Globalization in today’s societies is often seen as a concept that is driven by productivity, innovative thought, commercialism, and integration of global cultures. This concept, when met with refugees, should carry a compassionate and alleviating methodology working on helping people in need in order to grow stronger together. Assistance is required for the purpose of developing a bottom up approach to community and global interconnectedness. This paper strives to address situational issues that refugees face when being relocated to new and unfamiliar areas. It discusses community and urban gardening as a primary tool for solving some of the problems that they face in relocating. The predominant themes that are discussed throughout this paper include financial measures, criminal activity, food security, culture and social integration, and health factors for how community gardening functions as a tool for support in the transition of refugees to new lifestyles. The paper explains the functioning of the garden and delves into how they interact with the lives of the refuges to aid in eliminating some of the negative factors listed above and instead create positive outlets and constructive habits for successful transitioning in an intimidating and confusing new culture.
As today’s global world continues to progressively approach new forms of warfare and danger, complications of terror and turmoil extend to community areas that affect civilian lifestyle and can pose forced migration from these areas. The people being removed from these areas are commonly known as ‘refugees’ and can be found on almost every continent. Not only do refugees carry traumatic experiences with them when they are fortunate enough to be relocated, but they also must reinstate themselves in an entirely new culture where practically all aspects of life are obscure, disheartening, and seemingly impossible to adapt to. However, as the world begins to acquire new risks, there are also new developments for ways to deal with the incomprehensibility of life that refugees are met with when relocating. Community and urban gardening is a practice that plants its roots into local culture and has numerous benefits that have been shown to improve the quality of life of countless refugee families and communities. When being relocated, refugees often find themselves overwhelmed and stressed due to the multitudes of inexplicable information and unfamiliar ways of life around them. Community gardens can be shown to promote a stronger quality of life by means of enforcing communal intimacy and support, providing healthy food sources, developing a system of reliance and trust, strengthening relationships with local residents, and diminishing temptation of crime, all while unifying distinct global cultures.
The vast majority of refugees come to first world countries and are generally optimistic with regards to the quality of life they anticipate in their new homes[1]. As long as it is away from the terror and misfortune that they previously encountered, it is held in high regards. Refugee families tend to have better overall health when arriving than the non-migrant populations. This is known as the “healthy migrant” paradox and is assessed by nutrition, physical activity, social attitudes, psychic mentality, and health status. Refugees however are subjects to a host of new lifestyle complications that create a paradox with this situation[2]. Circumstances such as access to healthcare, job searches, financial responsibilities, language barriers, new laws, and food accessibility all deter these families from reaching a sense of stability and comfort[3]. Additionally, many refugees are arriving from Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian countries where the majority of residents practice some form of farming. When arriving in comparatively urban locations, it can be easily seen how individuals can experience displacement and confusion. In these countries, the citizens have the farms, not the foreigners. Community gardens are becoming more widely used as an answer to establish a sense of entitlement. When asked how refugees feel about community gardening, someone responded “In Africa it is the citizens who have gardens. The foreigners do not have gardens. Now I have a garden, I feel like a citizen.”[4]. These gardens, while providing valuable assets and resources to propel a family in a positive direction, also lay the groundwork for integrating these families into their new countries. Not simply as a resident, but as a citizen who can also give back and find their own ways to contribute to the greater whole of the community they are engrained in. These techniques allow for integration between two dissimilar cultures.
These next seven paragraphs will discuss the relationship between refugees and other community members and demonstrate how community gardening has affected their relationships and adaptation into the community. Building relationships within the new country in which the refugee families are located is perhaps their most challenging task. Language, lifestyle, and education are all factors that often differentiate the refugees. Humans thrive on frequent contact and interaction between one another, and it is inconceivable to live without community contact and personal support. One main purpose of neighborhoods is to integrate families and foster dimensions of support and connectedness. The same is true for refugee communities despite characteristic differences. The community gardening programs that are beginning to be developed worldwide not only ensure additional food sources but also unify individuals across cultural and generational groups, along with many other beneficial means[5]. Continuing with the concept of relationship development, the following example demonstrates how gardening and labor can construct a meaningful bond between people.
