Kate G. Burt, Jennifer Rakoff, and Andrea Ventura are with the Department of Dietetics, Food, and Nutrition, Lehman College, City University of New York, Bronx, NY. Hersh B. Luesse is an independent researcher based in New York, NY. Marissa Burgermaster is with Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, New York.
Am J Public Health. 2018 Nov;108(11):1543-1549. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304674. Epub 2018 Sep 25.
To elucidate details about the barriers (time, funding, staffing, and space) to integrating and sustaining school gardens.
A total of 99 school gardeners from 15 states participated in an online survey in June 2017. The 29-item survey contained qualitative and quantitative items that we analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive content analysis.
In order of greatest to least barrier, gardeners ranked time, staff, funding, curriculum, and space. Time for classes to use the garden (66% of respondents) and time for staff training (62%) were the most frequently listed time-related challenges. Respondents also reported low engagement within the school community. An overall lack of funding was the most common funding-related barrier, and gardeners were unaware of how to obtain more funding.
We identified 3 aspects of school gardens as opportunities to address time- and staff-related issues: strengthening of garden committees, professional development, and community outreach. Better channels are needed to disseminate funding opportunities within schools and to communicate with communities at large. Ultimately, doing so will strengthen existing school gardens as a vehicle to promote dietary, physical, and social health within communities.
阐明整合和维持学校花园所面临的障碍（时间、资金、人员和空间）的细节。
2017 年 6 月，来自 15 个州的 99 名学校园丁参与了一项在线调查。该 29 项调查包含定性和定量项目，我们使用描述性统计和归纳内容分析进行了分析。
按障碍程度（从最大到最小）排列，园丁们将时间、人员、资金、课程和空间列为首要考虑因素。班级使用花园的时间（66%的受访者）和员工培训的时间（62%）是最常被提及的与时间相关的挑战。受访者还报告了学校社区内参与度低的问题。整体资金不足是最常见的资金相关障碍，园丁们不知道如何获得更多资金。
我们确定了学校花园的 3 个方面作为解决时间和人员相关问题的机会：加强花园委员会、专业发展和社区外联。需要更好的渠道在学校内传播资金机会，并与整个社区进行沟通。最终，这样做将加强现有的学校花园，作为在社区内促进饮食、身体和社会健康的工具。
