Each Saturday during the summer months, thousands of Vancouver residents make their way to the four major farmers markets in the city. Farmers markets are not only places to meet local growers and try artisan breads and cheeses but also to beat the monotony of shopping the produce section at the grocery store.

Carissa Murphy, though, believes that when the popular and long-running Trout Lake farmers market at John Hendry Park starts up on Saturday (May 14), many residents in the area won’t be able to attend. “Trout Lake actually has a much lower income than Vancouver on the whole, so poverty and food-security issues are pretty prevalent here,” she told the Georgia Straight. “A lot of markets can be pretty pricey, and a lot of the people that we try to reach out to are living in poverty in B.C.”

Murphy is the coordinator of the Trout Lake Cedar Cottage Food Security Network, a nonprofit group that addresses the issue of food accessibility in the community. “Our area has very little access to food,” she said. “Even if you look at things like grocery stores and availability for people who might be walking or taking transit, there’s a study that came out that called this area a ”˜grocery desert’.”

The TLCC network is run mainly by volunteers, and they have been producing pocket markets—as well as community gardens, tasting kitchens, and workshops on how to prepare healthy food—since 2007. Pocket markets are year-round mini produce markets that take place on the third Saturday of each month. (For the past few months, they have taken place just west of the Nanaimo SkyTrain station on 25th Avenue.) “The goal is to create access to fresh, quality produce for people who are on budgets and for people who maybe have difficulty getting around,” Murphy said.

The pocket markets use bulk buying power to help bring down the cost of local and organic food. A week before the market, interested shoppers can purchase wooden “coupons” from Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House in advance at $1 per coupon. From there, the money collected is used to purchase produce. “We can buy things in bigger quantities or buy things at wholesale or buy direct, so you do have that buying power,” Murphy said. “When we distribute them [the produce] at the market, you’re buying the same as wholesale prices, and there are a lot of savings, but you’re still able to get that nice local food or high-nutrition food.”

Shoppers at pocket markets can expect to see a mix of fruits and vegetables. “It’s local and organic as much as possible,” Murphy said. “But if it’s not available in B.C., we try to work our way down the coast. Maybe something comes from Washington, from a good grower, and it’s a good price, so we feel like that’s the best decision.”

Starting this month, TLCC is partnering with South Vancouver Neighbourhood House (SVNH) to offer mobile markets every two weeks. “We’re putting the market on wheels,” Murphy said. “The idea is to bring food to people and to move around different locations so it can be accessible.”

The mobile market will be held at Helping Spirit Lodge (3965 Dumfries Street) and Orchard Park (5988 Nanaimo Street) on the second Saturday of each month, and Brant Villa (2290 East 25th Avenue) and Culloden Court (1375 East 47th Avenue) on the third Saturday of each month. This new program will also allow participants to buy coupons ahead of time at SVNH; however, the pocket markets are open to everyone and you don’t need coupons to attend. “Coupons obviously turn out to be a better option—a little bit cheaper—but even still, with the cash tills it’s very good value,” Murphy said. “The markup is just trying to put a little money back into the program, but anyone can show up and just buy with cash.”