Chicago’s RAPP program provides meaningful engagement between US citizens and refugees through food and gardening initiatives. Many refugees suffer from unemployment and financial struggles[6]. The key pillars of RAPP are to promote food security, economic independence, nutritional health, and meaningful social engagement[7]. Many refugees migrate with already acquired skills, which RAPP works to build upon. The program’s successes are due to its way of combining the different skill sets of all involved and producing a cohesively beneficial result. The agricultural expertise of the refugees is paired with urban farming knowledge of those residing in the region in order to provide the refugees with a way to sell and consume their own crops. As a result of the reciprocity between these two groups, dependence forms which then fosters a trustworthy relationship and a stronger community. RAPP does not force relationships but simply provides the means for success by presenting a conglomeration of urban and rural mindsets[8]. This is one of the ways that community gardening is providing a beneficial intersection to the complex lives of international refugees.
As the relationships between refugees and communities are examined in terms of community gardening, it is important to be aware of the residents already in the areas and how they cooperate and interact with the refugees. In a study of African refugees relocated to Australia, they were asked to speak on behalf of their ‘Community Belonging.’ One woman said that having good produce enables her to share products with others and allows her to relate positively with her community members since she knows she has something advantageous to offer[9]. Another man who grew corn and cassava said that it was good to give what I have if his friends need it and in return he can expect the same if he needs something[10]. These comments show that participation in the gardens invites the sharing of crops with other community members[11]. Many of the crops refugees grow are brought from their home countries, so they are not available locally or are very expensive and not widely found. This allows for a bartering system to take place in the community as well as a way to build personal status and legitimacy. The comments above also show how participation in the gardening can lead to opportunistic connections to be made within the gardening community and promote a sense of belonging[12]. Trust and mutual reciprocity are key elements within these systems. Refugees often win civilians trust simply by their kind gestures of generosity. The respect that is forged between these groups of people strengthens the psychological and social wellbeing of a neighborhood[13].
In the same study as the previous paragraph, two individuals comment on the same question but provide answers in a broader sense that hint towards self-inclusion and shared interests[14]. In any community project that is conducted, those involved must have a likeminded goal and path that they want followed, otherwise conflicting opinions will lead to the downfall of the idea. The same is true with the refugees and the community garden which can be recognized through the following statements. One man says that the garden brings him satisfaction, relief, and a sense of belonging[15]. He also says that he feels understood, and you feel in general[16]. You feel like you have stepped into place in that community that you reside in. This man emphasizes the connectedness that collaborative work provides. He expresses the social inclusion that he feels in his neighborhood. Refugees are typically an isolated group after migration due to the social, cultural, economic, and language barriers they face, however, this man shows that through communal cooperation, he is able to feel accepted. Diversity often cultivates unity. In refugee circumstances, the differences between them and the greater community allows them to unite and help each other conduct positive change in a safe location with shared sustainable food systems and horticultural care[17].
