The Jefferson Co. Extension Office manages ten community gardens across Jefferson Co. that have averaged 400 registered gardeners over the past four years. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic increased participation in the community garden program as folks looked for alternative ways to access healthy foods and/or seek time outdoors. In 2020, there was a 25% increase in the total number of registered gardeners for a total of 501 community gardeners growing food in 2020.

In order to understand how the pandemic impacted gardeners in 2020, the Jefferson Co. Horticulture Agent implemented an End of Season Assessment to learn how the pandemic impacted their gardening practices in 2020. Overall, community gardens became a critical source of food for gardeners and their families in 2020 and here is how the gardens contributed to family food security in 2020:

• 20% of all gardeners reported having one or more additional people become dependent on them for food in 2020.
• 85% of gardeners are feeding between 1-4 people from their plot(s)
• 11% of gardeners are feeding between 5-11 people from their plot(s)
• 4% are feeding 12 or more people from their plot(s)
• 21% of gardeners grew more food in 2020 because of the pandemic
• 22% of gardeners grew a fall garden for the first time
• 33% of gardeners reported spending more time in their gardens in 2020
• 97% of gardeners said the “garden helped the health of their family”
• 13% of the gardeners grew a crop specifically for medicinal purposes