Gardening Food

The following are a selection of images, captions, and quotes from Flint residents who participated in the photo project on food access in Flint and the impact of COVID-19. Most of the photos show intersecting themes, for example one photo and caption might illustrate family, cooking and healthy eating. Photos on these pages are just shared in one category to help show the breadth of data we received.

These data illustrate the theme of gardening for food.

This theme appeared 145 times in the data.

We define the gardening for food theme as discussions of grow food your own food at home or near your home.

Flint Residents Shared

Melons on backyard table
“The melons were harvested by the neighborhood groundhog.”
Tomatoes in containers
“Potatoes over flowing out of the potato sacks.”
Neighborhood garden
“We were also extremely fortunate this summer to be able to get fresh produce from another garden in our neighborhood that was offering CSA boxes. Every couple of weeks, we would walk over and get a box of diverse, high-quality vegetables. There were times when we had more fresh, locally-grown produce than we knew what to do with. Of course, with the change in seasons, we can’t rely upon this option anymore, and unfortunately the owners of the adjacent home are selling, so it is not clear that the garden is going to continue in the future.”
Raised garden bed filled with vegetables
“Gardening is fairly new to me but they have helped me to make some delicious meals and know what work is put in from farmers. I appreciate it a lot more. Also I know exactly what is in my vegetables as far as growing them organically and not sprayed with chemicals.”
Growing herbs in indoor containers
“We also started growing herbs inside the house for the first time. (Our two-year-old knocked the mint over at one point and now it won’t grow.)”

To learn more about the Flint Leverage Points Project, watch our Flint Food System Video.

To learn more about this photo project, visit our Briefing Notes page.

Explore other themes, images, and data.

*Note: The statements provided here represent the voices of the Flint residents who participated in this research project. They are not necessarily reflective of the values or opinions of Michigan State University or its affiliates.

Photo Project