In an urban refugee housing community in downtown Kansas City, three families, one from Africa, one from Cambodia, and one from Bosnia asked a refugee committee if they could plant a type of type of tea leaf[18]. The name of the leaf didn’t translate to English. However, when planting the leaf, all the families planted the same type of leaf despite the unawareness that it was used elsewhere in the world[19]. The families used it in different ways initially but now share ideas for how to use it[20]. Consequently, it can now be seen in spices in many of these refugee’s dishes. The leaf, used for medicinal purposes and flavoring, it preserves old cultural traditions but also acts as a mediator to start new practices[21]. The tea leaf shows that refugees benefit from the interactions within the garden by bridging experiences to develop relationships and benefiting from social connectivity
Refugees provide a unique intersection of cultures when relocating which further represents the American national identity of a melting pot characterized by people of various traditions and practices. Even in community gardens, refugees personify their traditional cultures by practicing agriculture in different ways. Together, these differences produce a unity that embodies the essence of American culture. Due to the diversity of locations that refugees derive from, as said in page 4 with most having farming backgrounds, there are many different agricultural techniques used. In urban gardens, square plots (see image pictured below) can commonly be found by Central African families[22]. Southeast Asians often plant using raised beds[23]. Other Himalayan region refugees use mixed bed planting[24]. All of these examples differ from traditional American farming techniques but none can be discredited. Each variety of agricultural planting or type of horticultural crop has traditional roots in each culture. As those cultures are shared with the urban communities and the community garden participants, traditions gradually spread to other people for adaptation and practice, furthering the American culture of shared experiences[25].
Square Garden Plots in downtown Kansas City, Missouri community garden. -Supported through Jewish Vocational Services. Photo courtesy of the author.
Despite the ways in which refugees are able to improve their overall quality of life through participation in community gardening related activities and programs, there are still inevitable discrepancies that form within the confines of the communities. Although social networks and trusting relationships form between refugee families in minority neighborhoods, many times these bonds are formed based on cultural similarities. Exclusion and neglect can be an issue in refugee communities, with people that offer dissimilarities from the majority of the population. It is natural to associate with those similar to oneself, but this is often interpreted as rejection or isolation, especially in refugee communities where people can already feel lost and excluded. Even in neighborhoods with refugee cooperation, there can still be the dominating issue of locals feeling overwhelmed, which may lead to crime in various forms. Litter, theft, and vandalism are present in urban settings when the quality of an area of land outweighs the standard appearance of that setting, brought on by jealousy or disapproval. In the next six paragraphs the idea of crime will be discussed in relation to community gardening.
If residents feel safer in their community, food security may be more easily achieved. This is the philosophy of the CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design). They report that creating community relationships based on 4 principles results in a decrease in drug related crime[26]. This theory reports that proper environmental design can reduce the incidence of fear and crime and establish a stronger quality of life for the residents[27]. It is true that by having a community space that is free of pollution, unsightly surroundings, and unkempt areas, there is less psychological attribution to crime and violence[28]. This environmental program helps to transition threatening plots of urban land into areas of comfort and safety[29].
Some community gardens that are utilized by refugees are set up through refugee resettlement agencies and have a certain amount of families that can be assigned to a small plot of land, so in order to equally divide this land, small plots are used forming an apportioned gardening idea. Since many refugees are accustomed to mutual agriculture, this forms tensions and diverts from a chief purpose of the gardens; to unite and socially integrate all participants[30]. Therefore, equal access and mutual reciprocity within the gardens have been shown to reduce crime in the gardens due to the cultural collectiveness some refugees are accustomed to[31].
As refugees become assimilated with new cultures, they learn more about the responsibilities that are required to thrive in a new setting. For younger generations, it is easier to divert attention away from past experiences and traditions and focus on the lifestyles that they are surrounded by. Comparatively, the older generations tend to retain the practices from home out of comfort and understanding. It can be challenging for migrants to be molded into these new lifestyles but community and urban gardening is seen to conjoin competing practices. The following paragraph demonstrates a project which provides a constructive outlet for refugee children.
The youth of these refugee families often become immersed into the new cultures they are placed in and frequently lack guidance due to all the variables that are preoccupying the authoritative figures in the family. Many times this leads to troublesome outlets. The Food Project of Boston sees many large migrant families come into the city and focus on the promotion of youth leadership and engagement in the community[32]. This project, like Chicago’s RAPP Project discussed earlier, incorporates gardening projects to help integrate youth into their new communities so that the children may have a sound social base as they move forward with their lives. It involves an approach based on proactive facilitation and partnership with the teens to guide them towards beneficial ways to spend their time rather than undisciplined and disorderly action[33]. Unstable areas commonly house refugee families due to inexpensive rent. Consequently, trends show that there are more outlets for violence, crime, and gangs in urban settings. When refugee youth are encouraged to become active in programs such as the Food Project of Boston, they are diverted from these unwarranted means and encouraged to spend their time serving a communal purpose[34].
