Regarding the therapeutic significance of promoting horticulture therapy and the consumption of organic and home-grown foods, there are multiple studies.
In a gerontology study published in the British Journal of Social Science and Medicine (Milligan, et al, 2004), the authors found evidence to suggest that higher cognitive scores of achievement, attention, and life satisfaction on standardized Quality of Life Measures were earned during a course of community garden treatment. Giglotti and Jarrot (Canadian Journal of Aging, 2006) suggested that horticulture therapy facilitated higher lovers of productive engagement and positive affect scores in patients with dementia than did traditional day treatment programs.
Brawley, et al (1994) has suggested that Alzheimers’ patients scored higher in cognition and social skills measures after a course in garden therapy. Psychiatrist Bella Schimmel, MD, PhD reports that the increased eye-hand coordination, initiation, and sensory integration skills of garden therapy has produced significant improvements for mentally ill children, adolescents and adults in a variety of mental health settings (American Psychiatric Association, 2007).