Growing your own food at home might be challenging, but it is also necessary if you want access to the best quality nutrition for your household.
Americans slowly realize the effects it could have on the lives and economies of their households.
That is why a gardening boom is happening in the United States, where 1 in every 3 American households is growing food at home.
Key Takeaways
- About 30% of American households are growing food either in their home or in a community garden.
- Millennials are more aware of the food situation and are more eager to contribute to their household.
- The United States currently has the highest participation rate in its history in young people aged 18 to 34.
Increase In Growing Food At Home
The National Gardening Association (NGA) follows the number of American households growing their food at home, among many other important gardening-related topics.
In recent years, National Gardening Association has seen a dramatic increase in how many people grow food at home in the United States.
To put it into context, about 30% of American households are growing food either in their home or in a community garden.
This is an increase of around 200% from 2008. Growing food at home is solving many issues around the country since access to food is still very problematic, where many households do not have proper access to many foods.
Especially young people, millennials, are growing their own food according to a special five-year report prepared by NGA.
The same report indicates that from 36 million households in 2008, the number of households growing their own food increased to 42 million households in 2013. 1
You Can Also Read What Is Home Inspection?
The Effects It Has
Even though growing your food at home is extremely cost-effective for the household economy, this phenomenon has other major effects.
By growing your food in your household, you understand how the food systems work, and you let other families have more access to various nutrition at affordable prices if you think about selling the food you grow at home.
Growing your food also increases the money you spend on the food gardening economy and contributes to the economy in some way.
This helps food to be in abundance and decreases the overall prices, making it more affordable to the general public.
Millennials Contribution
Perhaps the biggest shock many people had was millennials’ contribution to growing their own food at home.
The same five-year report by NGA that we discussed before analyses millennials’ contribution to house gardening.
In 2008, only about 8 million millennials, those aged between 18 to 34, increased to over 13 million in 2013 in just five years.
This is around a 63% increase. This indicates that millennials are more aware of the food situation and are more eager to contribute to their household.
The United States currently has the highest participation rate in its history in young people aged 18 to 34 in urban areas and families with children. 2
The Verdict
To sum everything up, Americans are more and more growing their own food in their homes or in their community gardens and contribute not only to their households but also to the food gardening economy and help many people reach better nutrition at affordable prices.
This drive-in the increase of gardening is mainly thanks to millennials as there was an increase of 63% in just five years between 2008 to 2013.
Amit Gupta is the founder of National Planning Cycles, a company that helps startups, individuals, and small businesses with their financial planning. He has a vast amount of experience in the finance sector, having managed Google Play accounts for some of the world’s most successful unicorns. Amit is an expert in his field, and he uses his knowledge to help others achieve their individual goals.
ARTICLE SOURCES
The National Planning Cycles is committed to producing high-quality content that follows industry standards. We do this by using primary sources, such as white papers and government data alongside original reporting from reputable publishers that were appropriate for the accuracy of information while still being unbiased. We have an editorial policy that includes verifiable facts with due credit given where applicable.
- https://theconversation.com/the-pandemics-gardening-boom-shows-how-gardens-can-cultivate-public-health-181426[↩]
- https://buffalonews.com/lifestyles/great-gardening-millennials-have-embraced-gardening-and-natural-foods-and-are-driving-changes-in-the/article_78600de9-5e9f-554d-be74-0d559a4625e8.html[↩]