the garden; meetings and collaborations with numerous local partners such as schools; the project blog and social media sites; presentations and tours for Cooperative Extension staff and supporters; a feature story of a Scotland County gardener in Solutions (a publication of the Ag Communications department at NC A&T State University), a feature article in Recreation Management magazine with photos of the Durham garden, and local coverage of the Bertie church community garden kickoff event. PARTICIPANTS: There are four staff hired through this project, three part-time Community Garden Coordinators and one Project Coordinator. The co-Principal Investigators (one whom is also the Project Coordinator) hire and supervise project staff, ensure that project goals and objectives are being met, provide technical support and educational programming at garden sites, are responsible for project evaluation, developing partnerships in communities, managing the budget and writing project reports. The three Community Garden Coordinators recruit gardeners for the site, provide leadership for site development, organize meetings and educational programming at the garden sites, develop and/or lead a youth agricultural entrepreneurship program and work with project partners to start additional garden projects. In addition to the county and state-level Cooperative Extension staff providing support to the sites, there are numerous partner organizations that provide additional participants for garden programs, general support for needs at the garden as well as volunteers, in-kind donations and funding. In Scotland County there are at least 22 notable partners including several elementary and high schools and a youth group working under supervision of The Juvenile Justice Department on an agri-entrepreneurship project that calls themselves Growing Change. Durham County has at least 33 partners on the project including several local gardening clubs that provide funding, a Blue Cross Blue Shield and Department of Parks and Recreation grant program called Nourishing NC and a local company that continues to make compost donations. One notable partner is Durham Technical Community College that came to our project staff this year with a proposal to increase their efforts at the garden by providing volunteers and grant writing assistance. In Bertie the newest partner is Piney Woods Chapel Missionary Baptist Church where there is a new community garden site that will also serve as the site for a summer Math in the Garden youth camp. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences served by this project are similar at all sites and are low-income families with children, many of whom are in a racial minority - mostly African Americans. Seniors have also been granted garden plots in some cases for important intergenerational connections and knowledge transfer of gardening and agricultural practices to occur. All three community gardens are located in economically disadvantaged counties and our project efforts are continuing to expand outside of the garden site into the wider county. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
In 2011 there were fifty-three families gardening at three community gardens. Thirty-three of these families completed surveys or interviews about their experience participating in the community garden. Impact data shows that 97% (32) of those questioned have been successful in growing food for their families and 72% (24) state that they are eating more vegetables and/or are eating healthier. A large majority of participants think they have saved money by not having to buy as much or any produce at the store or market. About 27% of the gardeners surveyed mentioned they are preserving the food they grow in their garden and that will further reduce the amount of money they will spend on produce later in the year. Additionally, 48% of gardeners surveyed said they are sharing their food with other gardeners, friends, family members and/or church members so benefits realized by this project are larger and more widespread than documented here. The large majority of participants surveyed indicated that they are taking the food grown in the garden home to eat and most mention that they are eating more vegetables and/or are eating healthier. These families stated that are eating more vegetables for a variety of reasons including because there are more vegetables available, they are free, they are fresher and so they taste better, they have given people more satisfaction because people grew the vegetables themselves, and because gardeners are enthusiastic about learning new things and trying new vegetables they weren't familiar with before. Three commonly stated barriers to eating healthy food are access, cost and acceptance. By growing their own food in a community garden, these families have decreased all of these barriers and therefore have a better chance of eating more well-balanced, nutritious meals. This change in diet, along with increased physical activity from the act of gardening, leads to immediate benefits such as participants feeling better both mentally and physically. The overall project has received a great deal of interest and support from communities and in at least two of the sites is already expanding to other garden sites in the county. Evidence of sustainability for the project includes: the large majority of gardeners participating for more than one garden season, the fact that several gardeners have taken on additional responsibilities at the gardens, the amount of money and resources donated to the garden project, the infrastructure that has developed at the gardens and at least 1 garden site has very secure land for the long term.