What happens when nutrition experts team up with gardening pros? Communities across California get healthier, one garden at a time.
The partnership between CalFresh Healthy Living, UC, and the UC Master Gardener Program combines the best of both programs under UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. The UC Master Gardener Program has already helped hundreds of thousands of people start growing fruits and vegetables at home, in schools, and in community gardens. Working with CalFresh Healthy Living, UC, they're now reaching even more families.
Why Gardens Matter for Health
CalFresh Healthy Living, UC works with families who receive SNAP benefits (government food assistance). They teach hands-on cooking classes, show people how to stretch food budgets, and help families stay active. You'll find their educators in neighborhoods leading cooking demonstrations, setting up community gardens, and helping people make healthier choices.
Research shows that people who grow their own food eat more of it. Home gardens lead to better diets and lower rates of heart disease and cancer (Patton et al. 2014). When families grow their own vegetables, kids are more likely to try new foods and eat their greens.
UC Master Gardener volunteers teach the gardening skills that make home harvests successful. While CalFresh Healthy Living, UC shows families how to cook what they grow, UC Master Gardener volunteers help them learn to grow it.
Real Results Across California
This partnership operates across multiple counties, bringing fresh food access to many families. This matters because many California communities live in food deserts—places where fresh, healthy food is hard to find or too expensive (CDFA 2012). Instead of driving far to grocery stores, families often shop at convenience stores or eat fast food, leading to poor diets and more health problems.
Butte County Schools Get Growing
In rural Butte County, 18% of people don't have enough food, and 28% live where healthy food is hard to find. The UC Master Gardener Program and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC work together at low-income schools. UC Master Gardener volunteers teach students how to grow vegetables. CalFresh Healthy Living, UC educators teach them why eating plants matters. Then students harvest and eat what they grew.
Both programs envision school gardens as "living labs" where kids learn by doing.
Seniors Thrive in Imperial County
After COVID-19 hit, UC Master Gardener volunteer Denisse Pimental and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC educator Martha Lopez started something special in Imperial County. They wanted to help seniors grow vegetables and build community connections.
Crystal Cortez and Rosa Alicia Garcia joined the team. Together, they created gardens at three senior apartments in Imperial, Holtville, and Calexico. Denisse visits weekly to help residents with their plants.
"The residents love seeing Denisse," Martha says. "We grow more food for our CalFresh Healthy Living, UC cooking classes. Working together makes sense—we build on each other's strengths."
Denisse is still learning to garden herself. "I teach simple tips like keeping pests away," she says. "This is my favorite UC Master Gardener project."
More than 35 seniors now tend their own garden plots.
Madera County Spring Garden Workshop
In Madera County, UC Master Gardeners, CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE, and UC Master Food Preservers teamed up to host a Spring Garden Workshop. This event brought together adults and youth for an intergenerational learning experience focused on growing, preparing, and preserving food.
Participants rotated through hands-on activity stations during the hour-and-a-half workshop, spending about 20 minutes at each stop. Adults learned gardening tips from UC Master Gardener volunteers using the "Fresh From the Garden" curriculum, enjoyed a healthy recipe demonstration and tasting from CalFresh Healthy Living, and explored safe food preservation techniques—like pickling—with help from Master Food Preservers. Youth participated in similar activities tailored to their age using the TWIGS (Teams With Intergenerational Support) curriculum.
At the end of the event, everyone went home with tomato and pepper seedlings to start their own gardens. Held at seven school sites across the Fresno-Madera region, the workshops reached 89 adults and 89 youth, planting seeds of knowledge and healthy habits in the community.
Building Community Through Gardens
These partnerships demonstrate what happens when gardening knowledge meets nutrition education. The UC Master Gardener Program helps start gardens in areas where fresh food is scarce. The program trains people to grow their own food, improving access to healthy meals and food security.
When people grow their own food, they learn new skills, eat better, and connect with neighbors. Gardens build communities.
Get Growing
Both UC Master Gardeners and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC continue expanding across California, but they need community members to help. Whether you want to learn gardening, share your skills, or help build healthier neighborhoods, there's a place for you.
Ready to start? Contact your local UC Master Gardener program to learn about volunteering opportunities, workshops, and community gardens in your area.
References:
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). 2012. Food deserts in California: Challenges and opportunities. Sacramento, CA.
Patton, S., et al. 2014. Home gardening and dietary outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 46(4), 259-267.