In continuation with the idea of crime, attention can be brought to organizations like ‘Nuestras Raices’ and ‘Gardening the Community’ in Australia and England[35]. Focusing on food and community security, these programs aim to integrate social and agricultural practices together to form a healthier quality of life. Senior and youth networking is emphasized here among community garden participants[36]. This is especially beneficial towards refugee families who commonly become disassociated between generations due to the temptations of the youth to abandon short lived cultural practices and the adults who strive to conserve long standing traditions. The networking program shows how refugees can overcome age gaps and cooperate with one another over shared practices[37]. These bonds, as a result, allow for relationships to be formed and neighborhood residents to promote community and personal interaction outside the enticements of crime that often occupy the lots prior to the garden developments. Nuestras Raices continues to occupy these values to “achieve greater self-determination, develop unity and leadership and address issues of security, environmental justice, civil rights, nutrition, cultural preservation, and intergenerational activities”[38]. This group shows how so many different aspects of simple social interaction can lead to positive change in a troubled neighborhood[39].
In Kansas City, which hosts increased urban food production, ‘Cultivate KC’ offers a program called New Roots where immigrants and refugees can take hands-on classes from local farmers over a period of four years[40]. The program is chiefly centered on effective ways to grow and harvest local crops and produce where they live but also offers classes that show how to participate in farmers markets as well as file taxes for income made. Significant attention is being brought toward this program which focuses on social justice on a national and international scale. This training program offers effective ways to develop relationships for the refugees, in addition to learning about agriculture and providing financial stability for their families[41]. The 6 founding refugee women of this program collectively earned an annual income of $12,500[42]. The following six years, participants in the program have earned a total $570,000 by selling fresh, local, and sustainably-grown produce to Kansas City residents[43]. Discussing crime is difficult to do without an analysis of the refugees’ financial situations, which will be discussed in the following section.
The financial dimensions of community gardens and how they intersect with refugee culture can produce both positive and negative effects. It can be agreed on from recent research that there is a correlation between community gardens and crime rates in neighborhoods[44]. As refugees take part in community gardening, many of them take up the option to sell their produce in local farmers markets in order to turn a profit for their family. This systematic business that they create allows for economic stability and a minor income source depending on the amount sold. Other utilized options for community capital are groups to form food co-operations and bulk buying groups that involve many individuals at once that buy and sell produce. This strengthens relationships between refugee families in addition to supplying an income (13). Not only does the gardening provide money but the work put in equates to self-worth, a sense of accomplishment, and honest pay.
While crime commonly affects the younger populations of refuges, there is no age limit on the unavailability of food and lack of overall health which will discussed in the next couple paragraphs. Many refugees are living on the cornerstone of food deserts. Food deserts are commonly defined as ‘residential areas with poor access to healthy food due to geography, in-store choice or affordability’[45]. The overall health of refugee individuals is largely determinant on food accessibility and quality in their neighborhoods. Since many areas are impoverished, and families follow the same patterns of economic instability, many food markets resort to cheap, unhealthy, and harmful foods. Refugees come from different cultures and as a result are familiar with different tastes and have different health requirements, many of which can not be supplemented by fast food diets. Migratory families, especially from the Sub Saharan regions found to be utilizing community gardens, are able to enhance their self-efficacy and education of culturally appropriate food with experience of fruit and vegetable production[46]. Positive food choice is largely improved among refugee families due to the ability to grow culturally appropriate foods compared to the malnourishing options often found in the surrounding neighborhood areas[47].
