Planting the seeds for sustained health through Arkansas’s Community Garden Health Block program

In Arkansas, a dynamic partnership of researchers and community leaders is transforming the way public health interventions are designed and delivered. At the heart of this effort is a Community Garden Health Block initiative led by the Arkansas CEAL Regional Team (AR CEAL). Their mission is to address food insecurity and chronic disease through community engagement and sustainable solutions.

The project began in 2020, when food insecurity surged across the state. By listening to community voices, the team identified access to nutritious food as a critical need. What followed was a collaboration to build and support community gardens as hubs for health education, food access, and empowerment.

Flash forward to 2025, and seven gardens are now participating in the Community Garden Health Block, an eight-week study reviewing outcomes based on how the gardens are designed and run. The intervention includes volunteer days, plant education workshops, garden design and beautification, cooking demonstrations, themed workshops, and health education materials. A highlight of the program is Chef Alicia Watson, a plant-based culinary expert from Arkansas, who leads engaging cooking classes that highlight nutrition and affordability and are tailored to the local community. Chef Alicia won the Food Network competition series “Big Restaurant Bet” in 2022. Her cooking classes have become a favorite among participants, demonstrating that healthy eating can be both accessible and delicious.

The study is carefully structured, with baseline and follow-up surveys measuring outcomes such as fruit and vegetable intake, food security, and physical activity. The project goes beyond collecting data, focusing on building capacity by equipping gardens with infrastructure, training volunteer coordinators, and fostering leadership through workshops and retreats. The team spent a year working with gardens to grow their capacity to participate in the randomized trial.

Trust and authenticity are central to the team’s approach. “Our community trusts us [researchers] because we show up,” said Elizabeth Taylor, director of research for community development at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and member of the AR CEAL team. “We’re in the community, not just as researchers, but as neighbors.” This commitment is reflected in the project’s design, which includes ongoing feedback loops. That means regular meetings with the community, such as through coalition meetings and steering committees, as opposed to a one-time focus group to tap community input.

Sustainability is also a key goal. The team encourages gardens to adopt a “keep a third, give a third, sell a third” model, helping them move toward independence. Some gardens are already exploring partnerships with local food pantries and markets, laying the groundwork for long-term impact.

In June 2025, 20 members of the coalition attended the American Community Gardening Association Conference in New York, where they shared their work and returned with new ideas and inspiration. The experience highlighted the importance of increased visibility for community-led research, which can boost both innovation and validation.

Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and AR CEAL principal investigator, emphasized, “Even if the randomized trial doesn’t yield the results we hope for, the relationships, the capacity built, and the community transformation are outcomes that matter deeply.”

This Arkansas CEAL initiative is a powerful example of how research, when rooted in the community, can grow trust, resilience, and lasting change.