Food insecurity and poverty are prevalent in rural areas where farming is the main source of livelihood for most households. The cultivation of food crops in community gardens is recognised as an effective way to produce food and thereby reduce poverty and food insecurity among poor households. The aim of the study was to investigate the challenges of crop production in community gardens in the Jozini Local Municipality. A mixed-method approach was used in the study, which involved selecting 240 farmers of 50 community gardens by means of probability sampling. Primary data were collected through telephonic interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics found in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 26 and thematic analysis. The study revealed 14 challenges, such as poor fencing, inadequate irrigation systems, water shortages, lack of market access, shortage of gardening tools, internal conflicts and high input costs. Therefore, the production of food crops in community gardens is hindered by poor farming infrastructure and equipment, and social and financial factors. It is recommended that farmers of community gardens should erect fences to protect their gardens, drill boreholes, build water storage facilities and install irrigation systems to improve crop production.