Effect of home vegetable gardening on the household availability of fruits and vegetables

ABSTRACT Objective: Evaluate the effect of planting herb or vegetable seeds and seedlings on the household availability of fruits and vegetables through an intervention study combining various actions (educational practices, home visits, and distribution of seeds and seedlings) for the promotion of fruit and vegetable consumption in multiple settings. Methods: Data from 70 families were analyzed. Using the stratified sampling technique, the participant families were selected from a stratum within a population of 1,743 families living in three low-income communities in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Three post-intervention groups were formed and compared: families that did not receive the seeds and seedlings during the intervention; families that received but did not plant the seeds and seedlings; families that received and planted the seeds and seedlings. Results: Among the families that did not grow their own fruits and vegetables before the intervention, those that received and planted the seeds and seedlings achieved an increase in household availability of fruits and vegetables (Δ=+5.8 percentage points) up to three times higher (p<0.05) than that achieved by the families who did not receive the seeds and seedlings (Δ=+1.8 5 percentage points) and those that received but did not plant them (Δ=+2.3 percentage points). As for the families that grew their own fruits and vegetables before the intervention, the comparison between those that did not receive the seeds and seedlings, those that received and planted them, and those that received but did not plant them showed no differences in the household availability of fruits and vegetables. Conclusion: The planting of the seeds and seedlings that they received by the families that did not grow their own fruits and vegetables before the intervention contributed to a significant increase in the household availability of fruits and vegetables.

摘要
研究目的：本研究通过一项结合教育实践、家庭探访、种子与种苗分发等多项推广果蔬消费举措的干预性研究，评估种植草本植物或果蔬种子及种苗对家庭果蔬可获得性的影响，研究覆盖多类应用场景。
研究方法：本研究共分析70个家庭的相关数据。采用分层抽样（stratified sampling）法，从居住于巴西里约热内卢市3个低收入社区的1743个家庭总体的对应抽样层中抽取受访家庭。随后设置3个干预后组别开展对比：未在干预期间获得种子与种苗的家庭；获得种子与种苗但未进行种植的家庭；获得并种植了种子与种苗的家庭。
研究结果：对于干预前未自主种植果蔬的家庭，获得并种植种子与种苗的家庭，其家庭果蔬可获得性提升幅度（Δ=+5.8个百分点）较未获得种子与种苗的家庭（Δ=+1.8 5个百分点）以及获得但未种植的家庭（Δ=+2.3个百分点）高出至多3倍（p<0.05）。而对于干预前已自主种植果蔬的家庭，对比未获得种子与种苗、获得并种植以及获得但未种植的组别，其家庭果蔬可获得性未出现显著差异。
研究结论：对于干预前未自主种植果蔬的家庭而言，种植所获种子与种苗，可显著提升其家庭果蔬可获得性。