The Common Market in the News

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.

Meridian Doubles Local Food Purchases

"Meridian School’s Food Services Department has more than doubled local food purchases this year, thanks to a partnership through the Texas Dept. of Agriculture with the Sustainable Food Center and The Common Market. What is local? For Meridian, that means any Texas products."

The Benefits of Farm to School ft. the Texas Farm Fresh Network

Texas Department of Agriculture

"The best part about selling local foods to Texas schools is the partnerships and the community that it brings about, shared The Common Market Texas executive director Margaret Smith. "People light up when they receive a delivery of farm fresh local produce that is grown with integrity — the quality and flavor is bursting, and you can really tell that the family farmer worked hard to bring that food to your community."

Houston Go Red for Women presses heart health, raises funds

Houston Chronicle

“The American Heart Association aims to be part of the solution by connecting food-insecure families with quality, nutrient-dense produce through a partnership with The Common Market,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Episode 54: Margaret Smith, The Common Market Texas

The Checkout

"The vision at The Common Market is to catalyze impact and partnerships across the value chain in support of building community food resiliency. In the wake of the pandemic, our work of supporting regional agriculture and food access efforts: we see it as a crucial strategy in ensuring a sustainable and equitable post-pandemic transition."

The global disaster relief organization World Central Kitchen has teamed up with Houston’s Common Market Texas to distribute fresh veggies across the city

Eater Houston

Together, the two nonprofits will source fruits and veggies from about a dozen farms across central and southeast Texas, including contributions from Houston refugee farming collective Plant It Forward Farms and Fresh Life Organics, along with Gundermann Acres in Wharton County. Part of The Common Market’s statewide network, these farms have offered to sell the kale, sweet potatoes, and winter citruses like oranges and grapefruit that weren’t destroyed by the winter storm to the organizations, making this a win-win prospect for both the farms and Houstonians in need of fresh food.

The Common Market Partners with World Central Kitchen to Feed Texans

FoodTank

“Thankfully, regional food systems are resilient. Our community partners are resilient,” Smith says. “It’s about feeding people and providing nutrition, and it’s also about quality, having our produce boxes communicate ‘you matter’ to families.”

School districts pitched in to help during hard freeze

Galveston Daily News

Jesica Medellin, project director for Galveston Independent School District’s Texas Afterschool Centers on Education program, carries a box of fresh produce to a car Tuesday. Medellin helped distribute 140 boxes of fresh produce from The Common Market to students and their families in need following the freeze last week.

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

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.