The Westside Pocket Market Report 2011 (2)

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    The Wests ide Pocke t Marke t

    Project Report 2011

    Prepared by: Ilse Sarady & Sara BlenkhornDate: October, 2011

    Id like to buy all the tomatoes you have I mean, if thats okay?

    Favorite quote remembered by Backyard Bounty, Westside Pocket Market Vendor

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    TABLE OF CONTENT

    1. Introduction & background to The Westside Pocket Market 3

    2. The voucher program making fresh food available to everyone 3

    2.1 Details about the voucher program 4

    3. Vendors 44. Financials a pocket full of money? 54.1 Sponsorship 6

    4.2 Pocket market sales 6

    4.3 Sales trends over the market season 64.4 Correlation between sales and number of vendors 7

    5. Marketing getting the word out 8

    5.1 Market attendance 9

    6. Survey results what did people think? 10

    6.1 Visitor survey results 10

    6.2 Vendor survey results 12

    7. Volunteers the people who helped make it happen! 14

    8. Discussion 15

    8.1 Vouchers 158.2 Preaching to the converted? 15

    8.3 Factors influencing vendors and sales 168.4 Assessing The Market location 16

    8.5 Getting the word out 168.6 What should be done differently next year? 17

    8.7 Scaling out

    how the Westside Pocket Market fits with the Citys goals 17

    9. Final conclusions -evaluating the outlined goals 18

    10. Additional Resources 19

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    1. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND TO THE WESTSIDE POCKET MARKET

    In the summer of 2010, the KitsilanoNeighborhood House (KNH) created The

    Kitsilano Growers Market with support from theWestside Food Security Collaborative and the

    City of Vancouvers Greenest City Grant. Its

    development sprung out of a need for

    increased support for community access to

    fresh food, and a desire to support local

    Westside growers by contributing to the local

    food economy.

    Due to the markets popularity, this year KNH joined forces with a neighboring NGO with

    similar goals and initiatives around food, TheSociety Promoting Environmental Conservation

    (SPEC). Once again, supported by the WestsideFood Security Collaborative, KNH and SPEC

    called on Future Strategies, a local

    sustainability consulting company, to oversee

    the management of the project. Drawing on the

    successes and feedback from the year before,

    the management team consisting of, Sara

    Blenkhorn and Ilse Sarady, decided to host ten

    markets over the course of the summer.

    The goals of the market were the following:

    Build community and the local food movement;

    Support the local economy; Educate people about sustainable local eating through direct interactions with

    vendors and at free workshops;

    Provide access to affordable local food for low-income families and individuals.

    2. THE VOUCHER PROGRAM MAKING FRESH FOOD AVAILABLE TO

    EVERYONE

    The Westside Pocket Market ran a voucher program aimed at subsidizing the cost oflocal products for low-income families and individuals. The voucher program was

    made possible through a grant received by KNH from The City of VancouversGreenest City Action Plan. The vouchers were

    distributed by KNH to community organizationsoperating in and around Vancouver andspecifically the Westside. Families and

    individuals in need would use the vouchers to

    bring down the cost of the desired items,

    making the local and delicious goodies not only

    nutritious but also affordable. The vouchers

    received plenty of positive feedback from users

    saying that the program allowed them to buy things

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    they perhaps wouldn't or couldn't previously. In total, the program made $300

    available for families and individuals for which $227 was redeemed.

    2.1 Details about the Voucher Program

    There is a large demand for programs like this and local agencies are hungry to

    provide these kinds of programs to their constituents. Participating organizations,through which the vouchers were distributed, were: Jewish Family Services, Sheway,

    Steeves Manor and Kits Garden Group. To understand if, and how the vouchers were

    used, the vouchers were numbered, tracked and tabulated at the end of each

    market. A large contributor to the success of the program came from efforts to

    educate vendors on the program and the process for reimbursement. To make it

    easy for both the farmers and the voucher users, change from purchase was not

    allowed. Each voucher represented one market dollar. If the cost of a product was

    $2.50, the vendor would round up and take three vouchers in return for the local

    merchandise.

    3. VENDORS

    In total, the market had 23 different vendors over a ten weeks span, ranging fromsmall local famers, backyard growers, bread, pastry, jam and cookie makers. The

    bigger vendors, such as small farmers and midsize backyard growers, were able to

    provide enough products to sell for the duration of the ten weeks. Smaller backyard

    growers would participate only when they had an excess of produce exceeding their

    personal use.

    Farm Farmer Products

    Back Yard Bounty Paul MyersSalad and salad mix, garlic, snap peas, pole beans, rainbow chard,kale, broccoli, sprouts, zucchini, green onions, new potatoes,

    tomatoes.

