According to the National Gardening Association, food gardening in the U.S. is at it's highest level in more than a decade. Key stats:
- 35% of all households in America, or 42 million households, are growing food at home or in a community garden, up 17% in five years
- Largest increases in participation seen among younger households - up 63% to 13 million since 2008
- 2 million more households community gardening -- up 200% since 2008
Key quote on millennial gardeners (ages 18-34):
In 2008 there were 8 million millennial food gardeners. That figure rose to 13 million in 2013, an increase of 63%. Millennials also nearly doubled their spending on food gardening, from $632 million in 2008 to $1.2 billion in 2013.
The gardening industry has certainly benefited from the growing interest in gardening (bad pun intended).
According to the Gardening Association, Americans spent $3.5 billion on food gardening in 2013 - up from $2.5 billion in 2008 - a 40% increase in five years.
Impressive given these were the Great Recession years.
See our Small Farms category for more on the rise of gardening and small farming.
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