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 08/01/10 to 07/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities that have contributed to the goals and objectives of this project include: At Briggs Avenue Community Garden the advisory board meets monthly to further the development of the community garden infrastructure and educational programs; the community gardeners also meet monthly as a group to learn about gardening and discuss logistics. Durham Technical Community College employees volunteer on a bi-monthly basis at the garden site to assist with site maintenance. The Wagram Community Garden had a number of activities including a potluck dinner to bring the gardeners together. Classes in composting and insect ID were also offered to the gardeners. Several group planting days were held to give the gardeners access to new plants and seeds as well as to assist them with planting. In the Lewiston Community Garden transplants are donated to the gardeners at the beginning of each season and the garden coordinator assists gardeners on a 1-on-1 basis. All three sites are collecting data on harvest yields. Phone surveys were conducted of several gardeners in fall 2010 to determine: their satisfaction with the garden, what they grew in their plots, and if they learned any nutrition information. Events have included: This Spring (2011) there were kickoff events at each garden site whereby gardeners were invited to participate in a group planting day. At the Briggs Avenue Garden a larger event was planned that included a ribbon cutting with VIPs from Cooperative Extension and Durham County Government, 10 educational booths on topics ranging from composting to food and nutrition, and planting a plot for donation to Urban Ministries. Approximately 150 attended. At each garden site there have been plant and seed giveaway events with instructions on planting and initial garden care. Products that have been produced include: An integrated Community Gardening curriculum addressing the diet and nutrition, 4H youth agri-entrepreneurship, horticulture, community development, and parenting is ready for piloting in the community sites; The project blog (http://nccommunitygardens.blogspot.com) continues to be updated by the Project Coordinator; 85 people are following our project's Facebook page; A YouTube video channel (23 videos uploaded to date) was created for the project to showcase the gardens, provide introductions to to each garden project from the site coordinators, to share stories from gardeners, and most importantly to offer the opportunity for gardeners to teach each other through our "Gardeners Teaching Gardeners" video series. Dissemination has occurred through: monthly meetings with gardeners that are held at local community centers or other accessible buildings near the garden site; educational and Grand Opening events that are held at the garden and are open to the public; meetings and collaborations with numerous local partners such as schools interested in having gardens; several newspapers and a local TV station covered garden events; the project blog, Facebook page and YouTube site reach audiences that are online; presentations and tours for Cooperative Extension staff and supporters. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals who work on the project now are the same as last year. The Principal Investigator hires project staff, supervises Project Coordinator, ensures that project goals and objectives are being met, coordinates curriculum development, and provides technical support and educational programming at garden sites. The Project Coordinator has been involved with: coordinating the development of community gardens, ensuring project goals and objectives are being met, assisting in project evaluation, updating the project blog, Facebook and YouTube video site, developing partnerships in communities, and managing the budget. The three Community Garden Coordinators have: recruited gardeners for the site, provided leadership for site development, assisted with supervision of garden activities, organized educational programming at the garden site, begun to develop a youth agricultural entrepreneurship program, started to organize a garden council to manage the garden and gardeners. North Carolina A&T State University Cooperative Extension faculty have developed an interdisciplinary curriculum related to community gardening that will be implemented at the garden sites. A project evaluator was hired this year to assist in developing evaluation tools. In addition to the local county extension offices and A&T State University Cooperative Extension supporting the sites, partner organizations greatly increased in number. Partner organizations in Bertie County, NC include: The Lewiston Resource Center, the local county extension office, the Town of Lewiston-Woodville, a local farm that provided cotton litter as a soil amendment, the landowners who donate the land, Mantis donated a small tiller, and Perdue Farms Inc, the largest employer in the county. There are 15 partner organizations in Scotland County, NC that include: ZV Pate is providing land for the garden, the Town of Wagram provides help with maintenance work at the garden site, local county extension office provides exceptional administrative and educational support, a local farm that donated chicken litter as a soil amendment, a community recreation center where garden meetings are held, Monsanto whom donated money, the fire department where the garden tiller is stored and the Town of Wagram and county commissioners. There are approximately 34 partner organizations in Durham County, NC that include: the local county extension staff including the Horticulture Extension Agent and Master Gardeners who are very involved in all aspects of the community garden, Novozymes who donates free compost, Goodwill Industries who donated transplants, numerous local garden clubs that have donated money, the Green Education Foundation who gave a large seed donation, the Kids Academy that has two garden plots for their childcare group, Durham County Health Department, Durham County Parks and Recreation, and three nearby universities. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences served by this project are similar at all sites and are low-income families with children, many of whom are in a racial minority - mostly African Americans. Seniors have also been granted garden plots in some cases for important intergenerational connections and knowledge transfer of gardening and agricultural practices to occur. All three community gardens are located in economically disadvantaged counties and our project efforts extend outside of the garden site into the wider county. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