Access to proper health care is a critical issue faced by many refugees when relocating to new unfamiliar countries. A leading contributor to this issue is having insufficient directivity from a lack of personal connections. Data suggests that when refugees become involved in a community event or program, such as an urban gardening initiative, the families become less isolated and form connections with social, religious, or cultural groups in the community that help with guidance to construct proper health care within the family[48]. The refugees experience a support system when interacting and participating within the urban gardening campaigns. These advantageous relationships help topple barriers to healthcare issues such as notknowing where to find help, language issues, misunderstanding of services provided, and financial handicap[49]. Hospitals and International Refugee Committees are working to improve the understanding of services offered, but in many cases direct, personal, and community connections go farther than informational programs set up simply to inform and not to help[50].
When understanding how community gardening inserts itself into the lives of refugees, it is important to be aware of the nutritional issues and availability concerns that they face, especially when living in these underdeveloped neighborhoods. In a study recent study, ten African migrants were asked to report food acquisition over a week period within a 2km radius of their homes[51]. The results of the study showed that of the 78 locations to attain food, vegetable and overall nutritional value was low and supported an overwhelmingly unhealthy diet when greater than 1km away from a grocery store. Residency does not qualify as a food desert and yet the area is not capable of supporting a healthy diet[52]. The participants in this study show that after taking a survey, it would be desired to live by a grocery store compared to fast food places, which further emphasizes the point of natural agricultural crop diets[53]. While this is not always feasible in urban settings, developing community gardens have been shown to supplement this unhealthy diet with supportive and nutritional foods. Not only do the gardens have higher approval among the migrants, but they also provide for the families that are apart of them as well as add to the dietary health of the individuals[54].
Community gardening is often an abstract practice that can take on many different forms depending on personal or location need of refugees. In some instances refugees experience a harmful degree of culture shock, social displacement, and psychological torment, especially when coming from locations of traumatic experiences. In some urban settings, there are gardens that build on the idea of horticultural therapy and are commonly known as healing gardens[55]. Commonly found near hospitals, these gardens combine environmental and programmatic approaches for medical treatment. It was found at New York’s Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine that patient education programs were outperformed by therapeutic gardening techniques to lower heart rates and reduce cardiac stressors as well as improving the overall mood of the patient[56]. For refugees this could be a method of relaxation and keeping in touch with home roots by being a part of an outdoor setting in an otherwise urban setting. Migrants coming to new countries possess different experiences and thus different needs, so it is necessary for hospitals to make these accommodations available for those who need it[57]. It is considerably useful since many refugees have health concerns. Most have rarely been to hospitals this inclusive so it is alleviating to be able to escape the extensive hospitals and retreat to a garden that reminisces of ‘home.’
In some city hospital like Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, Hallmark is the founder and caretaker of the community gardens on their premises. The food that is grown here is given to the Ronald McDonald House as well as the local food banks which refugees as well as other community members take part in[58]. The BackSnack Program involves children in low income families and sends them home from school with fresh produce from community gardens[59]. Since refugees are typically low income families, many in the Kansas City area take advantage of this service. Hospitals are alleviating refugee complications in countless ways. This is also similar to the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program which serves healthy gardened snacks to 3 million low-income children in schools[60]. They are not simply doctors and nurses, but act as mediators to other life dilemmas like hunger and starvation. These examples act as steps to mitigate the harm of inadequate food environments in low-income communities that house many refugees.
