For the third summer in a row, the sidewalk at the corner of West 8th and Vine is being transformed into the Westside Community Food Market each Thursday afternoon. Fresh produce from backyard growers and small and medium scale farmers as well as delicious treats from neighbourhood chefs are all on sale at the weekly market.
The Westside Community Food Market was established by the Kitsilano Neighbourhood House and the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation to support small-scale local food producers and make locally and sustainably produced food more accessible to the community. They sure have achieved that. I can feel overwhelmed at large farmers’ markets, but not here. The Westside Market vendors are delighted to chat about their produce and pass on cooking tips and recipe ideas. And the produce is superb!
And if you’re not in a hurry, the Westside Market is a really neat place to hang out. There’s great music to enjoy, interesting people to chat with and delicious popsicles, baked goods and fresh fruit to munch on while you rest a while and soak up some really pleasant moments in our community.
Markets will happen at West 8th Avenue and Vine, every Thursday from 3-7 pm, starting on June 27 and running until September 19.
Kitsilano Neighbourhood House, 3683 West 4th Avenue, 604-736-3588, www.kitshouse.org
The Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC), 2060-B Pine Street, 604-736-7732, www.spec.bc.ca
Last modified: September 5, 2013
$4 for a bulb of garlic?
$6 for a loaf of bread?
Someone should call the police-those vendors are thieves.
While I sympathize with Bill’s consternation (above) regarding high prices, I feel sad to hear the vendors being referred to as “thieves”. For those of us who want to spend less on a bulb of garlic, we are fortunate to have other alternatives. There is no coercion here and all of us have other choices.
In speaking of “theft”, however, if I were to carefully investigate the production source of many of those “reasonably priced” groceries I sometimes buy, I may need to acknowledge that those happy prices I pay are due to production means that come a little too close to theft and coercion of human beings who have scant other livelihood choices.