On-campus cafe Sprouts has launched a by-donation produce market.
The produce market is open every Monday this term at 10:30 a.m. Launched when Sprouts was temporarily closed when classes were online earlier this year, the by-donation aspect of the market follows Sprouts’ previous efforts to tackle food insecurity, including giving away free meals and free Sprouts box subscriptions.
As of now, the Sprouts Board is having discussions as to how to use the donations acquired through the market. Currently, students are encouraged to donate however much they can, but can take all the produce they need.
Sprouts Board member Emily Masse said that funding from the Food Insecurity Initiative made this possible. If the funding continues in the future, Sprouts may be able to extend the program for longer than a term, Masse said.
“We often talk about the need for having dignity over what you choose to get for yourself and having that choice and knowing you're more likely to cook yourself rather than being given a set of produce you wouldn't necessarily use,” she said of the importance of this market.
As far as the quality of the produce goes, Masse said that most of the produce comes from local farms. As staying local is a part of Sprouts purchasing policy, Masse said Sprouts always makes the effort to make sure everything’s local.
Fourth year Avani Dhar called the produce market an “amazing initiative,” especially for "people who live at UBC who don't have to go to produce markets far away.”
“Students are broke, you have to understand that not everyone wants to spend 20 to 30 dollars for organic fresh produce,” Dhar said. She added that because of the market, she’s been eating more fruits and vegetables.
Even though the market is technically open till 2 p.m., Delanie Austin, another member of the Sprouts board, said that Sprouts usually runs out of produce in a few hours.
“Come early because even though we order more and more each week, it just seems to go faster and faster,” Austin said.
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