While hospitals contribute immensely to the health of refugees, a high quality of life encompasses a broader idea of what it means to have good health. The next three paragraphs observe the greater idea of quality of life. Although relocated refugees often find their ‘refuge’ in the activities surrounding community gardens, this does not instinctively omit them from all of the precautionary measures that living in urban life presents. In a study of recently migrated African refugees, 13 participants were interviewed regarding their participation in the community vegetable garden[61]. The results, in the form of thematic analysis, showed that the refugees experienced some concerning limitations including financial unawareness[62]. They reported being unaccustomed to the size of the garden as well as the financial interworking of Australia’s economic system. This led them to incorrect purchasing of manure for the garden. They also were inexperienced with crop seasonality which proved frustrating for some of the refugees when trying to plant vegetables like pumpkin and tomatoes[63]. Although there were some agricultural and financial complications, there was report that the vegetable garden enhanced the general physical and mental wellbeing while allowing access to healthy and traditional African foods[64]. Although many refugees experienced demanding challenges, they reported in overwhelming consensus that the gardens were more beneficial to their quality of life than detrimental[65]. This shows how refugees are able to overcome problematic experiences and find resiliency in the new culture that they are adapting to. Integration into new cultures will always present challenges, but the refugees’ attachment to the community gardens acts as a structural base of support and stability.
Due to the hospitability of other nations towards refugees, increased emigration is permitted to other supportive countries, so long as the populations can afford the additional human intake[66]. As the population grows, taking in more people and providing mass economic support can be detrimental to some countries, especially when these families have so many children and require so much assistance. Reports show that financial strain is more common among countries who house refugees in urban centers[67]. However, with community gardening initiatives integrating refugees, this allows for greater food independence, which will put less economic strain on the local economy. Even after resettlement, some refugees choose to return home. With the community gardening experiences instilled in them, it is possible for them to attribute some of these acquired skills to the rest of their own communities and create a more habitable environment that offers some of the same benefits found in urban settings. This can continue the concept of improved quality of life to those who are in desperate need of help but may not have the capability to find it.
Community and urban gardening is a relatively new practice, and the idea of integrating refugees into this agricultural phenomenon is more innovative still. As the world begins to urbanize and modern dangers put civilian groups at risk, refugees will continue to spread to new areas and force new avenues to be explored regarding the welfare and protection of these at risk people. Refugees are fortunate to simply survive the refugee camps they are forced into, and by many personal accounts even more lucky to be resettled in the United States. The IRC (International Refugee Committee) operating from 14 US cities, explores innovative ways to fill the emotional gaps created by leaving agriculturally based societies. Through IRC efforts, refugees have been helped to become reestablished with horticultural pastimes. In the Bronx, a garbage dump has been converted into a vegetable garden that is tilled by refugees from Somalia[68]. In Arizona, local farmers help an Uzbek man find access and understanding for how to grow watermelons from his birthplace[69]. In San Diego, the IRC set up a 2.3 acre plot of land where more than 80 international refugees and their families are able to grow crops of limitless varieties[70]. Even in the most urban of places, the IRC is creating space and the means for refugee families to find outlets for healthier lives while evoking practices from home. Most importantly, Christopher Dicky writes that refugees in this way are able to fully experience the words sung by the American classic Woody Guthrie “this land is your land”[71].
As refugees continue to be sheltered and integrated into urban society, progressions are continuously made to make their quality of life better in every sense of the phrase. So many families that are resettled face insurmountable obstacles, but community gardening programs help to alleviate some of these issues and assist individuals to find a more constructive, supportive, and healthy life. With community gardens, refugees are able to seek out independence[72]. So much support and control is inserted into the lives of the refugees through settlement agencies, that the gardens provide refuge from these organizations. It allows them to regain confidence and experience directivity in their new lives. Along with the underlying social, physical, and psychological benefits that refugees encounter when involved in community gardening, they are able to create purpose and ambition in their lives that can follow them to integrate more fully into the new society they have become a part of[73].
