Clients' interest in purchasing low-cost staple products at the Venture Centre Marketplace, and suggested prices

Abstract

The Good Shepherd Venture Centre Marketplace provides emergency food and clothing services to those in need in the Hamilton community, serving 5,500 to 5,800 people on a monthly basis. The Venture Centre primarily relies on donations for their product offerings; as such, many staple items including meat, dairy, and produce, as well as household items, are not regularly available to clients. The Venture Centre is considering selling these products at or below wholesale costs in order to improve clients’ abilities to access these staple food and nonfood items. The Good Shepherd enlisted the help of the McMaster Research Shop to conduct a survey assessing clients’ interest in and willingness to pay for this possible new service at the Venture Centre. A group of five student volunteers from the McMaster Research administered a survey at the Venture Centre to collect data for this project. Overall, Venture Centre clients expressed a high interest in the opportunity to purchase fresh foods and household goods for low prices at the Venture Centre. Recommendations for Good Shepherd include to expect fluctuations in clients' abilities to purchase items, to engage with clients from groups under-represented in the survey (including English language learners and clients following a Halal diet), and to evaluate a pilot of the program to assess feasibility.