A new local market where people can buy fresh fruit and vegetables for a fraction of the price sold at supermarkets will be trialled in Wyndham.
The Community Grocer, a not-for-profit social enterprise that organises weekly pop-up fruit and vegetable markets in various locations, will run a three-month trial out of the Youth Resource Centre.
Community Grocer general manager Georgia Savage said in Wyndham there were 5.5 fast food outlets for every fresh food outlet, and three per cent of locals ate the recommended five serves of vegetables each day.
“We target and locate the markets in areas … where there’s poor access to fresh fruit and veg,” Ms Savage said.
“There’s a lot more fast-food availability than fresh food availability, so there’s a need for more affordable fresh fruit and veg. A lot of places around Wyndham are supermarkets, so there’s not a great range.
“We buy our fruit and veg from the wholesale markets and we operate in a really lean way, so our costs are quite low and we’re able to bring the produce in at a really affordable price.
“We find, if you compare out prices to the local supermarkets, it’s anywhere between 20-37 per cent cheaper.
“Our produce comes from the wholesale market that morning, so it’s really fresh … we’re trying to meet both quality and affordability through our markets.”
The Community Grocer has been operating for a couple of years, starting out in Carlton and branching out to markets in Fawkner, Mernda and Fitzroy.
The organisation is working with Wyndham council, Shoestring Gardening and the Wyndham Community and Education Centre and will make its debut in Wyndham on August 17 from 3-6pm, and will run every Thursday after for a three-month pilot.
If successful, the market will continue to run in Wyndham.
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