Teaching and educating the importance of gardening and farming not just in schools but to the public is significant. In addressing food insecurity and scarcity, policy work is what gives the people more power. Generating power through policy allows organizations like SPROUT to be able to set up community gardens and events throughout the city. Amelia describes, “We released a citywide policy platform called a “Greener New Orleans” paired with “The Greater New Orleans Growers Alliance” and New Orleans Food Policy Action Committee (FPAC)” (Interview Transcript). This platform allows residents in the city to learn more about urban gardening and farming, by protecting the ownership over community gardens. Having a certified protection through policy allows community initiatives like community gardens to flourish and have positive impacts.
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The article, Evaluation of the Grow Your Groceries Home Gardening Program in Chicago, mentions, “Innovative home gardening programs like GYG created by CGF can improve access to healthy food as a precursor to improving food security while providing other benefits including community connection, confidence in growing and preparing food, and a desire to grow one’s own food” (Kersten). While this is a home gardening, versus a community gardening initiative, they both carry the same principle that acess to food can be improved, while education of how to provide for oneself can be learned. Similar policies and programs like the, Grow Your Own Groceries, can be created to facilitate the growth of more urban community gardens, to help solve the issue of food insecurity and scarcity.