    Back Yard GrowerRebecca

    CuttlerLettuce and herbs

    Bee in BloomMarkusStorhas

    Honey and honey products

    Cherry LaneFarm

    Miles Smart

    Apples, blueberries, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, kale, Italian

    dandelion, romaine lettuce, squash (acorn, butternut, buttercup),early potatoes, corn, cabbage (green and sauerkraut), cauliflower,

    peas

    Dog Gone Farms Emi Do A variety of veggies

    Fresh RootsUrban Farm

    (utilizing schoolgardens, etc.)

    Christopher

    Miles

    Root veggies, herbs, lettuce, kales (all kinds), herbs, flowers,

    zucchini, etc.

    The Vancouver

    Fruit Tree ProjectErin Kastner Fruit pastries galettes

    GI Foods Alan BaguettesGiddy up and

    growWheatgrass shots and cat-grass

    Icy Fresh popsMoni andChristina

    Habib

    Popsicles made from fresh local fruits and veggies

    Jennifer'smassage

    Jennifer Massages for a donation

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    Kits Cookie Co.David Jianu

    and LukaHealthy power cookies

    Levni Chocolates Paul Handmade chocolates

    Break baker Moji Bread

    San Juan Family

    Farm

    Ruth

    HearndenA variety of organic and non organic fruits and veggies

    Sandhu Produce

    Growers

    Avatar and

    JeffFruit and veggies

    SemishellShelleyCollins

    Salad dressing

    Sev's Bread Sevran Howe Bread

    Sevia Sevia Jams Jams, compotes and jellies

    Sole Food Farm Sean Dorey Tomatoes, peppers, greens, lettuce, spinach, arugula, chard, kale.

    World in a

    Garden, andSeeds of plenty

    TriciaSedgwick

    Sprouted grain cookies, herbs, root veggies, zucchini, lettuces andkale

    2051 Back YardGrowers

    Marnie

    Newell andSasha

    Faminoff

    Veggies and herbs

    4. FINANCIALS A POCKET FULL OF MONEY?

    The original financial projections had been to run the

    ten markets on a total of $5,000.00. This was to coverall expenses, including two coordinators to manage

    volunteers, vendors, financials, and marketing and

    market supervision. In reality, the Pocket Market

    required a lot more time than anticipated; hence,

    creative ways to generate more funds were needed.

    Through the Pocket Market Sponsorships Program the

    market managed to generate $1,650 in support fromlocal corporate sponsors. The table rental, although

    revised to become more affordable for vendors 1 ,

    created an additional $1,678 in revenue. The need forin-kind donations such as printing and

    1Tables were originally rented at $30 per table. As sales were slow in the beginning for our farmers we adjusted therate to 10% of total sales to a max of $30.

    Expenses

    Project coordinator x 2 $6,74

    Volunteer expenses $440.6

    Printing $499.6

    Market permit $1Misc. expenses $58.1

    Voucher program $227.0

    Total $7,98

    Revenue

    KNH $3,60

    SPEC $60

    Corporate sponsors $1,65

    Vendor table sales $1,678.7

    Massage donations $16

    Swag sales $1

    Voucher prog. (KNH) $227.0

    Total $7,981

    Donation in Kind Amount Value

    Printing (SPEC & KNH) $300

    Market material $500

    Volunteer time 324 hours @$17/h $5,508

    Professional vol. time 100 @ $25 $2,500

    Total $8,808

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    volunteer time was paramount to the success of the market. In total, the market

    took 350 paid hours of planning and coordinating and over 425 volunteer hours.

    4.1 Sponsorship working with local businesses

    As mentioned, to support the Westside Pocket Market in delivering a successfulcommunity project, a corporate sponsorship model was implemented which was

    integral to funding the market. One of our Big Pocket Sponsors found it anopportunity to align with a progressive local food initiative.

    Salt Spring Coffee loves the concept of pocket markets and wewere impressed by the vision and organization of the Westside

    Pocket Market team. Access to good quality local organic food is

    important. Pocket Markets offer a great way for local farmers and

    artisans to interact directly with local citizens and provide a direct

    link to where [their] food is coming from. Salt Spring Coffee works

    hard to build connections with coops and farmers at countries of

    coffee origin and we also support projects that do this in our own

    back yard.

    Aron Bjornson, Director of Marketing, Salt Spring Coffee

    The Pocket Market is very thankful for the corporate sponsors who participated in the

    market. A big thank you goes to Big Pocket Market Sponsor, Salt Spring Coffee

    Company and to the Small Pocket Market Sponsors Beverlys Spa and Ethical Deal.

    Organizers would also like to thank Future Strategies, West Coast Seeds and How Do

    You Do for their generous in-kind donations.

