Assessing the Economic Potential of Entrepeneurial Community Gardens (1997-99)

ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL OF
ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNITY GARDENS (1997-98)

Market gardens have gained attention as ways to enhance community economic development, increase community food security, and employ local residents. These gardens are promising vehicles for providing job training, life skills, educational opportunities, and for improving the quality of life by forming creative collaborations in local communities. This study described conditions under which entrepreneurial gardens prosper or fail, and provided comparative data to help new garden projects judge their own capacities. Personnel at 27 entrepreneurial gardens were interviewed by telephone between 1997-1998. Five of the most innovative and successful gardens in California were selected for in-depth case studies. The report included a comparative analysis of the 27 entrepreneurial gardens, five case studies, and extensive appendices with urban agriculture and gardening contacts, an annotated contact list of entrepreneurial community gardens, business development resources and funding opportunities for job creation and training in urban agriculture.

This research was a joint project of the California Communities Program and the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), both statewide initiatives of the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.