ABSTRACT

Black Americans face disparate health burdens of diet-related chronic diseases. Black Americans who live in communities with inadequate access to healthy foods are at an even greater risk for disparate health outcomes. Urban agriculture in communities with inadequate access to healthy food can complement the existing traditional food system and can make a difference in the accessibility of fresh fruits and vegetables and subsequently, increase fruit and vegetable consumption. However, integrating urban agriculture into a local food system can be challenging. Community capacity-building efforts have the potential to enhance organizational development and enable collaborations to enhance efforts to incorporate urban agriculture into communities with inadequate food access. This study used Chaskin’s relational framework to describe community capacity-building efforts to enhance urban agriculture in predominantly Black communities. We found that strategies for community capacity building in urban agriculture include building on existing resources, community engagement, expanding organizational capacity, identifying threats to community capacity building, and identifying ideal solutions to enhance community capacity-building efforts. Urban farmers, gardeners, and advocates identified these strategies to strengthen local control of the food environment through sustainable urban agriculture. Additional research is needed to further identify community engagement strategies that emphasize sustainability, such as workforce development efforts, building networks for new growers, and strengthening connections between farmers, gardeners, urban agriculture advocates, and community residents.

摘要

美国黑人面临与饮食相关的慢性疾病的不同健康负担。生活在无法获得健康食品的社区中的美国黑人面临的健康结果不同的风险更大。在无法获得健康食品的社区中，城市农业可以补充现有的传统食品系统，并可以改变新鲜水果和蔬菜的可及性，从而增加水果和蔬菜的消费。然而，将都市农业融入当地粮食系统可能具有挑战性。社区能力建设工作有可能促进组织发展，并使合作能够加强努力，将城市农业纳入粮食供应不足的社区。本研究使用 Chaskin 的关系框架来描述社区能力建设工作，以加强以黑人为主的社区的城市农业。我们发现，城市农业社区能力建设的战略包括利用现有资源、社区参与、扩大组织能力、识别社区能力建设的威胁，以及确定加强社区能力建设工作的理想解决方案。城市农民、园丁和倡导者确定了这些策略，以通过可持续的城市农业加强当地对食物环境的控制。需要进一步研究以进一步确定强调可持续性的社区参与战略，例如劳动力发展努力、为新种植者建立网络以及加强农民之间的联系，