The trouble with temporary : impacts and pitfalls of a meanwhile community garden in Wythenshawe, South Manchester

The rise of Urban Agriculture projects across the UK has led to a surge of interest intheir efficacy and resulting social impacts. Real Food Wythenshawe is a Lottery-fundedurban food project in the UK that aims to teach the population of Wythenshawe to growtheir own food and to cook from scratch. The area, popularly referred to as 'Europe'slargest council estate', suffers from high levels of deprivation and has been describedas a 'food desert' due to a perceived lack of access to fresh fruit and vegetables (SmallWorld Consulting, 2013). In order to encourage Wythenshawe residents to grow theirown food and to increase access to fresh fruit and vegetables, Real FoodWythenshawe aims to transform unused areas of land into growing spaces, such asallotments and community gardens.This paper focuses on research conducted at a community garden in Wythenshawe,established by Real Food Wythenshawe as an example of a 'meanwhile' or temporarygrowing site for people affected by cancer. The research investigated the impact of thegrowing activities on community garden participants through a series of observationsand interviews. The findings suggest that the benefits of the space were multiple anddiverse, ranging from increased growing knowledge to therapeutic effects, whilst therehas been minimal effect on participants' dietary behaviour. The organisation of thecommunity garden also raises questions over some of the practicalities of temporaryurban growing sites and highlights the tensions that can arise between smallcommunity growing groups and larger institutions with control over land use. Thesefindings add to a growing body of research that considers the value of growing in thecity and reflects on the role of community gardening in deprived urban areas of the UK