Home gardens and the energy and nutrient intakes of women and preschoolers in rural Puerto Rico

The study investigated how the increased availability of self‐grown foods was related to the adequacy of the energy and nutrient intake of rural women and preschoolers in Puerto Rico. The 109 women included in the study were found to be most seriously deficient in iron and calcium, and tended to suffer from obesity. The 50 preschoolers demonstrated no serious chronic/acute undernutrition or growth retardation, and were most seriously deficient in iron and vitamin C. Results indicated that per capita food expenditures did not decrease with increased availability of self‐grown foods. Home gardens had the effect of increasing the total food supply of the household during certain seasons. Preschoolers appeared to benefit nutritionally more from horticultural production than adult women. With the exception of iron intake, more adequate energy and nutrient intakes of preschoolers were associated with the availability of different self‐grown foods. This was only true for the vitamin A intake of the women.