Over 35 participants have signed on as plot owners in the community gardens. Many of these participants did not garden previously or do not have space at their home to garden. Of the eight participants surveyed last year, six of them thought they spent less money on food over the past garden season due to the food they were able to grow in their plot. The ones that didn't think they spent less money either had trouble growing produce for a variety of reasons (lack of water, animals ate produce, etc) or grew something that they normally wouldn't buy in the store which was a supplement to their normal food purchases. Several participants grew so much food that they are freezing or canning it for the winter which will further reduce the money they will spend on produce over the next year. These same participants noted that they donated a lot of vegetables to friends and other gardeners who didn't have such good luck growing produce. Five gardeners at the Scotland Community Site returned surveys estimating the amount of food they harvested this season and this information was translated to equal a $1245 value. As participants gain knowledge about proper gardening techniques, the amount of produce they will successfully grow is expected to increase and therefore the money they spend on food should decrease. About half of the participants interviewed thought they had more variety in what they ate as a result of the produce they grew in their garden plot. One stated that because she was able to grow and save (canning or freezing) produce, she would have more variety in her meals this coming winter. Normally she wouldn't buy that same food in the winter because of the high price. Another person said that because of the quantity of food he produced, he had more variety in his meals because he wouldn't normally buy that much fresh produce. More educational opportunities will help introduce participants to new foods, thereby increasing the diversity of produce they may grow and eat. As participants learn how to grow their own food and learn about the associated nutritional value of fruits and vegetables, they should tend to make better decisions about what they eat. These choices lead to a healthier lifestyle and less related diseases and medical problems like obesity and diabetes. Most participants interviewed so far did not think that their knowledge of nutrition increased. This year was the first growing season for the community gardens and the main focus was on establishing the necessary garden infrastructure, recruiting and organizing participants and forming community partnerships. Most sites did not have the opportunity to establish formal nutrition classes however they are beginning to integrate nutrition education informally through gardener meetings, recipe hand-outs and social events like potluck dinners. In addition to surveys, several gardeners have spoke publicly at events and on video about their positive experiences growing food and meeting new people in the community garden.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 08/01/09 to 07/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities that have contributed to the goals and objectives of this project include: Essential physical and human resources needed to start the community gardens were acquired; Grand opening events were held at each garden site during which community members were invited to sign up for garden plots and learn about their community garden; Demonstrations have occurred at all three sites including the making of raised bed gardens, installation of irrigation systems, soil amendment demonstrations with cotton and chicken litter, and planting and fertilizer demonstrations; Visioning Sessions are planned for June and July at all three community garden sites to create a shared vision for the future of the community and to set goals and an action plan for the garden. Events have included: The Project Director, Project Coordinator, three Community Garden Coordinators and faculty involved in writing the integrated curriculum attended the annual CYFAR Conference and gained valuable insights and techniques for developing our project; At each garden site there have been plant and seed giveaway events with instructions on planning and initial garden care. As part of the physical resources necessary for getting the gardens off to a successful start, land preparation services have been provided at all sites - tilling, turning in soil amendments, compost delivery. Additionally, mulch for walkways and instruction in weed management has been provided. Products that have been produced include: An integrated curriculum addressing the creation of community gardens, diet and nutrition, 4H youth agri-entrepreneurship, horticulture, community development, and parenting has been developed by Cooperative Extension faculty; A blog showcasing photos from the three community garden sites and information relevant to this project has been created and is being updated by the Project Coordinator: http://nccommunitygardens.blogspot.com/; A Facebook page entitled NC Community Gardens - A Sustainable Community Project has been developed showcasing photos, garden events, and other related information. Dissemination has occurred through: Community outreach in the form of presentations at community centers and housing projects, door-to-door solicitation, and distribution of flyers at local universities and community gathering places was undertaken to recruit community members and inform them of benefits they may attain by participating in the garden project; Outreach focused on the immediate community within which the garden is located (these communities are identified as being at risk low-income