In 2008, 36 million American households were planting their own food in home and community gardens. That number grew to 42 million in 2013.
That is a 17 percent increase and is the highest level of food gardening in more than a decade, the report, “Garden to Table: A 5-Year Look at Food Gardening in America,” states.
Young people, or millennials (ages 18-34), are the fastest growing population segment of food gardeners by increasing 63 percent to 13 million by 2013.
Additionally, there was a 29 perecent increase in food gardening by people living in urban areas, up from 7 million in 2008 to 9 million in 2013.
Additional highlights from the 5-year report include:
- 1 in 3 households are now growing food – the highest overall participation and spending levels seen in a decade.
- Americans spent $3.5 billion on food gardening in 2013 – up from $2.5 billion in 2008 – a 40 percent increase in five years.
- 76 percent of all households with a food garden grew vegetables, a 19 percent increase since 2008.
- From 2008 to 2013 the number of home gardens increased by 4 million to 37 million households, while community gardens tripled from 1 million to 3 million, a 200 percent increase.
- Households with incomes under $35,000 participating in food gardening grew to 11 million – up 38 percent from 2008.
