Document Type
Honors Thesis
Publication Date
Spring 5-2016
Abstract
Senior food insecurity and social isolation are potentially two serious issues within Maine communities. The Orono Community Garden (OCG) is a local effort to combat both of these issues. The OCG relies on volunteer workers, who donate the food they produce to low-income seniors living in three neighboring housing complexes in Orono, Maine. This project uses participant observation, surveys, and personal interviews as the basis for a qualitative analysis, to assess how seniors’ food security is influenced due to the food from the OCG, the ways in which the OCG provides a sense of community and social integration for the seniors, and how the garden impacts volunteers who work there. This research contributes to our understanding of the roles and functions of a community gardens, as well as its impact on senior food security and social isolation.
Recommended Citation
Mullis, Sarah, "Alleviating Social Isolation and Food Insecurity Through Community Gardening: How the Orono Community Garden Impacts Seniors" (2016). Honors College. 403.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/403