| Food security is a fundamental element of community health. Informal house-lot food growing, by providing convenient access to diverse varieties of affordable and nutritious produce, can provide an important support for community food security. With the objective of developing an exploratory assessment of the contribution home food gardening makes to community food security in Toronto, in-depth interviews were conducted with gardeners in two contrasting neighbourhoods. A typology of food gardeners was developed, and this qualitative understanding of residential food production was then assessed from a community food security perspective. It was found that growing food contributes to food security at all income levels by encouraging and enabling a more nutritious diet. The sustainability of household food sourcing and gardeners' overall health and well-being also increased with food production. Secure access to suitable land to grow food and gardening skills were the most significant barriers to residential food production found. |
