Are Deeper Impacts Possible with Program Related Investments?
“Our preference would be to partner and grow with values-aligned lenders while identifying sources of capital that enable us to maximize the impact of our work.”
The Common Market in the News
D.C. Public Schools To Become First on East Coast to Adopt Good Food Purchasing Program
The Council of the District of Columbia voted unanimously today to ensure long-term commitment to implementing the Good Food Purchasing Program as part of a larger bill, The Healthy Students Amendment Act, that aims to improve student health and wellness. D.C. Public Schools will be the nation’s fifth to commit to the Program, which emphasizes five value areas: local economies, nutrition, a valued workforce, animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Partners supporting this work include: DC Greens, DCPS Food and Nutrition Services, the DC Food Policy Council, DC Central Kitchen, The Common Market, [among others].
YMCA & Common Market Partner to Share the Harvest
"Our partnership with The Common Market allows us to share the harvest on a much larger scale than our students can produce within our early learning gardens. Through Y early learning centers, The Common Market distributes fresh, organic fruits and vegetables to families within our community that might not have access to them otherwise."
Two Atlanta SQF-certified companies talk food safety and how they serve their markets
"We are the only local food hubs in the country to have SQF certification,” said Lily Rolader, director of The Common Market Southeast. “The reason we explored the SQF certification is that we want to play a role in legitimizing the local food space and making our customers feel comfortable to local food is safe."
Tracing local products from a factory in New Jersey to a lunchtime stir-fry
"Companies often discover businesses like Fresh Tofu through The Common Market, a food distributor with offices in Philadelphia, Georgia, and Texas. Unlike large food distribution corporations, The Common Market is a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting local farmers and sustainable food to clients."
Supporting children and families with fresh, healthy food
"The Common Market is a food hub founded in 2008 in Philadelphia to overcome the multiple barriers that stand between local institutions and the food grown in their region. Not only does The Common Market work with institutions to help them increase local food purchases, it also works with farmers to help them earn quality certifications and implement best practices, and to handle food distribution logistics. After great success in Philadelphia, The Common Market launched a second hub in Atlanta in 2016."
Farm Share Program Brings Harvest to Campus
"Marcela Moreno, a research associate at the Strategic Energy Institute, signed up for the program during its first season and found that it has revolutionized how she shops...[she] noted that it’s more affordable than other produce subscriptions she has tried, and the amount is manageable. It also forces her, at times, to be more creative with her cooking and try new foods."
Good food is good health care
"Good Food, Healthy Hospitals is unique in that participating hospitals actively collaborate to make the healthy choice the easy choice and create systemic change in healthcare across Philadelphia," says Catherine Bartoli, Healthy Food Procurement Coordinator at the Philadelphia Department of Health.
Communities’ Appetite for Food Halls Grows But Risks Abound, Says IEDC Panel
"Still, the broader trend toward offering consumers healthy local meat, seafood, fish and produce shows no signs of abating. Johnston, founder of The Common Market in Philadelphia, noted that his decade-old nonprofit, which creates a bridge between small local farmers and underserved, at-risk populations, has been growing exponentially since it opened and this year went national."
The Common Market Texas wins USDA Grant to Build the Farm-to-City Wholesale Market
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sunny Perdue announced that Houston local food distributor The Common Market Texas received a $500,000 grant as a 2018 awardee of the Local Food Promotion Program.The Common Market Texas will use the grant to invest in local family farms, helping them to earn certifications in food safety and sell to wholesale customers in Houston such as hospitals, schools, universities, or restaurants.