Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Cultivating Community: Experiences Of African Refugee Gardeners, Elizabeth Willenbrink

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

Past and present, community gardening has been used as a response to poverty, a way to supplement healthy foods, and a mechanism for community involvement. For thirteen refugee families living at the Housing Authority of Bowling Green, community gardening has become a way to recreate their traditional cult ure. Based on data collected through interviews during the summer of 2016, these refugee s identified gardening as a buffer against food insecurity, providing access to both healthy a nd culturally appropriate foods. Most importantly, the interviewees identified gardening as a mechanism for support and togetherness among the city’s refugee population. M …