Food or housing? A community garden on public land in Pittsburgh’s North Side has vying interests staking claims

From left, Sarah Buranskas, of Stanton Heights, holds her 22-month-old daughter, Antonia, as Emily Wiggins, of Manchester, hands her a fresh-picked raspberry at the Food for the Soul Community Farm, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Manchester. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource) A local community organization’s plan to build housing would uproot a vegetable garden in the heart of a food desert, raising questions of best use. “PublicSource is an independent nonprofit newsroom serving the Pittsburgh region. Sign up for our free newsletters.” by Eric Jankiewicz, PublicSource A community garden providing fresh vegetables in the food desert of Manchester faces removal as the City of Pittsburgh and its redevelopment agency favor a plan to build housing on the site instead. The city and the Urban Redevelopment Authority have so far refused to renew the lease of the Food for the Soul Community Farm, which spans six vacant lots along Fulton Street, in a dispute demonstrating that land can attract competing interests even amid plenty of abandoned and neglected properties. Ebony Evans, an urban farmer and educator with Farmer Girl Eb, laughs as she readies the Food for the Soul Community Farm for winter on Oct. 17, in Manchester. Evans and other gardeners...