Food Story
Brotherhood Peace Garden : A Vegelicious Case Study
Food Story
Michelle Gondo is full of energy and has spent the last couple of hours hugging everyone and answering non-stop questions. She “captures what community in Moss Side is,” says Sophie O’Neill from MSV Housing which supports the Brotherhood Peace Garden Project.
The project, based at the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star Church, started in January 2025 as a community allotment and has a series of raised beds and a polytunnel producing chard, spinach and some winter herbs. As well as being a member of FareShare, it has also worked with our sister organisation, Touch Wood, which has built timber planters and storage sheds.
With a group of ten regular volunteers, the site is a buzz of activity despite the rain. Alongside gardening jobs they are running a food pantry, offering a range of food and are open to anyone in the community. The layout of the site makes everyone feel welcomed, evidenced by teenagers quietly hanging out, a younger boy helping to tidy the storeroom and more experienced gardeners potting on new plants and sharing cuttings.
Colin, a visitor at the project, says it is essential for him to help with the cost of living. That morning, he had collected a pumpkin, pasta and cleaning products among other things for just £2. While he really enjoys the variety on offer, he says he would like to see more Caribbean food like plantain, salt fish and cornmeal.
Brother and sister, Ali and Habiba, volunteer weekly through our volunteering opportunities in Manchester and are full of enthusiasm. They get involved in all aspects of the project from cleaning up the site and growing food to redistributing surplus food to charities across Greater Manchester. “It makes me feel happy and rewarded,” says Habiba, who feels she is part of a family through the project.
They are getting lots of growing experience and were inspired by a recent visit to RHS Bridgewater. On site, they are growing spinach at the moment but took their knowledge home with them and had a go at growing strawberries last year.
Habiba is a college student, studying social sciences and hoping to work within her community. She really values meeting people and this volunteering opportunity has helped her confidence and given her insights for her studies.
The Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is a member of the Vegelicious project which sees community organisations and schools receiving regular deliveries of fruit and vegetables to support their local communities. You can find out more about Vegelicious here. Projects like this show how surplus food redistribution and volunteering in Manchester can make a real difference to local communities.
If you would like to get involved and become a partner in the Vegelicious scheme yourself, please get in touch with Sharon, our Projects Development Coordinator – sharon.robinson@emergemanchester.co.uk