communities with large minority populations); Online interactive sites including the blog and Facebook page help audiences that are technologically savvy (ex. youth) and those that are learning new computer skills (ex. families participating in computer classes through a community center) to partake in this project in a more integrated fashion - one that brings together the garden project with technology skills. PARTICIPANTS: The Principal Investigator hires project staff, supervises Project Coordinator, ensures that project goals and objectives are being met, coordinates curriculum development, manages the overall budget, and provides technical support and educational programming at garden sites. The Project Coordinator has been involved with: coordinating the development of community gardens at target sites, facilitating the scheduling and delivery of community meetings and educational events, assisting in project evaluation, and developing partnerships in communities. The three Community Garden Coordinators have: recruited gardeners for the site, provided leadership for site development, assisted with supervision of garden activities, organized educational programming at the garden site, begun to develop a youth agricultural entrepreneurship program, started to organize a garden council to manage the garden and gardeners. North Carolina A&T State University Cooperative Extension faculty have developed an interdisciplinary curriculum related to community gardening that will be implemented at the garden sites. Partner organizations for the project include the NC A&T State University administration department and local county extension offices from the target communities. Partner organizations in Bertie County, NC include: The Lewiston Resource Center, a technology community center, that provides services to the community through the One Economy Digital Connectors Program - the Resource Center's summer camp participants and students from an alternative school for young men will work at the Lewiston Community Garden; the local county extension office and 4-H staff are working to form a 4H club, the Town of Lewiston-Woodville, a local farm that provided cotton litter as a soil amendment, and a local farmer who has assisted with land preparation on site. Partner organizations in Scotland County, NC include: Spring Branch Missionary Baptist Church is helping to recruit youth to work on an entrepreneurial project, ZD Pate is providing land for the garden, the Town of Wagram provides help with maintenance work at the garden site, local county extension office provides administrative and educational support, and a local farm that donated chicken litter as a soil amendment. Partner organizations in Durham County, NC include: the local county extension staff including a horticulture extension agent very involved in all aspects of the community garden planning and funding, Master Gardeners that are helping to build the physical garden space as well as providing technical support, students from the Duke Agroforestry project working on building a trail connecting the garden with a neighboring community, a North Carolina Central University faculty person is developing a youth agri-entreprenuerial program, a Durham Technical Community College class that is working to build a sustainable building unit on site, and Novozymes who provided free compost for the raised beds. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences served by this project are similar at all sites and include low-income individuals and families, many of whom are in a racial minority. Disadvantaged youth (ages 4-18) are a key audience and are being involved through the formation of 4H clubs and youth entreprenuership projects. A high proportion of participants in Lewiston County are expected to be single mothers and youth from an alternative school that are involved in programs at the Lewiston Resource Center, one of the community garden's major partners. Efforts designed to cause a change in knowledge, actions, and conditions include the implementation of the community garden focused curriculum through educational programming at the garden sites. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
At this early stage in the project we have noted KASA (knowledge, attitude, skill, and aspiration) changes but not behavioral changes that we expect to be associated with the project at a later date. The physical garden spaces have provided a place for people to gather and learn basic gardening skills. Through community outreach and on-site demonstrations the attitudes of people have changed with an increased willingness to participate in an outdoor activity and get their hands dirty. Community members are choosing to be a part of the gardening project as they realize its benefits in order to improve their personal condition and that of the community. Changes in conditions of this project include: Institutional resources were developed through the hiring of a Project Coordinator and three Community Garden Coordinators located at each garden site; An instructional design consultant was hired to format the developed curriculum (hard copy and on-line); Physical resources necessary for garden development have been secured for all three garden sites including: land, raised bed garden supplies, compost and soil amendments, rototillers, water taps/wells, irrigation systems, tools, storage sheds, educational display boards, and plants and seeds; Human resources have been recruited from local Cooperative Extension offices, community resource centers, churches, universities, schools, local government, and Master Gardener programs; More families and youth in the target communities are working together to grow food - at the Wagram Community Garden 24 plots are being worked by families, the Briggs Avenue Community Garden in Durham has filled 20 raised bed garden plots and already has requests for more, and the Lewiston Community Garden will host 150 youth and their parents during a summer camp program.

Publications

• No publications reported this period