Lettuce learn: Student reflections on building and sustaining a community donation garden

Routledge Handbook of Gender and Agriculture

“…Iowa is second only to California for the value of exported agricultural products and the first in the nation in total exports of grain (corn and soybeans) (USDA NASS, 2017). The state's land-grant university-Iowa State University-purports to "feed the world," 5 yet its surrounding communities struggle with hunger (Dankbar et al, 2017).This state's dominant agricultural system is powered by fossil fuels, from the gasoline fueling tractors and grain trucks to the petroleum-based inputs used as fertilizers and chemicals in production. In 2017, the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) became operational; the DAPL is a privately-owned oil pipeline crossing beneath Iowa's two river borders-the Missouri and the Mississippi-and the majority of the state's major rivers as it transports crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota to Patoka, IL, for eventual shipment to the Gulf for processing and export.…”

Gauging food provisioning, social and economic benefits of community farms for Iowa's immigrant community

“…in size. The goal of the students in the Sustainable Agriculture Student Association (SASA), who were connected with the garden, was to "provide access and availability of fresh produce to clients of Food at First's meals and pantry, and engage the broader community in our local emergency food system" (Dankbar et al, 2017). In addition to management by members of SASA, garden workers included a few local community members and Master Gardeners, whose goal was to provide a variety of fresh produce to FAF clients.…”

“…"People loved the extra fresh goods at the market and at the meals. I felt valued for contributing to the growth, care, and harvest of the garden bounty," another garden leader stated (Dankbar, 2017).…”

“…A former leader at the garden also expressed her concern about the difficulty of volunteer management: "I often felt disappointed and discouraged by the lack of volunteers who would show up at the garden. For the most part, our garden volunteer team was made up of graduate students in Sustainable Agriculture" (Dankbar, 2017). Another former leader pointed out: "The volunteers we have had in the garden have been great … However, the struggle to maintain high numbers of volunteers has caused the garden leaders to question our goals and capacity.…”