"The farm to school pilot’s goal is to provide these school districts with additional incentives, to dream with them about what that will look like, and what products they always wished they could source on their school meal lines, but maybe couldn’t afford to do, Rachel Terry said."
"Bridgeton Public Schools in Bridgeton, N.J., has partnered with The Common Market, a nonprofit food distributor, for a pilot program that brings locally sourced food to students."
"The program established in both districts uses a funding mechanism that eases budgetary restrictions placed on schools, therefore they can purchase locally grown foods with greater nutritional values more easily. While students benefit from filling themselves with nutritious meals, Garden State food suppliers rack up purchases, therefore the program helps improve local economies and business at small, family owned farms, the The Common Market said."
“The district receives weekly deliveries of farm-fresh, New Jersey-sourced fruits and vegetables as a part of a new farm-to-school pilot program that incentivizes the purchases of local foods from family farms,” according to a press release from The Common Market. “The pilot kicked off last month and will run through July."
"That is the motivation behind a pilot launched in March in Bridgeton and Camden by The Common Market, a nonprofit local distributor, to infuse locally grown fruit and vegetables and products into the lunch menu. The Common Market hopes to support diverse farmers in the state."
"The Common Market is an exciting supply chain innovation that is transforming the role of wholesalers. A nonprofit that builds regional and regenerative food supply chains throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Texas (and soon the Great Lakes), The Common Market partners with farmers to handle distribution of their harvests, ensuring that customers get some of the best and freshest foods."
“How do we ensure that students are accessing the highest quality food in schools and how can we make it really easy to do that while simultaneously supporting growers that are in the students’ communities?” said Rachel Terry, national partnership director with The Common Market.
Since 2008, The Common Market has distributed local foods from over 300 sustainable family farms and producers to 1,800+ schools, hospitals, eldercare facilities, workplaces, and community organizations. In that time, they estimate 58 million meals have been served with local sourced products. The Common Market has found community drive success across the country individualizing their programs to the communities they are working in, including the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Texas, and now the Great Lakes region. As part of the 2022 #LiveLocal: Local Food and Farmers Market Conference, hear from co-founder Haile Johnston and Great Lakes Director Eliana Pinilla on how they are developing programs in the region to build on the collaborative food economy of Illinois.
In the U.S, for example, the Common Market launched its Farm-Fresh Box initiative, which ultimately tackled two challenges: meeting the immediate food needs of vulnerable families while at the same time strengthening shorter and more local supply chains.
These businesses come in all shapes and sizes. The Common Market, a local-food aggregator started by Tatiana Garcia-Granados and her husband Haile Johnston in Pennsylvania, now operates in Georgia, Texas, and throughout the Northeast, connecting food purveyors and institutions like Bon Appétit at the University of Pennsylvania and Emory University to a small army of local farmers.
"Fifer Orchards likes what Common Market does and how they service underserved areas with fresh local produce."
— Curt Fifer, Sales Manager, Fifer Orchards