The Common Market in the News

The Common Market in Pennsylvania: Breaking Through the Food Hub Hubbub

Bon Appetit Management Company Blog

Compared with complicated national or international supply chains, food hubs offer only one middleman ... so more profit can go into farmers’ pockets. At the same time, by creating a socially conscious economy of scale, the retail price of local foods can drop, making them more affordable. While the idea seems simple on its face, the reality of starting a food hub is anything but. Successful food hubs require incredible organization, business acumen, patience, and capital.

Kensington Community Food Co-Op Nears Goal to Open $1.9M Fresh Food Store

NBC 10

The Common Market posed a challenge to Kensington Community Food Co-op owners: Raise $25,000 for your grocery store, and we’ll match every dollar. With two days to go, KCFC has raised over 90% of their goal! The Common Market is a proud sponsor of the $1.9 million project to open a 2,000-plus-square-foot community-staffed grocery store on Coral Street at Lehigh and Frankford Avenues in North Philadelphia.

The Common Market earns Safe Quality Food Certification

University Business News

Most school food service directors would love to fulfill their patrons’ desire for fresh, local food. But they also must adhere to high food safety standards which few small local farmers have the resources to meet.

This is not an issue for customers of The Common Market, which this month became the first and only local food hub in the country to earn SQF Level 2 certification by the globally recognized Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI).

Pennsylvania food hub earns food safety certification

The Packer

“One major reason we sought SQF certification is to make sure our small farmers aren’t cut out from doing business with these large food buyers and that those they serve don’t miss out on the opportunity to enjoy local, fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables."

The Common Market earns influential safe quality food certification.

perishablenews.com

The Common Market worked more than a year to boost their already stringent NSF International-certified food safety practices to meet SQF standards in food safety training, hazard analysis, allergen prevention, site security, crisis management, waste disposal, sanitation, and many other areas.

Mid-Atlantic Farm Food Distributor Earns SQF Certification

The Shelby Report

The Common Market of Philadelphia recently earned SQF Level 2 certification by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI). The nonprofit local food distributor audit scored “excellent,” SQFI’s highest rating.

Growing Local: Kirchenberg Goat Farm

honeygrow

Since its introduction to our menu earlier in 2016, our Roasted Wheat Berry salad has been a fan favorite, thanks in large part to the local goat cheese provided by Kirchenberg Goat Farm in Fleetwood, PA. Through our friends at The Common Market, we met with farmer John Zimmerman and toured his 120+ goat, chicken + horse farmland, to see where our delicious goat cheese comes from. 

TUH named 'healthier hospital'

Temple news

Representatives from several hospitals in Philadelphia were honored by a local nonprofit on Wednesday for their efforts toward making the city healthier. According to a press release for the ceremony, when anchor institutions commit to providing local and healthy food, farms increase their production to meet that demand. This increases jobs and financing opportunities for more money to be spent locally.