Exploring the Relationship between School Gardens, Food Literacy and Mental Well-Being in Youth Using Photovoice

Abstract

The goal of the project was to gain an understanding of the relationships between secondary school youth experiences in school gardens and their mental well-being. Over the course of five months, sixteen youths participated in a photovoice research project in which they expressed their personal experiences about food and gardening through photography and writing. The aspects of secondary school youths’ life experiences affected by exposure to school gardens and their impact upon their well-being were identified. The youth explicitly associated relaxation with the themes of love and connectedness, growing food, garden as a place, cooking, and food choices. They were able to demonstrate and develop food literacy competency because of their engagement with the gardening and cooking activities. Youth clubs or groups were identified as a key enabler for connection with other youth and adults. Youth shared their food literacy experiences, observing that their engagement improved some aspect of their mental well-being. Through the photovoice process, the youth identified how their involvement in green spaces enabled connections with others, and highlighted aspects of personal health and personal growth, all of which contribute to their mental well-being.

A systematic review of photovoice as participatory action research strategies

“…Meanwhile, the average instrument used SHOWed documentation and interview techniques. Through photovoice, the average research results obtained were close to the truth of the hypothesis, which was by the purpose of photovoice to improve understanding, and the level of one's critical thinking of images [9,13,42,44,46,47,49].…”

Flint Kids Cook: positive influence of a farmers’ market cooking and nutrition programme on health-related quality of life of US children in a low-income, urban community

“…The current study suggests that the benefits of healthy cooking interventions for youth may extend beyond diet and nutrition. Previous research has similarly demonstrated the mental health benefits of youth gardens (47,48) , with one recent study indicating that youth associate feelings of relaxation with gardening, growing food and cooking (47) . Earlier research has also determined that self-reported cooking ability is positively associated with better family connections, greater mental well-being and lower levels of self-reported depression among adolescents (23) .…”

School-based gardening, cooking and nutrition intervention increased vegetable intake but did not reduce BMI: Texas sprouts - a cluster randomized controlled trial

“…School gardens have become a common health promotion strategy to increase FV intake in the U.S. In the past two decades, numerous studies have examined the effects of school gardens on psychosocial variables, FV intake, food literacy, and mental health in children [19][20][21][22][23][24]. Several experimental studies [25,26] have shown that gardening is linked to lower obesity levels in adults, however few studies have reported on the effects of gardening on obesity and related health measures in children [27].…”