The Common Market in the News

Webinar: Leveraging the USDA Local Food for Schools Program with State Level Local Food Purchasing Incentives

National Farm to School Network

This dynamic 60-minute webinar explores the intersection of the USDA Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS) and Statewide Local Food Purchasing Incentives (LFPIs). This webinar is divided into three sections, each featuring panelists representing states across the nation. Our very own Eliana Pinilla-Ryhal (representing Illinois) helps paint a picture of how existing LFPIs supported the implementation of LFS and how LFS was used to expand existing LFPIs.

Marietta gets creative with school meals

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Brittani Rowe, the culinary manager for the Marietta City Schools, is unafraid of innovation. “It’s something we thrive on,” she said.

Putting that philosophy into action will be tested this fall when the district’s high and middle school cafeterias introduce a notably kid-scary option: kale. The love-it-or-hate-it leafy green will be one piece of the fresh produce and meat options Rowe and her crew will receive this fall through a $60,000 grant from the Georgia Advancing Agriculture, Community, Resilience and Equity (ACRE) Collective, a new initiative co-led by nonprofit, regional food distributor The Common Market Southeast and other food and health organizations.

PRESS RELEASE: New Farm to School Pilot at Marietta City Schools Is a Win-win-Win for Georgia Students, Farmers and Community

Something fresh is growing at Marietta City Schools. The district is prepped for a new recipe development and nutrition training workshop that celebrates Georgia-sourced fruits, vegetables and meats—an official kick off to a new local foods incentive pilot program that will support small farms led by people of color, women and others historically excluded from market opportunity within the state and increase student consumption of locally grown, nutritious food.

New Food Pantry called “Feeding Our Future” grand opening takes place Today

CW39 Houston

The “Feeding Our Future” Food Pantry is a result of collaborative efforts between the Houston Housing Authority, the American Heart Association, The Common Market Texas, Fit Houston, Civic Heart Community Services, Sankofa Research Institute, and our other community partners. Its primary goal is to bridge the food insecurity gap for the residents of Cuney Homes, a community within the Third Ward and is one of many upcoming projects HHA and its Community Neighborhood Initiative (CNI) have planned to help revitalize Cuney Homes and the Third Ward community.

Growing the agricultural industry through education

NJ PBS

Raven Santana sits down with farmers and agricultural experts to highlight the top crops in the state, how fresh produce makes it to our schools and the legacy of black farmers in New Jersey. Kenny Bartee from K&J Farms, a Black-owned vegetable farm in Elmer, NJ, explains his farming legacy and how The Common Market has played a role in helping him gain committed markets for his product.

Webinar: Advancing School Food Procurement with Rachel Terry

Urban School Food Alliance

At The Common Market, we’re aware that adopting a values-based approach to school food procurement – one that prioritizes community values, like supporting local businesses or climate, over price – can present unfamiliar challenges for school districts and their food service teams. We also know that once a program is in place, the benefits of local procurement can outweigh the burden of the initial effort it takes to implement. Values-based procurement strengthens communities, contributes to resilient local food economies, and positively impacts student health.

But, how do schools get there? In this webinar, hosted by the Urban School Food Alliance, our National Partnership Director Rachel Terry breaks it down and illustrates insights from our recent resource: “Advancing School Food Procurement: Driving Values-Based Purchasing Through Competitive Solicitation”.

A Fork in the Road: Pecan & Pine

GPB.org

Georgia’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) enables us to buy and distribute healthy, Georgia-grown foods harvested by farmers like our friends at EKC Pecans and create new markets for their products within food banks throughout the state. This program sees nutritious, high-quality, diverse items reaching communities facing food insecurity and drives deeply meaningful revenue for BIPOC farms. This episode of A Fork in the Road features EKC Pecans and how The Common Market Southeast plays a role in creating opportunities for the family-run operation.

The Rockefeller Foundation Celebrates Continued Investment and Philanthropic Impact in Atlanta

The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation has invested more than $11.3 million in and around Metro Atlanta across its Equity & Economic Opportunity and Food programs since 2019. Recent collaborations include:

  • Expanding access to healthier foods while building local capacity and creating more market opportunities for Black farmers and other underserved farm businesses through The Common Market, nonprofit regional food aggregator and distributor that also supports local, sustainable small farmers.

Building Resilient Food Systems: Applying Lessons from Disaster Response

Milken Institute

With food system and supply chain shocks increasing in frequency and severity due to climate change, public health emergencies, and conflict, the need for a resilient multi-level food system has become ever more apparent. Over the course of the pandemic, the public, private, and nonprofit sectors of food supply and distribution have responded with unprecedented speed and creativity to the challenges created by the lockdown and its aftermath. In this session, food system stakeholders from academia, industry, and policy will discuss the lessons and strategies for responding to disasters while simultaneously building a more nutritious, equitable, and sustainable food system that is equipped for the future.