A pilot program that will see a city bus bring fresh fruit and vegetables to underserved communities in Halifax made its debut in East Preston, N.S. on Saturday.

The Mobile Food Market is a 21-week pilot project that will travel to North and East Preston, Spryfield, Dartmouth, north-end Halifax and Fairview every second week.

The travelling market is the city's solution to the food scarcity problem of some areas not having grocery stores or ones nearby, a problem often referred to as "food deserts."

"Without that sort of being part of the community fabric, it really does make it difficult for people to find those healthy fruits and vegetables when they need them," said Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed, Nova Scotia's medical officer of health.

Mixed feedback

East Preston resident Edith Colley said she liked the market because it saved her from making a 20 minute trip to the grocery store, and it also suited the community.

"It's great that you don't have to buy in bulk because we have a lot of seniors, and they can come get one of or two of [an item]," she said.

Neena Vats travelled from her home in Cole Harbour to check out the new market. She was disappointed in the lack of local produce.

"They should take the label off, product of the [United] States," she said. " It should be a local product. That's what it's supposed to be."

More local produce is the aim, but that will depend on the seasonal harvest, said Loblaw Atlantic's Mark Boudreau. Loblaw is the food supplier for the project.

"We're hoping that as the program evolves over the course of the summer, we're going to profile some of our local produce, even have some of our growers come in and talk to people," said the Loblaw spokesperson.

The pilot project will be evaluated when it wraps in 21 weeks.