Vancouver non-profit grocery store opens permanent location in Downtown Eastside

Twelve years ago, a non-profit grocery store helped Rick Lipus get back on his feet.

Lupus was experiencing health challenges, and started grocery shopping at Quest Food Exchange's market in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to make his disability assistance stretch further.

"It was really, really difficult and … I would come in [to the market] and there would be lots of stuff," said Lipus. "And it was just great, the staff were all friendly."

He soon became a volunteer, stocking shelves in exchange for market vouchers, and then was hired as an employee at the market four years ago.

"It was a really good way to start participating, showing up, being accountable, that kind of thing," Lipus told CBC News.

Rick Lipus, who was once a Quest Market client, is now the manager of the store. He says the walk-in cooler, where he is standing, helps the market provide more options and keep more fresh food in stock for clients. (GP Mendoza/CBC)

Lipus now walks the aisles of Quest's new Downtown Eastside location as its manager, hopeful that the new permanent location will help serve more people in need of cheaper groceries, just like he was.

The 2,000-square-foot market, located at the corner of East Hastings Street and Princess Avenue, has sold fresh and packaged foods at reduced prices to more than 4,000 people every day since it opened in July.

"It's like a grocery store," said Lipus from the market's grand opening on Thursday, "except there's not the extreme prices."

Theodora Lam, executive director of Quest Outreach Society, which runs the market, says the store is already the busiest of the society's five Metro Vancouver locations since it opened in July.

"It's extra special because Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is a space that is disproportionately hit by food insecurity," she said.

"Folks here don't have the same access to fresh fruits and vegetables and animal proteins that they may in other parts of the region."

Theodora Lamb, executive director of Quest Outreach Society, says the Downtown Eastside Market is the busiest of five Metro Vancouver locations, but all are seeing unprecedented demand. (GP Mendoza/CBC)

Unprecedented demand

As the costs of groceries and living in general have skyrocketed, Lamb says demand for the market's services is higher than ever.

In 2021, about 16.8 per cent of people in B.C. had trouble paying for basic groceries and were food insecure, according to Statistics Canada, up from 14.6 per cent in 2020.

Quest currently has more than 17,000 unique clients across Metro Vancouver, up from 13,000 just a couple of years ago.

Many are new Canadians, students, single parents, and disabled or elderly people on fixed incomes, Lamb added.

"The ultimate mission is to disrupt cycles of food insecurity," she said. "So we're this temporary bridge for folks to get back up on their feet."

Unlike a food bank, clients can pick and choose their groceries at the market, and pay a reduced price for their purchases.

Clients need a referral to shop at the market, explained Lamb, which can come from a non-profit society, health-care provider or community leader.

The food is donated or sold at a discount by food producers, restaurants and stores across the Lower Mainland.

Once they are referred and get a client card, they can shop as often as they like at any location for three years, at which time they can apply to renew their membership.

Hazel Allan says she comes to the Downtown Eastside location every Thursday to buy groceries for her and her husband before visiting a nearby cat food bank to get supplies for their feline.

"It really saves money," Allan told CBC News. "We're on old age pension so we don't have the money for prices at different stores like Safeway."

Lipus says the new bigger location helps the store carry a diverse array of products and keep them in stock for longer. (GP Mendoza/CBC)

Bigger and more accessible

Lipus says the new Quest location is more accessible to clients who use wheelchairs or walkers, and gives them more autonomy to shop for themselves.

"When we had the smaller location, it wasn't as easy for clients and then they would have to come in and like you would just help them more," said Lipus. "But here it gives people a lot more independence when they come in."

The new market is also stocked with a wider array of products from around the world and for specific dietary needs, said Lipus.

Lamb says it's a constant challenge to keep food, particularly staples like eggs, stocked in markets, with many selling out early in the morning even with purchase limits.

But the store's walk-in cooler and produce rack are helping keep items fresher for longer.

"It's really, really great that way," said Lipus. "It means that we can offer so much more product to customers."