International refugees experience tremendous hardships, difficult dilemmas, and unthinkable impediments while being relocated. Due to major cultural differences and separate experiences, acclimatizing to new cultures can be problematic. When introduced to community gardens, refugees are able to alleviate many of these issues and furthermore create a new life of structure, growth, health, and comfort. Global programs that are developed allow for positive interactions between community members in which refugee families are a part of. These programs and placement agencies help promote the gardens so that the refugees may experience residential happiness and a better quality of life upon arrival. The community gardens allow refugees to form trustworthy relationships that create a web of communal support. The agricultural pastimes of the gardens link cultural roots and allows for financial stability and domestic food security. The gardens can also be advantageous for the displaced refugees by offering psychological and physical therapeutic techniques as well as strengthening bonds between local residents. Due to the impoverished neighborhoods where many urban gardens are located, the refugees are able to take up horticulture past times to construct positive and beneficial outlets for the youth, which leads to generational connectivity with elderly refugees. The community gardens that refugees are often integrated in generate a support system that is only representative of the larger American cultural network that they have been newly introduced to. As community gardens continue to prosper, so will the refugees who tend to them, as they improve the condition of themselves as well as the greater communities of which they are now a part.
Samuel Shreve is currently a junior student attending Saint Louis University. He spent a semester abroad at the University of Bologna in Bologna, Italy during the 2015 fall semester. In school Samuel studies Public Health, International Studies, Emergency Managements, and Italian. He is involved in numerous extracurricular activities ranging from academic and social clubs, Greek based organizations, school writing publications, symphonic orchestra, and various school sports. He also works at Battelle which focuses on international health related innovations around the world. His interest in the welfare of refugees and activism for international immigration and emigration began with his recent summer internship at a refugee relocation agency in Kansas City. Involvement with these individuals created a framework for him that opened his eyes to the opportunities for assistance and alleviation of issues experienced by these global peoples. The ideas from this internship are also located at various locations throughout this paper.
Footnotes:
[1] Dickey, Christopher. "Sinking New Roots." Newsweek Global 161.30 (2013): 1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 June 2015.
[2] Harris, Neil, Fiona Minniss, and Shawn Somerset. "Refugees Connecting with a New Country through Community Food Gardening." IJERPH International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health11.9 (2014): 9202-9216.Ebsco Host. Web. August 1 2015.
[3] Harris, Minniss, Somerset, “Refugees Connection Community Food Gardening” 9202-9216
[4] Ibid
[5] "Refugee Urban Farming Project." Coalition of Limited English Speaking Elderly. CLESE, 2014. Web. 1 July 2015.
[6] Kearney, Shanon C. "The Community Garden as a tool for Community Empowerment: a study of community gardens in Hampden County." (2009). University of Massachusetts - Amherst. Scholarworks. Web. 5 July 2015.
[7] "Refugee Urban Farming Project." Coalition of Limited English Speaking Elderly. CLESE, 2014. Web. 1 July 2015.
[8] "Refugee Urban Farming Project." Coalition of Limited English Speaking Elderly. CLESE, 2014. Web. 1 July 2015.
[9] Harris, Minniss, Somerset, “Refugees Connection Community Food Gardening” 9202-9216
[10] Ibid
[11] Ibid
[12] Ibid
[13] Ibid
[14] Harris, Minniss, Somerset, “Refugees Connection Community Food Gardening” 9202-9216
[15] Ibid
[16] Ibid
[17] Ibid
[18] Jewish Vocational Services. Summer Internship Program (Internal Staff Communications) Summer 2015
[19] Jewish Vocational Services (Internal Staff Communications) Summer 2015
[20] Ibid
[21] Ibid
[22] Jewish Vocational Services (Internal Staff Communications) Summer 2015
[23] Ibid
[24] Ibid
[25] Jewish Vocational Services (Internal Staff Communications) Summer 2015
[26] Kearney, "Community Garden Empowerment Tool”
[27] Ibid
[28] Hardy, Ian, and Peter Grootenboer. "Schools, Teachers and Community: Cultivating the Conditions for Engaged Student Learning." Journal of Curriculum Studies 45.5 (2013): 697-719.Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 July 2015.
