KPRC 2 Houston

Each box brimmed with cabbage, carrots and other vegetables grown at local farms throughout southeast Texas. The farms provide food for La Porte ISD year-round, through The Common Market Texas.

“We’re going to be able to feed thousands of people by the end of the week,” said Margo Robertson, outreach coordinator at The Common Market Texas.

1,000 boxes total were donated and they’ll be distributed throughout the area, helping area families as well as farms.

“Texas farmers are tough, and we stand together to help our neighbors,” continues Smith. “We are grateful to World Central Kitchen. Together, we are bringing relief to often-overlooked communities as well as a boost to our local economy.”

Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development

"Overnight, our drivers became frontline workers; our teams, spanning all departments, and our farmer partners became more essential than ever."

FoodTank

"As we transform the food system, we must consider a proper scale... where we're not repeating the same mistakes that the industrial food system made."

W. K. Kellogg Foundation

"In 2020, The Common Market, a Philadelphia-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) grantee, found a way to distribute 1.1 million emergency food boxes and at the same time support the viability of 132 family farms.

'This work develops a degree of mutuality and respect between urban and rural people,' Johnston explains. 'We’ve built relationships in every kind of community, with every kind of people you can imagine.'"

FoodTank

"Bridgeton Public Schools are also working to increase local partnerships. This work is a continuation of a project that has been underway since the implementation of the Community Eligibility Provision – a program that allows schools to feed all students breakfast and lunch for free – in 2017. The county currently works with local producers The Common Market and Seashore Fruit & Produce. “[We] pride ourselves on being a nutrition hub for our students,” says Warren DeShields, Director of Food Services at Bridgeton Public Schools.

The Good Food Purchasing Program

When the pandemic hit, The Common Market was able to pivot quickly and redirect its supply chains to areas of greatest need by leveraging federal and local government emergency food response funding and existing relationships between local growers, community organizations, local government, such as the cities of New York and Atlanta, and their regional food hubs.

Heritage Radio Network

"The pandemic has underscored the importance of fostering a more resilient food system. As we near the end of 2020, we’re asking, what are the top policy priorities as we look towards the new year and the new administration? This podcast looks closely at the connection between federal policy and local food. Hear from experts, including The Common Market co-founder Haile Johnston, about their proposals for forging more holistic government contracts that prioritize regional, independent and sustainable farms; deferring principal payments on Farm Service Agency loans as a means to support native farmers and stimulate tribal economies; and passing the RESTAURANTS Act to help independent restaurants make up for lost revenue.

The Common Market began its partnership with The American Heart Association in Greater Houston in May 2020, with a goal of providing fresh foods and educational resources to individuals living within Houston’s Complete Communities areas, a collection of 10 underserved neighborhoods. Funding for the produce and distribution span various sources, including Northern Trust and other foundations, and local donors committed to providing healthy food access to disadvantaged communities.

Austin ISD

"Middle Ground Farm is one of 40 small producers that The Common Market Texas partners with to deliver high-quality, local food to communities. We are so proud to work with new and beginning farmers to really scale up what the local food movement can bring to communities here in Texas.

Farm to School partnerships really help kids understand the importance of choosing healthy options and understanding the impact they're having in the world."

The Common Market in the News

La Porte ISD offers 400 boxes of produce to area families at food distribution site

PRESS RELEASE: World Central Kitchen winter storm activation, in partnership with The Common Market Texas, helps keeps local farmers afloat

A food nonprofit’s response to COVID-19: The Common Market leans on its mission to serve

Food + Tech Panel: How Do We Strengthen Supply Chains to Build Trust and Improve Food Security?

The Common Market: A bountiful response to COVID-19

School Nutrition Directors Feed Communities Through the Pandemic

The Good Food Purchasing Program: A roadmap for the post-pandemic food system we need

The Big Food Question: What's the Food Policy Outlook for 2021?

PRESS RELEASE: The Common Market serves Texas communities facing food insecurity and local farms through partnership with the American Heart Association of Greater Houston

Source to School: Inside AISD Food Services