    4.2 Pocket Market SalesIn total, the ten pocket markets generated $20,000 in sales for market vendors. At

    the most, The Market generated $2,500 per week. Sales per vendor varied from $50to $650, depending on product, weather and number of market visitors.

    4.3 Sales trends over the market season

    Sales were low on July 7 (at the first market), July 14 and July 21. During these

    dates, the sales totaled around $1,000 to $1,400 and The Market only had seven

    vendors at these times. It is likely that the low sales result was due to weather

    conditions as it rained for the first two markets and word-of-mouth promotion was

    still developing. On Aug 25, The Market increased to eight vendors and the weather

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    improved resulting in sales totaling around $1,800. On market days with eleven to

    thirteen vendors, sales averages around $2,500.

    Table 1. Vendor sales over the time period of ten markets. Sales results were affected by the weather,

    size of vendor, variety of product offered and how well it matched buyers demands. Note: Vendors whoattended The Market three times or less have not been included.

    4.4 Correlation Between Sales and Number of Vendors

    Through the market season the number of vendors varied from seven to thirteen

    vendors.

    Table 2 shows the relationship between the number of vendors and the total $ sold per market.

    As seen in Table 2, there is a correlation, if not strong, between the numbers of

    vendors and the total generated sales per market. It is more likely that independentvariables such as weather and the number of market visitors affected the sales more

    than the actual number of vendors. However, it was important to balance the

    number of vendors with the number of visitors to make sure each vendor was able toturn a profit. It was also important to ensure that there was diversityin the products

    offered to reduce competition. For example, at one point, three tables were selling

    honey, which resulted in the sales of honey being low for all vendors. As vendors got

    to know each other they could anticipate what other vendors would bring, and would

    adjust their own offerings to accommodate each other.

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    5. MARKETING GETTING THE WORD OUT

    Initially, marketing efforts were primarily focused on social media. However, early

    market surveys indicated that visitors largely came from the immediateneighborhood. From this, marketing strategies shifted towards poster and flyer drop-

    off in mailboxes, as this became the most effective way to reach the target audience.

    Table 3 demonstrates how people heard about The Pocket Market.

    To increase market traffic, volunteers

    distributed over 3,700 flyers and 800posters in total. These posters and flyers

    handed out every Thursday before The

    Market. In addition, sidewalk chalk and 40re-usable lawn signs were placed around the

    neighborhood on market days.

    The City of Vancouver generously put up

    two Farmers Market signs on 4th and Vine

    and on Broadway and Vine.

    The visitor survey shows that 49.5 % ofall who attended the market saw a poster

    or a flyer on the street. 21.8 % heard

    about the market from a friend and 14.4% happened to just walk by. A very

    small number of people heard about the Pocket Market from any of the other

    marketing channels, such as KNHs or SPECs website or newsletter. A large effortwas also put into marketing via various list-serves and blogs. However, based on

    survey responses this effort was the least fruitful in producing buyers and visitors.

    How did you hear about the Westside Pocket Market?

    Answer OptionsResponse

    Percent

    Response

    Count

    From a friend 21.8% 41

    I saw a poster on the street 49.5% 93I saw a poster in a cafe/community center,

    shop etc.5.3% 10

    Via Facebook 3.7% 7

    Via Twitter 0.0% 0

    Via SPEC's website/newsletter 1.6% 3Via KNH website /newsletter 2.1% 4

    Via a blog 0.0% 0

    Through a list-serve 1.6% 3

    I just happened to walk by 14.4% 27

    Other (please specify) 56

    answered question 188skipped question 58

    Picture 1. Surprisingly consistent traffic, despite

    inaccurate posting of market times. The Markets

    official hours were from 3pm to 7 pm.

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    5.1 Market attendance

    The biggest attendance spike occurred from

    3:00pm to 3:30pm, weekly. Thanks to thediligent volunteer efforts, visitors were tracked

    according to the following categories:Purchasers - people who bought products from

    The Market and, Walk-by people who simply

    walked by, or stopped, but did not buy anything.The purchasers were divided into three

    categories; those who arrived by bicycle, those

    who drove and other purchasers- people who

    arrived by unknown means. As noted below in

    table 2, the other purchasercategory was the

    largest survey respondents.

    Unfortunately, data is missing from the first twomarkets when the weather was very poor.

    Based on our sales record from these first twomarkets, attendance was lower than the other

    markets. Excluding the two first markets and

    taking into account the difficulty of tracking

    attendance, its estimated that The Market had

    over 3,739 visitors over the ten weeks, out of

    which 2,466 made purchases.

