Vancouver is not a farming town in the way our Fraser Valley neighbours are. What we have instead is one of the best local-food cultures in the country: a network of farmers markets that runs through most of the year, a famous public market on Granville Island, a working organic farm out at UBC, and a city full of community gardens. Most of the produce you will find here is grown by BC farmers who bring it into the city each week, and this guide is your map to finding it.
Vancouver’s Farmers Markets
The Vancouver Farmers Markets society runs the city’s main markets and is spread across several neighbourhoods. Trout Lake in East Vancouver is the flagship, one of the largest markets in the region, with more than sixty farms and producers on a busy Saturday. Here is the 2026 season at a glance.
| Market | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| Trout Lake | John Hendry Park, Lakewood Dr and E 13th Ave | Saturdays 9am to 2pm, Apr 4 to Oct 31 |
| West End | Comox St, across from Nelson Park | Saturdays 9am to 2pm, May 2 to Oct 31 |
| Riley Park | E 30th Ave and Ontario St, by Nat Bailey Stadium | Saturdays 10am to 2pm, through Oct 31 |
| Kitsilano | Larch St and W 10th Ave | Sundays 10am to 2pm, May 3 to Nov 1 |
| False Creek | Olympic Village, Milton Wong Plaza | Thursdays 3pm to 7pm, May 14 to Oct 29 |
| Downtown | Hornby St and W Georgia St | Wednesdays 2pm to 6pm, May 13 to Dec 23 |
If the neighbourhood markets are the weekly habit, Granville Island is the year-round destination. Open seven days a week and home to around fifty merchants, the Public Market packs fresh produce, seafood, cheese, bread, flowers, and prepared food into one waterfront hall, with the mix of stalls shifting through the seasons. It is busiest on weekends, so an early weekday morning is the calmest time to shop. Getting there is part of the fun, since the little False Creek ferries and the Aquabus run across from several points downtown and in Kitsilano. Guided market tours are available if you would like a proper introduction to the vendors.
Granville Island Public Market
If the neighbourhood markets are the weekly habit, Granville Island is the year-round destination. Open seven days a week and home to around fifty merchants, the Public Market packs fresh produce, seafood, cheese, bread, flowers, and prepared food into one waterfront hall, with the mix of stalls shifting through the seasons. It is busiest on the weekends, so an early weekday morning is the calmest time to shop. Getting there is part of the fun, since the little False Creek ferries and the Aquabus run across from several points downtown and in Kitsilano. Guided market tours are available if you would like a proper introduction to the vendors.
A Working Farm in the City: UBC Farm
If you would rather stand in a field than at a market stall, the UBC Farm is the place. Run by the university’s Centre for Sustainable Food Systems on the south campus, near the Point Grey and Dunbar neighbourhoods, it is a 24-acre certified organic farm growing more than two hundred kinds of fruit, vegetables, and herbs, along with honey, flowers, and pasture-raised hens.
Its Saturday market runs from June 6 to November 28, 2026, from 10am to 2pm, and it is the only farmers market in the city set on a working farm. A separate Wednesday market sets up in front of the UBC Bookstore through the summer, and berry u-picks usually appear in late June and July. If you would like to understand the place, there is a by-donation farm tour at noon on market Saturdays.
What’s in Season Through the Year
Eating locally means eating with the calendar, and the rhythm here is worth knowing. Spring brings rhubarb, asparagus, radishes, and the first salad greens. Early summer is strawberry and pea season, followed by the high-summer stretch of cherries, blueberries, raspberries, tomatoes, beans, corn, and Okanagan stone fruit. Autumn is all apples, pears, squash, pumpkins, root vegetables, and wild mushrooms. Through winter you will still find storage crops like potatoes, carrots, and beets, hardy greens, and greenhouse tomatoes, alongside the honey, eggs, meats, baked goods, and preserves that the markets carry all year. If you are planning a visit, the Vancouver Farmers Markets site keeps a running list of what is in season each week.
Tours, Learning, and Volunteering
Local food here comes with plenty of ways to learn. The UBC Farm runs its noon tours on market days, along with workshops and children’s and Indigenous community programs through the season. Granville Island offers guided market tours for a closer look at its vendors. Community gardens are their own kind of classroom, where longtime members tend to be generous with advice, and many gardens and farms welcome volunteers if you would like to get your hands in the soil before committing to a plot of your own.
Growing Your Own: Community Gardens and Urban Farms
You do not need land of your own to grow food in Vancouver. The city supports a large network of community gardens, where a shared plot is a fine way to grow your own vegetables and get to know your neighbours at the same time. If all you have is a balcony, container gardening covers more than you might expect, and local nurseries can set you up with starts and soil. Vancouver also has a small tradition of urban farms that grow food on unused city lots, turning empty corners into productive ground and supplying nearby restaurants and markets.
Questions Often Asked
Is It Cheaper to Buy From Local Farmers?
Not always, and that is the honest answer. In peak season, when something is plentiful, market prices can be very competitive. The rest of the time you are often paying a little more for produce picked a day or two earlier, grown without a long supply chain, and sold by the person who grew it. Buying in bulk when things are in season, or joining a farm’s CSA box program, is usually where the real savings are.
Why You Should Shop at Local Farmers Market?
Earlier is better. Arriving near opening gives you first pick before the most popular items sell out, and the markets are calmer before the late-morning rush. Opening times vary, though: Trout Lake and the West End open at 9am, Kitsilano and Riley Park at 10am, and the Downtown market runs on Wednesday afternoons.
How Should I Get There?
Most of these markets have little or no parking, and the society would happily steer you toward walking, cycling, or transit, all of which reach the neighbourhood markets easily. For Granville Island, the False Creek ferries and the Aquabus are the most enjoyable way across, and they save you the island’s parking headache.
