my family has an old plot they got from the government just after ww2. Similar to what they do in Siberia these days, it was a promise of free land in exchange for settling in undeveloped/war torn areas. Not very big but still big enough for my mother not to have to go shopping for produce for most of the year.
Having a small plot is essential in most countries, where the market is much less plentiful and certain. As I live in the United States, one of the greatest differences is the price of food, whether that be produce or meat, is nearly half that of my birth country. We are the last people in the world who will be devastated by a food shortage, should there be one.
I imagine it saves a lot of money in the long run. I dont maintain it myself (as I am not in the country) but my mother has enough time, while working 6 days a week to tend to it in free time. It is a good habit.