    Date07-

    Jul

    14-

    Jul

    21-

    Jul

    28-

    Jul

    04-

    Aug

    11-

    Aug

    18-

    Aug

    25-

    Aug

    01-

    Sep

    08-

    Sep

    WeatherR

    R S/CC/L.W

    S S S.B H O.R/S H

    Purchasers by

    bike

    46 50 29 29 26 32 33 31

    Purchasers car 15 15 8 19 8 12 9 2

    OtherPurchasers

    332 190 257 306 311 238 210 258

    TotalPurchasers

    N/A N/A 393 255 294 354 345 282 252 291

    Walk-by 173 193 179 125 120 95 133 87

    TOTAL 168 N/A 566 448 473 479 465 377 385 378

    Table 3. Pocket Market Attendance. Weather explanation; R=Rain, S/C=sunny & cloud, C/L. W=cloudy &

    before a long weekend, S=sunny, S.B=Sunny with blue skies, H=very warm, O.R =overcast & sprinkles.

    Based on survey results, the majority, 66.9 % of the people who attended The

    Market lived in Kitsilano. The second biggest group came from areas outside of

    Vancouver (9.5%), which were put together in a group called other. It is likely that

    the market attendees in this group were either summer tourists or people whoworked in and around Kitsilano.

    Pocket Market organizer Sara

    Blenkhorn with visitor Tommy Chong.

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    6. SURVEY RESULTS WHAT DID PEOPLE THINK?

    6.1 Visitor Survey Results

    To appreciate if and how the Pocket Market reached its outlined objectives a surveywas generated and 246 responses were collected.

    In trying to understand what attracted people to the Market the following questions

    were asked:

    Reasons for Attending the Westside Pocket Market?

    Answer OptionsResponse

    Percent

    Response

    Count

    To buy produce and products 74.3% 176To partake in the workshop 3.0% 7

    To socialize and connect with my community 30.0% 71

    To learn more about SPEC and KNH 8.0% 19

    Other 13.5% 32answered question 237

    skipped question 9Table 4. Why people attended the Westside Pocket Market.

    The survey results showed that the majority of people who attend the market did so

    to buy local produce. The second biggest reason people attended the market was toconnect with community.

    Reason for purchasing produce at the Westside Pocket Market?

    Answer OptionsResponsePercent

    ResponseCount

    For environmental reasons (e.g. trying to live more

    sustainable)58.8% 140

    To support local agriculture 75.2% 179

    To support local urban agriculture (backyard

    growers, etc.)65.5% 156

    For health/taste reasons 65.5% 156

    To meet and connect with local farmers, growers

    and other vendors41.6% 99

    To support my community 63.9% 152

    It's convenient (e.g. close to where I live) 44.1% 105

    It's good value (e.g. the market offers a good price

    for what I am looking for)29.0% 69

    Other 10.5% 25Answered question 238

    Skipped question 8Table 5. Reasons people bought items from The Westside Pocket Market. Respondents selected as many

    answers as were relevant.

    The top four reasons for purchasing at the market were: to support local

    agriculture and support local urban agriculture, for healthy/taste reasons, tosupport my community and for environmental reasons.

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    Visitors were also asked how important is it for you to support local and urbanagriculture. 71% stated that it is very important, 27.3% said it is important and

    1.6 % said that it is not important.

    One of the few complaints around farmers markets is the high price of the products

    sold. Since industrially farmed food is heavily subsisted people are often shocked byreal cost of producing food, which is reflected in the price tags at farmers markets.

    Market organizers and vendors struggle to find a balance to make it work for farmers

    and buyers to attend the market. To understand this better people were asked to

    provide feedback on their price expectations.

    How did you experience the product/produce prices at the market?

    Answer OptionsResponse

    Percent

    Response

    Count

    As expected, reasonably priced 39.9% 87

    As expected, somewhat reasonably priced 38.1% 83

    As expected, expensive 13.3% 29Unexpectedly, reasonably priced 4.1% 9Unexpectedly, somewhat reasonable priced 3.2% 7

    Unexpectedly, expensive 2.3% 5

    answered question 218skipped question 28

    Table 6. Price expectations from The Market visitors

    Table 6 shows that the majority buyers seemed pleased with the vendors prices. Its

    worth mentioning that urban growers and small farmers produce might have beenslightly less expensive than what is sold at the bigger farmers markets, and that

    people in general seem to expect that farmers markets are pricey.

    Also surveyed were peoples experiences in purchasing from and interacting withlocal vendors at The Market. Here are some examples of the 100 responses

    collected:

    I love the freshness of the food and the farmers. Its nice to talk with farmers, bakers and

    beekeepers. I would have come to every market all summer

    long if I had known about it. Let me know how I canhelp!

