2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Participation in field days have been shown to improve adoption of new techniques and increase farmer learning. Since 1977, Iowa State University (ISU) Department of Horticulture has hosted several Home Demonstration Garden field days at many ISU research farms to educate consumers on best practices and cultivars for growing annual flowers and vegetables. Each year these gardens are planted based on a specific topic or theme. In 2016 six Home Demonstration Gardens hosted field days in July or August. The objective of these field days was to showcase vegetable varieties that are in demand at food pantries and that home gardeners could grow easily for donation. In addition to showcasing the crops, field day presentations focused on food insecurity, its related implications in Iowa, and how community members could impact food security in their local communities. More than 400 community members attended these field days. Of these field day attendees 151 (38%) participated in an optional survey given at the end of the field day. The survey asked for participants to reflect on their food security knowledge gain and potential fresh produce donation intentions before and after participation in the field day. Slightly more than half (53%) of attendees reported some increase in food security knowledge after participation while 47% reported no increase in food security knowledge. In addition, 85% of respondents reported that they will or would consider donating fresh produce to a local pantry after participation in this field day, a 44% increase from previous donation patterns. The results from this first year of a food pantry garden will influence the layout and content used on the upcoming 2017 Home Demonstration Garden Field Day Survey. Future studies will highlight before and after knowledge using two separate surveys given at the beginning and end of the presentation to better capture knowledge gain.