Home gardening offers a sustainable and affordable way to combat food insecurity by providing fresh, nutritious food while saving money and promoting healthier choices. Although the United States is known as one of the richest countries in the world, some may be surprised to learn that food insecurity, or “the lack of access…. to enough food for an active, healthy life,” exists in every single county and congressional district in the country. Food insecurity impacts millions of people daily who struggle to budget with the overall cost of living along with the soaring costs of food. Many people overlook home gardening, as the idea of home gardening as a solution for food supply has become less popular. However, this is a mistake, as growing food in one’s own backyard can be a solution to food insecurity. People can save money by relying on their own food sources, they can enjoy a renewable source of healthy food grown from their own home, and that food will be healthier than other options.
People who garden at home do not need to buy as much food, so they can save money. According to the Food Security Journal, some of the economic benefits of home gardening include “financial savings [and] more disposable income.” Home gardening can be an effective method for people to rely on their own sources of food. Gardening at home allows people to save money instead of spending it on foods they would have bought at the grocery store or at a restaurant. One does not need to have a lot of money or experience to start their own garden and become more independent.
People who garden at home have a more renewable and sustainable source of food. Whereas only 15-20% of today’s food is grown in home gardens, increasing the use of home gardening could “[reduce] demands on finite natural resources but also [provide] urban populations with diverse, sustainable, safe, and nutritious food.” Gardening at home allows people to keep harvesting new food since most plants have seeds that can be used to grow new ones. Furthermore, excess food waste can be used as compost to fertilize home garden soil and make foods more nutritious. Instead of relying on expensive food from environmentally unfriendly large farms, home gardeners can create their own renewable sources of food.
People can replace unhealthy foods with healthier solutions that taste better from their own gardens. In many varying situations, national and local governments have succeeded in increasing people’s health by encouraging home gardening. When the Indian government encouraged home gardening by subsidizing it, a research study found that “the frequency and quantity of fruit and vegetable consumption increased, which fulfilled the nutritional requirement of the families.” The same paper quotes another study from New York City which found “potential in school gardens in improving physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour.” Experts advocate for creating your own garden which can transform your behavior and help you make healthier choices. A study on subsidized gardening in Detroit found that people who participated in home gardening felt that their food was higher quality and even felt more personally connected to their food, which encouraged them to continue making healthier choices. These examples demonstrate that home gardening can lead to powerful improvements in one’s life.
Some who do not see home gardening as a viable option may argue that it is too time-consuming, too expensive, and too knowledge-intensive. However, even an expert with 5,000 square feet of home garden says he only spends half an hour a day managing his garden. Most people will have much smaller home gardens than this, which means they will probably only need to spend a minute or two a day on their garden. I maintain my own home garden, and I only need to check up on it about once a week to make sure everything is going okay. Furthermore, the cyclical nature of gardening means that people don’t have to wait long for crops to grow and reproduce themselves. In regards to cost, home gardening is very inexpensive. As a high school student, I have been able to afford home gardening without a problem. Also, home gardening is not nearly as knowledge-intensive as some may think: I have found that information about gardening is easy to find on seed packets. If I can’t find the information I need there, the internet is full of websites, blogs, and video channels devoted to gardening, making it easy for anyone to get started.
Home gardening can be an easy solution to the serious problem of food insecurity. By creating your own food through home gardening, you can save more money no matter your income level. Fruits and vegetables can also be replanted after every harvest, making the practice more sustainable. Home gardening not only gives people nutrients that they need but can also increase their overall health. If you go out to eat soon, spend some time thinking about the healthier choices you could have made instead with a home garden.