    I think it is important to bring producers andconsumers closer to reduce prices for consumer and

    increase the income of producers, only by reducingthe amount of transactions that add no value to

    products.

    Very positive experience. Everyone is willing toshare thoughts, ideas, food, and I feel a very strongsense of community. Thanks.

    Excellent, informative-explanations about garlic,

    chocolate Love bringing my toddler. Trust the health of the

    food for my child. I think it's great. Only suggestion is to make it

    bigger! The food is always awesome and you can feel good

    about buying it

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    It's nice to meet vendors, not as hectic as at the bigger markets

    It's the most important thing for connecting to community and the earth Good for community involvement

    Wonderful! You get to find out first hand where your food comes from and you can tell peopleput love into making their products

    Very good and you find items you would not normally buy

    But, not all were as delighted with their marketexperience and some provided good feedback for

    improvements which were soon implemented;

    I would like to see prices posted at tables

    It needs to be more competitively priced in relation towhat you're getting. Certain segments of the population

    (low-income, marginalized, visible minorities) need to beaccommodated to truly reflect the community

    Mostly great interaction, but I found a couple of thevendors in the first markets somewhat indifferent and

    rude, lacking awareness that we are customers

    More signage and door-to-door canvasser

    All in all, several requests were received for a longer

    market season, expanding The Market into the fall

    and winter. There was also great educational value

    in the experience of buyers interacting with vendors. The Market clearly helped

    connect people with food and the community while creating a general sense of heath

    and wellbeing.

    6.2 Vendor survey results

    Surveying vendors helped to create an understanding of how, and if, the market hadbeen valuable for them as local food producers. It also shed light as to how they

    thought that the market might have impacted buyers and made a difference to the

    local food movement. The following questions were asked:

    Can you describe in what particular way(s), or why, the Pocket Market providedvalue for you and your business?

    The market has provided an opportunity to develop a social enterprise for a local food recoveryprogram [The Van Fruit Tree Project]

    We need to diversify our revenue sources, [the market] brought in a good additional income It has been so important for our product! Word of mouth

    [It helped give] exposure to a new product The direct contact between me as a producer and to the consumer; being able to collect

    feedback on the spot and develop a relationship that goes beyond selling. It is very importantfor me to go beyond simple supply and demand

    Decline in farm gate sales due to gas price [increase], HST, and regulatory changes have limitedthe restaurant sales. The duo has caused market sales to be a fairly important source of revenue

    [The market is] the epitome of local and fits very well with me. The customers find it easy toshop here which brings them back week after week.

    In your experience, interacting with customers, do you believe that the Pocket

    Market has been effective in educating people about local food and contributing to

    changes in eating habits?

    Costumers come back for particular produce which indicated that they have healthy eating

    habits. They learn new ideas for food preparation [at the market] and they are inspired to bemore creative with healthy food

    How can it not? If vendors only talk about their product and they do-they are educating[people]. Also, many people asked for advice on growing food themselves. Hurray!

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    [The market provided] time to talk about food.

    This [contributing to change] could be improved but we did the best we could. I tried tointroduce people to new food and [I] was fairly successful at that. Lots of people returned for

    things like dandelion, squash and eggplant Many people had not heard about the Vancouver Fruit Tree Project. We had a chance to educate

    about food recovery and food security This is the most humble way to go towards incorporating self-decisions and individual values.

    Not sure. It seemed to me that most of the buyers were already conscientious eaters and all for

    local food.

    For you as a food producer, what has been the most valuable reason for

    participating as a vendor at the market?

    Learning more about harvest and establishing relationships with other farmers, vendors and

    customers. Giving people the chance to taste something new. Meet other vendors and people in the

    neighborhood. [Earning] money for meat and come to think of it bread, too.

    The atmosphere of the market. It is incredibly friendly, peaceful and truly local! Outreach and education. Promoting our social enterprise.

    Building community. I have a great relationship with all the beautiful local people and it feelsawesome!

    I love being with like-minded people. It gives me hope and reminds me that we are many, from

    both sides of the table. I sense that local food is not a quant idea, but a growing movement.

    Finally, the vendors were asked to provide input to improve for future markets:

    Make it bigger, block off a whole street. More marketing and longer [market] season, [run it]well into October.

    Provide free table space for organizations. Customer reward program, [for example] come and pick up leftover produce.

