When the president says there's a recession and the lines of the hungry and homeless grow longer, it may be time to expand community garden programs throughout the state, says Bill Liebhardt, director of the UC Davis-based UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. "If farm workers had access to small plots of land to grow their own vegetables, gardens could be part of the solution to hunger in rural areas," he says. Mark Francis, a professor of landscape architecture at UC Davis, received funding from SAREP to survey participants in the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners. He predicts an upsurge in the demand for urban garden plots. "In addition to the tangible benefits of producing food, being able to work with the land, and developing a sense of community, gardening broadens urban residents' understanding of the issues that farmers face," Francis says.