In the US we had victory gardens during times of war rationing. I personally grow one still today, but not everyone has the space, time and inclination to learn how to grow plants and preserve a harvest.
Many American cities have "community gardens" equivalent to the European allotments. Mine will provide a few hundred square feet to any resident for a nominal fee, for the exclusive use of that resident with some basic restrictions (noncommercial, grow mostly edible plants, etc.).
I saw some documentary on the TV about the common food people ate in various decades in the UK, and there they said that some time after WWII when rationing was ended people were so dead tired of their victory gardens that most of them were replaced with lawns or flowers in just a few short years.
Just curious, what method do you use to protect against squirrels? They're kind of crazy here, will eat everything. I had one chew through a plastic bird feeder to get at the seeds.
I have a fence, and dogs are often in the backyard. Squirrels don't really bother most of what I grow anyway since they're mostly started indoors and transplanted.