    In addition to the final survey, surveys

    were also conducted after each market

    to capture the satisfaction rates of all 23vendors that attended over the span of

    ten weeks. Table 7 shows that themajority of the vendors were pleased

    with the sales results. However, the

    results from this survey likely portray a

    slightly negative picture regarding sales

    satisfaction, as vendors did not always

    fill in a survey after each market. Getting

    vendors to fill out the survey at the end

    of each market was difficult as most of

    them wanted to pack up and go home.The purpose of the survey was to create

    the space for vendors to share theirexperience from each market and use

    the feedback to make changes before thenext. However, the surveys were morefrequently filled in at the start of the

    season, when the weather was wet and

    the number of people attending the market lower. Judging by the final market

    vendor survey, described previously, the vendors were generally very satisfied;

    Seven out of eight vendors who attended the last market said that they would come

    back next year. One out of the eight vendors said that they would maybe come

    back as they were concerned about the reality of drawing more shoppers as it

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    seems like the market [area] might be saturated with Kits Sunday [farmers]

    market.

    It is important to point out that had all vendors filled in the ongoing vendor survey

    after each of the ten markets, the results would have portrayed the market in amore positive way. The reason for this is that vendors that did not feel that the

    Pocket Market was worthwhile chose to not come back after one or two markets.

    Are you satisfied with today's attendance and sales results?

    Answer OptionsResponse

    Percent

    Response

    Count

    Not satisfied 11.8% 4

    Somewhat satisfied 23.5% 8Pleased 41.2% 14

    Beyond my expectations 14.7% 5answered question 34

    Table 7 shows the vendors satisfaction with the sales results. Note that the results are likelymisrepresented as most vendors did not fill in a survey after each market and because the surveys weremore frequently filled in at the start of the season, when the number of people attending the market was

    less and the weather was not favorable.

    7. VOLUNTEERS THE PEOPLE WHO

    HELPED MAKE IT HAPPEN!

    Organizing the pocket market was an

    amazing experience, and it could truly not

    have happened without all the volunteers!

    So many people stepped up and donated

    their time and skills to the market, giving it

    its community feeling, which was part of

    what made this market so unique.

    It is hard to pin down just how many hourspeople gave to the market as so many

    helped out, even people who were not

    officially SPEC or KNH volunteers, but simply

    friends, family and others who just happened

    to walk by.

    The Westside Pocket Market would not have

    been possible without the following volunteers

    who made amazing contributions over the last

    ten weeks. A BIG thanks goes to: STEVEN LIM for where does one start to thank Steven -he did everything

    and anything, including data entry, surveys, marketing, market set-up and

    takedown and so much more! Steven was always there to help when needed!

    MOSHSEN MOLAVI for taking pictures, making sure our visitors filled in thesurveys, marketing and helping out with set-up and takedown.

    TRACY SCALLION-MOORE for the countless hours she walked around the

    neighborhood dropping off flyers, keeping a close count on people at the

    market and helping with set-up and takedown.

    Pocket market organizer Ilse Sarady with

    volunteers Moshsen Molavi and Steven Lim

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    JOANN MELMAN for convincing people to take the survey and helping vendors

    whenever they needed it and most of all for her warm community spirit!

    MARY-ANN SIMPSON for assisting with data entry and convincing her partner

    to help her with flyer distribution.

    DONALD ADAMS for his musical talents and his success in creating acommunity vibe throughout the duration of the market;

    HEATHER COWTAN for helping with transportation of material and for being

    an amazing friend and supporter!

    ROB BECKWERMERT for his insight on outreach strategies and for lending out

    material.

    MARK GRIMSRUD for using his design skills to make an eye-catching poster

    and designing market vouchers.

    THOMAS CAMPAGNE for taking the poster picture.

    SYD KJELLANDER for offering her back pocket and backyard for the photo

    shoot.

    JASON FOX for designing and making lots and lots of pocket market buttons.

    TARA MOREAU and CAROLE CHRISTOPHER for volunteering their time to

    educate people about gardening and seasonal eating. A big thanks also goes to all the staff at KNH, especially Tamara who put up

    with countless printing requests! and finally, a big thank you to everyone else who lent a hand!!!

    8. DISCUSSION

    8.1 Vouchers

    As previously mentioned, the program was not used to its full potential as 73 un-

    used vouchers remained by the end of the market season. The vouchers were the

    most successful (most likely used) when individuals picked them up directly from

    KNH on market day, as opposed to receiving them on a different day, or from a third

    party organization.

    8.2 Preaching to the converted?On average, the market had 374 people at each market. To understand whether the

    market attracted new local consumers, or if it simply diverted market dollars from

    other farmers markets, visitors were asked if they attended additional markets.

    Results showed the majority (84.3%)2 of the people who came to The Westside

    Pocket Market also attended other farmers markets. Visitors were also asked if they

    bought less from other farmers' markets in the weeks they attended the Pocket

    Market. The survey showed that 33% of the people who bought produce from the

    Pocket Market did purchase less at other markets.

