2. Methods
Cooperative Extension oces serving 56 counties in
upstate New York (all counties outside of New York
City) were contacted to identify community garden
programs. In all states, Cooperative Extension is admi-
nistered through land-grant universities (with grant
support from the US Department of Agriculture), and
faculty in nutritional and agricultural sciences provide
program direction, in-service training and teaching ma-
terials for county programs. Cornell University serves
this role in New York State. Cooperative Extension
has two main program components, nutrition pro-
grams and gardening/agricultural programs, both of
which aim to increase the self-suciency of families.
One activity of the agricultural component of Coop-
erative Extension is the Master Gardeners Program.
This program selects and trains volunteers in a series
of technical courses. These include soil diagnosis and
enrichment, vegetable, fruit and herb gardening, dis-
eases, insects and pest control, tree and shrub care,
annuals and perennials, and integrated pest manage-
ment. These trained volunteers help with gardening
and other home and grounds questions and help main-
tain demonstration and public gardens throughout the
state. To remain active in the program, Master Gar-
deners volunteer at least 30±50 h per year. Cooperative
Extension sta, especially in the Master Gardeners
Programs, are often informed about all of the commu-
nity gardens operating in their county, even when they
are not directly involved in the operation of a garden.
Oces of city mayors and village clerks were also
contacted in counties where Cooperative Extension
agents could not identify any community gardens,
and in counties with larger cities (e.g. Bualo),