Home Food Gardening in Canada in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Lisa Mullins,Janet Music,Erica Finch,Sylvain Charlebois

doi:10.3390/su13063056

Abstract

The lack of academic attention that home food gardening has received in Canada and the United States is surprising, given the many demonstrated benefits of community gardening programs, including increased community cohesion and resilience. The aim of the exploratory study is to explore the current surge in home food gardening and its relationship to the COVID-19 pandemic. A national survey was conducted, consisting of 43 main questions, asking respondents about their home life and food provisioning during COVID-19, the physical characteristics of their food gardens, and their attitudes and beliefs concerning home food production. Survey results show that 51% of respondents grow at least one type of fruit or vegetable in a home garden. Of those, 17.4% started growing food at home in 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic. To gain more insight into just how significant a cause the pandemic lockdown was on home food gardening, follow-up surveys and policy recommendations are suggested.

Highlights

Introduction the COVID19 Pandemic.Home food gardening in Canada, whether a vegetable patch in the backyard or a pot of cherry tomatoes on the kitchen windowsill, has long been an innocuous activity outside the realm of academic interest
The public health measures put in place in mid-March to contain the spread of COVID19, such as household-isolation and the closure of restaurants and entertainment venues, clearly influenced individuals to start home food gardening. 95.6% of new home food gardeners reported spending more time at home in 2020, and 62.2% indicated they spent time working from home since the pandemic began
Uncertainty and misunderstanding with regard to food supply chain systems are sources of anxiety for Canadians: with no end in sight of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is ample opportunity for all stakeholders in food supply chain to reach out to Canadians with explanations and education around where food comes from and how food gets to grocery stores. This exploratory study was completed at the end of the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, after most of Canada’s citizens were under lockdown from midMarch 2020 to June 2020, to prevent and control the spread of the disease

Summary

Introduction

Introduction the COVID19 Pandemic.Home food gardening in Canada, whether a vegetable patch in the backyard or a pot of cherry tomatoes on the kitchen windowsill, has long been an innocuous activity outside the realm of academic interest. Food gardening behaviours have taken on a new significance following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Garden retailers have reported exponential increases in sales, in some cases up to 450% [1]. Much of these sales represent new gardeners, mainly millennials, purchasing supplies to establish household food gardens [1,2,3]. Perhaps not surprisingly, this led to a preserving and canning supply shortage in many parts of Canada, with entire provinces in the Maritimes completely out of jars and lids [4]

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