    It is clear that a large number of the people who attended the market were already

    converted local foodies. The survey results indicate that there may be saturationfor farmers market; that the number of people interested in or able to attend them

    on the Westside is currently stagnant. However, it is also very likely that morepeople will start buying local as markets become more accessible in terms of varietyof locations, time of the day and day of the week. It is also likely that people who

    start buying locally at one location may become interested in attending another. The

    fact that close to 85 % of the people attended the Pocket Market also attended other

    market indicates that there may be a need to access local food more than once a

    week. Regardless, it is important that the local food movement continues to reach

    2 A total of 199 responses.

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    out and educate people about the benefits and importance of eating local. As more

    people start to make educated food choices, the demand for local will grow andadditional venues like the Pocket Market will see increased popularity.

    To survey interest for future market, visitors were asked if they would attend themarket again next year. 54% said they would attend it weekly, 43% said that they

    would attend it sometimes and 3% said that they would not attend.

    Had I known about this [market] I would have come every week!Pocket Market visitor

    8.3 Factors Influencing Vendors and SalesThe slow start to the summer and the rainy weather was definitely a challenge, as it

    resulted in poor attendance and low sales. A relationship of trust and reliability

    proved to be a key factor in running a successful Pocket Market. Organizers neededto rely on vendors to show up on time and simultaneously vendors had to rely on the

    organizers to bring in sufficient purchasers. Because urban agriculture in Vancouver

    is still a developing concept, finding backyard growers with a surplus of produce, in

    particular in the early start of the season, was challenging. Therefore, the market

    had to complement with bigger growers, such as small local farmers.

    There were also challenges in finding an egg vendor, something that had been on the

    market-wish-list from the previous year. Unfortunately, eggs from backyard chickensare not permitted for sales and the market did not manage to find a appropriate egg-

    seller to step up to the plate. The other vendors sold low-risk produce, ranging from

    cat wheat grass to exclusive hand made chocolates. The diversity of produce helpedbring up sales as it provided interesting variety for costumers.

    8.4 Assessing the market location

    Despite the fact that the market location was not visible from most major streets, it

    was still able to attract people with signs and sidewalk chalk. In terms of how thelocation was experienced, people enjoyed the quaintness of the market and reported

    that it had a very local feel to it. The Market would likely have attracted morepeople had it been located in a busier area, but its not clear whether increased

    traffic would translate into more purchases. Those who made big purchases may

    have been people willing to go out of their way to buy locally.

    8.5 Getting the word out

    Marketing was definitely a tough nut to crack. Despite the frequent postering,tweeting, sharing the market on Facebook, sending email notices out to NGOs in

    Vancouver and sending out two big email notices via KNH and SPECs e-newsletters,

    people still seemed very surprised when they stumbled upon the market. The mostcommon feedback on the survey form under future improvements was more

    marketing. Many visitors told us that they were very supportive of the market and

    that they were disappointed that they had not known about it sooner. For peoplewho did know about it, it was clear that they often intended to come every week but

    forgot about it from one Thursday to the next. It is clear that staking a presence in

    the community and building a routine takes time. Therefore, it is wise to consider

    having markets run for more than ten weeks in the future to compliment marketing

    efforts. Regarding traditional media, local magazines were approached but

    unfortunately the timing of the market did not match with print deadlines. It was

    also slow building up market momentum in terms of visitors and it was not until the

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    two very last markets that it felt like the neighborhood knew and understood the

    market.

    8.6 What should be done differently next year?

    1. The Voucher Program: If the voucher program was implemented again it isrecommended that a third party organization inform low-income individuals

    about the program and encourage voucher pick-up at KNH to spend onmarket day. This will hopefully result in fewer unused vouchers.

    2. To achieve the goal of having more backyard growers at upcoming Pocket

    Markets it is recommended to advertise the market to growers in early spring.

    This way, growers have a chance to plan their growing season and they are

    therefore more likely to be able to produce a surplus available for sale.

    3. Extend the market season beyond the ten weeks.

    4. Find creative advertising ways and reminders to reach people interested in

    buying locally.

    8.9 Scaling Out - How the Westside Pocket Market fits with the Citys goals

    The Westside Pocket Market strategically aligns with the City of VancouversGreenest City Action Plan. In the early stages of its inception, organizers were very

    specific about making this a project of relevancy. Market organizers began by lookingat the Greenest City action Plan and determining which areas they could create

    value. The following quote taken from the City of Vancouvers website sums it up:

    By encouraging a more local dimension in food we can start to reduce the sizeof our footprint by cutting down on the use of fossil fuels, arresting the loss of

    food-producing lands (and related bio-diversity), supporting the local economyand eating food that is healthier and better for us.

