non-commercial gardening or growing food plants. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families. On a similar term, ―Victory gardens‖ movement started up during the first and second world wars. It was an effort undertaken by the citizens of the united states to reduce the pressure on food production as a way to support the war effort. Hence the name ‗Victory‘ gardens. During the
Figure 11: "Victory gardens" during the WW1
WW1, president Wilson called upon all American citizens and encouraged them to use any vacant lot or open unutilized space for growing food. He saw it as a means to bring people together during the crisis and to protect them from a harmful turn of events. Also, Because of all the European countries being consumed in war, they were not able to produce enough food to feed themselves, let alone supply to the U.S. The new plan was implemented with the intent to supply food for the U.S and at the same time ship off the surplus produce to the countries in need. By the year 1919, over 5 million plots were growing food and over 500 million pounds of produce was harvested. As many as 5.5 million Americans took part in the victory garden movement and over 9 million pounds of fruit and vegetables were grown a year, accounting for 44% of U.S.-grown produce throughout that time. It was not just during wars that the idea of supplemental food production beyond rural farming came up; Economic crisis also gave rise to juxtaposition of agriculture and urban dwelling. During the great depression, food shortages arose as people lost their jobs and livelihood. 23