[29] Kearney, "Community Garden Empowerment Tool”
[30] Armstrong, Donna. “A Survey of Community Gardens in Upstate New York: Implications for Health Promotion and Community Development.” Health and Place 6 (4): 319-327. (2000), University of Kansas Online Database. Web. 2 August 2015.
[31] Armstrong, “A Survey of Community Gardens.” 319-327
[32] Kearney, "Community Garden Empowerment Tool”
[33] Ibid
[34] Ibid
[35] Ibid
[36] Ibid
[37] Kearney, "Community Garden Empowerment Tool”
[38] Ibid
[39] Ibid
[40] Newsletter. "New Roots for Refugees Growing Up." Cultivate Kansas City. Cultivate Kansas City, June 2015. Web. 08 Aug. 2015.
[41] Ibid
[42] Ibid
[43] Newsletter. "New Roots for Refugees Growing Up." Cultivate Kansas City. Cultivate Kansas City, June 2015. Web. 08 Aug. 2015.
[44] Nelson, Toni. “Closing the Nutrient Loop." World Watch 9 (6): (1996) 10-17: University of Kansas Online Database. Web 8 August 2015.
[45] Beaulac, J.; Kristjansson, E.; Cummins, S. A systematic review of food deserts, 1966–2007. Prev. Chronic Dis.; 2009; 6. (2014). Google Scholar. Web. 8 August 2015.
[46] Sheikh-Mohammed, M.; Macintyre, C.R.; Wood, N.J.; Leask, J.; Isaacs, D. “Barriers to access to health care for newly resettled sub-Saharan refugees in Australia.” Med. J. Aust. (2006), 185, 594–597. Ebsco Host. Web. 8 August 2015.
[47] Sheikh-Mohammed, “Barriers Resettled Refugees Australia.” 594-597.
[48] Ibid
[49] Ibid
[50] Jewish Vocational Services (Internal Staff Communications) Summer 2015
[51] Pereira, Carolina A.n., Nicolette Larder, and Shawn Somerset. "Food Acquisition Habits in a Group of African Refugees Recently Settled in Australia." Health & Place 16.5 (2010): 934-41. Google Scholar. Web. 22 July 2015.
[52] Pereira, Larder, Somerset “Food Acquisition Habits Refugees” 934-941
[53] Ibid
[54] Ibid
[55] Dannenberg, Andrew L., Howard Frumkin, and Richard Jackson. Making Healthy Places: Designing and Building for Health, Well-being, and Sustainability. Washington, D.C.: Island, 2011. Print.
[56] Dannenberg, Frumkin, Jackson, Making Healthy Places, 2011.
[57] Ibid
[58] "Children & Families." Hallmark Corporate Information. Hallmark, 2015. Web. 08 Aug. 2015. Web. Aug 4 2015.
[59] “Children & Families” Hallmark 2015
[60] Dannenberg, Frumkin, Jackson, Making Healthy Places, 2011.
[61] Gichunge, Catherine, and Fanson Kidwaro. "Utamu Wa A Frika (the Sweet Taste of Africa): The Vegetable Garden as Part of Resettled African Refugees' Food Environment." Nutrition & Dietetics 71.4 (2014): 270-75. Wiley Online Library. Web. 1 August 2015.
[62] Gichunge, Kidwaro, Wa, “Vegetable Refugees” 270-275
[63] Ibid
[64] Ibid
[65] Gichunge, Kidwaro, Wa, “Vegetable Refugees” 270-275
[66] "India." UNHCR News. The UN Refugee Agency, 2015. Web. 08 Aug. 2015.
[67] “India,” UNHCR News.2015
[68] Dickey, "Sinking New Roots." 30-61
[69] Ibid
[70] Ibid
[71] Ibid
[72] "Refugee Urban Farming Project." Coalition of Limited English Speaking Elderly. CLESE, 2014. Web. 1 July 2015.
[73] "Refugee Urban Farming Project." Coalition of Limited English Speaking Elderly. CLESE, 2014. Web. 1 July 2015.
