Growing your own in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
Household food insecurity and poor well-being have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting lockdown measures. Home food growing has been associated with improved food access and well-being, but it is unknown what role it plays during food supply crises and loc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emerald Publishing
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Emerald Open Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://emeraldopenresearch.com/articles/3-7/v2 |
| _version_ | 1811195735804215296 |
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| author | Jessica A. C. Davies Bethan R. Mead Sofia Kourmpetli Natalia Falagán Charlotte A. Hardman Lingxuan Liu |
| author_facet | Jessica A. C. Davies Bethan R. Mead Sofia Kourmpetli Natalia Falagán Charlotte A. Hardman Lingxuan Liu |
| author_sort | Jessica A. C. Davies |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Household food insecurity and poor well-being have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting lockdown measures. Home food growing has been associated with improved food access and well-being, but it is unknown what role it plays during food supply crises and lockdown. It is also unclear how home food growing and social restrictions may affect opinions about growing food in urban areas (i.e., urban agriculture [UA]). A cross-sectional online survey was conducted during the UK national lockdown in March-April 2020 to measure home food growing, perceived food insecurity, well-being, and opinions of UA. The participants were 477 UK-based adults (369 female, mean age 39.57 years ± 13.36); 152 participants were engaged in home food growing prior to the pandemic. Responses were compared to data collected from a separate sample of participants before the pandemic (N = 583) to explore potential shifts in opinions about UA. Participants who engaged in home food growing had lower levels of food insecurity (U = 19894.50, z = -3.649, p<.001, r = -.167) and higher well-being (U = 19566.50, z = -3.666, p<.001, r = -.168) than those not engaged in home food growing. Perceived food insecurity partially mediated the relationship between home food growing and well-being; home food growing was associated with less food insecurity, which in turn was associated with better well-being. There were no differences in opinions of UA compared to the sample of participants from before the pandemic. Home food growing may have had a protective effect over perceived food security and well-being in the early stages the pandemic. Opinions of UA were positive and unchanged compared to data collected pre-pandemic. Policies that support home food growing and access to suitable growing spaces and resources may be beneficial for food system resilience and well-being. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:48:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-56e813f52f08400eb4557b86ce480c74 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2631-3952 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:48:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | Emerald Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Emerald Open Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-56e813f52f08400eb4557b86ce480c742022-12-22T03:54:48ZengEmerald PublishingEmerald Open Research2631-39522021-10-01315504Growing your own in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]Jessica A. C. Davies0Bethan R. Mead1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9294-517XSofia Kourmpetli2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5717-316XNatalia Falagán3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7672-9565Charlotte A. Hardman4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0744-6019Lingxuan Liu5Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United KingdomDepartment of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United KingdomPlant Science Laboratory, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United KingdomPlant Science Laboratory, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United KingdomDepartment of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United KingdomLancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United KingdomHousehold food insecurity and poor well-being have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting lockdown measures. Home food growing has been associated with improved food access and well-being, but it is unknown what role it plays during food supply crises and lockdown. It is also unclear how home food growing and social restrictions may affect opinions about growing food in urban areas (i.e., urban agriculture [UA]). A cross-sectional online survey was conducted during the UK national lockdown in March-April 2020 to measure home food growing, perceived food insecurity, well-being, and opinions of UA. The participants were 477 UK-based adults (369 female, mean age 39.57 years ± 13.36); 152 participants were engaged in home food growing prior to the pandemic. Responses were compared to data collected from a separate sample of participants before the pandemic (N = 583) to explore potential shifts in opinions about UA. Participants who engaged in home food growing had lower levels of food insecurity (U = 19894.50, z = -3.649, p<.001, r = -.167) and higher well-being (U = 19566.50, z = -3.666, p<.001, r = -.168) than those not engaged in home food growing. Perceived food insecurity partially mediated the relationship between home food growing and well-being; home food growing was associated with less food insecurity, which in turn was associated with better well-being. There were no differences in opinions of UA compared to the sample of participants from before the pandemic. Home food growing may have had a protective effect over perceived food security and well-being in the early stages the pandemic. Opinions of UA were positive and unchanged compared to data collected pre-pandemic. Policies that support home food growing and access to suitable growing spaces and resources may be beneficial for food system resilience and well-being.https://emeraldopenresearch.com/articles/3-7/v2urban agriculture home food growing well-being food security food insecurity COVID-19eng |
| spellingShingle | Jessica A. C. Davies Bethan R. Mead Sofia Kourmpetli Natalia Falagán Charlotte A. Hardman Lingxuan Liu Growing your own in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] Emerald Open Research urban agriculture home food growing well-being food security food insecurity COVID-19 eng |
| title | Growing your own in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full | Growing your own in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_fullStr | Growing your own in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full_unstemmed | Growing your own in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_short | Growing your own in times of crisis: the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well-being during the early COVID-19 lockdown [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_sort | growing your own in times of crisis the role of home food growing in perceived food insecurity and well being during the early covid 19 lockdown version 2 peer review 2 approved |
| topic | urban agriculture home food growing well-being food security food insecurity COVID-19 eng |
| url | https://emeraldopenresearch.com/articles/3-7/v2 |
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