    Taking this a bit further, the Westside Pocket Market has contributed towards helping

    the COV achieve their goals in following ways:

    The City of Vancouver (COV) has a long-term goal to become a global leader

    in urban food systems, with a specific target of increasing city andneighborhood food assets by a minimum of 50% over 2010 levels. Over the

    last ten weeks The Westside Pocket Market has been a driving force in

    teaching local residents how to garden while simultaneously encouraging

    people who are already growing food to grow more by showing them how to

    and creating an avenue for them to make money from selling their surplus.

    On the demand side of the equation, The Westside Pocket Market played a

    role in educating the surrounding neighborhoods on the importance of

    supporting their local farmers by giving the community an opportunity to

    meet local growers and their products.

    Additionally, the COV has a long-term goal to achieve a one planet ecologicalfootprint by reducing Vancouvers per capita ecological footprint by 33% from

    2006 levels. The Westside Pocket Market was able to facilitate in this goal byallocating $20,000 to the local food economy, money that may have beenspent on importing food from other countries.

    Another long-term goal of the COV is to gain international recognition as a

    mecca of green enterprise by doubling the number of green jobs in the City

    by 2020, over 2010 levels. The Westside Pocket Market directly contributes to

    this goal by creating an avenue for small scale growers to explore growing

    and selling the products with little to no risk. Growers were invited to sell

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    their produce and only pay the market organizers 10 % of their profits to

    maximum of $30, this encouraged new farmers to explore in this space, seethe demand and find their niche. Money went directly to farmers with

    operations in Kitsilano, Richmond and Vancouvers east end. In total the

    Westside Pocket Market was able to generate $20,000 towards the local foodeconomy

    9. FINAL CONCLUSIONS -EVALUATING THE OUTLINED GOALS

    An iterative process of vendor and visitor feedback proved an effective methodology

    for perfecting the Westside Pocket Market model. In this process, three main

    success factors were reveled:

    Weather conditions affected the number of attendees and vendor satisfaction;

    Visual reminders (posters) and verbal endorsement (word-of-mouth) proved

    to be the most effective marketing avenues;

    A broad diversity of products resulted in satisfied vendors with high sales.

    Based on the goal criterion of the market, the market did meet its outlined goals:

    1. Community building

    Having experienced ten markets this summer it is evident that the Pocket Marketcreated a wonderful community feeling. Neighbours from all social and cultural

    backgrounds engaged and connected over food, live music and chats with vendors.

    Additionally, the market attracted many just for the sheer enjoyment of the market

    ambiance. This is supported by the findings that 30% of the people who attended

    came to connect with their community. Feedback from vendors also speaks to the

    fact that the market provided an important community connection.

    2. Building the local food movement

    The market achieved this goal by simply providing a place for small vendors and

    growers to sell their products and to reach out to an interested audience. The$20,000 in revenue was pumped directly into the local food economy, most of which

    will continue to circulate locally. In terms of converting industrially produced foodeaters into local eaters, the market might have been less successful as many who

    attend the Westside Pocket Market already attended other farmers market.

    3. Educating people about sustainable local and seasonal eating

    It is likely that the market contributed in planting the seed for many more to start

    urban agriculture projects in their back yard. Evidence for this derives from feedback

    from vendors and responses at workshops as well as in conversation with visitors

    many where thrilled about the opportunity to start to grow and potentially sell at

    future markets. Many also learned from vendors about seasonal and local eating asvendors were extremely knowledgeable and eager to share.

    4. Supporting the local economy

    According to livingeconomies.org for every $100 spent locally $73 remains in thelocal community3.As a total of $20,000 was generated, The Market provided asubstantial amount to local food economy. In addition, vendors also said that the

    market provided an important source of revenue.

    3www.livingeconomies.org

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    5. Providing access to affordable local food for low-income and individuals

    As mentioned, the voucher program distributed a total of $227 worth of subsidies toaid local low-income families and individuals in accessing local food. The program

    was very well received and the feedback given supported the fact that these

    subsidies were necessary in assisting local low-income families to receive access tolocally grown food.

    10. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

    Short Film - A short film by Michael Millard How Do You Do TV:

    http://vimeo.com/27594338

    A short film featuring one of the Westside Pocket Market vendors Alicia Baddorf from

    World in a Garden.

    Pictures -There are plenty of pictures from The Westside Pocket Market. The best

    selection is collected on pickNshowhttp://www.picnshow.com/viewer/?id=d46a6076b05c183a

    and on Society Promoting Environmental Conservations Facebook page.

    The Kitsilano Growers Market 2010 Report -If you are interested in readingabout the Pocket Market results form the year before, you can find it on

    http://www.kitshouse.org/programs/food-security/west-side-pocket-markets/