In a groundbreaking collaboration, UTSA Dining has partnered with The Common Market Texas, a nonprofit food distributor, and UTSA’s Roadrunner Pantry to launch the Farm-Fresh Box Program. This initiative brings fresh, locally-sourced produce boxes to the campus community, providing critical support for those facing food insecurity while also supporting local farmers and underutilized farms.
The Common Market’s Co-Founder, Haile Johnston, joined Emerson Collective's Annual Demo Day to share why our food system is failing to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people in our communities and how our food choices can make a difference.
When the supply chain broke during the pandemic, local and regional systems stepped in and gained in importance. Now more of those organizations are working to increase the visibility of and access to regenerative farmers.
According to Johnston, The Common Market is able to facilitate these new connections because they have experience working at both ends: they help newer producers learn how to prepare, package, and price their products, and they encourage institutions to source more of their produce from those farmers participating in LFPA. This has enabled The Common Market to contract with growers and provide reliable income upfront that farmers could use to expand their businesses.
One notable recipient, the Great Valley School District, is set to receive $15,000 to integrate local, seasonal produce such as yogurt and beef into school cafeterias. Partnering with The Common Market and local farms like Pequea Valley Farm and Frecon Farms, the district plans to not only serve fresh products but also provide educational insights into the sources of these foods. This approach promises to enrich students’ understanding of agriculture by connecting them with the origins of their meals.
“We were looking to offer our students options that are not currently available through the Department of Defense [and its Food Distribution Program] but would be available through The Common Market,” said Allison Brown, senior district manager for OrganicLife. The district made these purchases in partnership with The Common Market with funding support from the USDA’s Local Food for Schools (LFS) Cooperative Agreement Program.
Great Valley School District, a grant recipient, plans to purchase local, seasonal produce, yogurt, beef, and other products. In partnership with The Common Market, local products from Pequea Valley Farm, Frecon Farms, Happy Valley Meat, and other farms will be served in cafeterias along with information on where food was sourced.
Nearly 15 years later, Bon Appétit and The Common Market have grown together, with Bon Appétit-served colleges, universities, cultural institutions, and corporate headquarters sourcing from The Common Market in Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia, Texas, Illinois, and beyond. Here’s the story of how the partnership, centered around shared values, grew from one metro region on the East Coast to span half of the United States.
A farmers market led by Camden City School Nutrition brings together students and the Camden, NJ community to increase access to fresh, local foods - distributed by The Common Market. The events occur once each month and feature a cooking demo, nutrition information, and resources from community partners.
The Cherokee County School District’s School Nutrition program has earned a statewide honor for serving locally grown food.
The Georgia Public School Local Food Procurement Champion Award, which was accepted by CCSD School Nutrition Executive Director Tina Farmer on behalf of the department, recognizes the Georgia school district with the most purchases from local farmers through The Common Market, a nonprofit regional food distributor.
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"Being able to connect to a distributor and an organizer like The Common Market - that allows us to reach a local food producing community in a major way - is for us, a dream come true."
— Lucy Kerman, Ph.D., Vice Provost, University and Community Partnerships, Drexel University