Five Years, Nearly a Million “Farm-Fresh” Boxes: Why Baltimore's Produce Box Program Should Continue

Baltimore City's Food Policy and Planning team was tasked with a big goal: mitigate the lasting impacts of food insecurity for its just over half-million residents – impacts that heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic and haven't gone away since.

Since day one, The Common Market – a nonprofit local food aggregator and distributor – and its Farm-Fresh Boxes have been a core piece of the city's comprehensive and thoughtful strategy to improve access to healthy, affordable food, increase produce distribution and incentivization, and address food supply chain failures.

Five years after the strategies took root, and nearly 1 million family-sized boxes of fresh produce distributed later, the programming that brought consistent, high-quality, nutrient-dense food to residents is set to end in October 2026. Funding to support the food access initiative has dried up, yet the need for affordable, healthful foods remains.

How it started

Baltimore’s Produce Box Distribution Program is a $4.5 million ARPA investment – the first of its kind in Maryland – created in 2020 in response to COVID-19. It provides our 10-15-pound box of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables to residents in partnership with community organizations, targeting the neighborhoods the City of Baltimore classifies as “Healthy Food Priority Areas” (what most people know as food deserts).

The Common Market was named a partner in the program early on, and proved to be central to the flow of fresh, nutritious produce throughout the city: sourcing, packing, and delivering the food itself, week after week.

The earliest days of the program (which saw 180 million servings of fresh fruits and vegetables delivered from March 2020 to May 2022) were funded through FEMA emergency dollars. When that funding ran out, the City moved onto ARPA (Biden-era pandemic recovery funds) to keep the boxes moving. The need never stopped being real, so the City continued to prioritize the program, leveraging federal funding to make it happen.

Total Baltimore Communities Served: 81 Farm-Fresh Boxes Distributed When Program Ends: 919,333 Estimated Dollars Invested When Program Ends: $14,382,550

What five years looks like in numbers

Through July 31, 2026, The Common Market had shipped 893,283 boxes to 81 total community sites across Baltimore, representing $13.9 million invested in this single program. By the time it wraps, we'll have delivered an estimated 919,333 boxes and $14.4 million in produce.

This Google Map indicates the breadth of the Farm-Fresh Box program in Baltimore. At its height, the program served 81 different community sites. Green pings illustrate historic community sites, while brown show active sites served.

Breath of God Lutheran Church is a multi-cultural, Christian community in Southeast Baltimore and has received boxes from The Common Market since the start of the program. As of July 2026, the faith-based organization has received and redistributed 26,030 of our Farm-Fresh Boxes, mobilizing 30+ volunteers in service of 250 families and seniors in need with each delivery.

The produce boxes are one of the key elements of a comprehensive family-focused feeding effort the church maintains, explains its pastor, Mark Parker.

“It's a big production with lots of impact.”

The progress is real, but fragile

There's some evidence that this type of food access work is making a difference. Johns Hopkins' 21st Century Cities Initiative found that food insecurity across the Baltimore region dropped from 36% in 2023 to 28% in 2024: a meaningful decline, and one researchers attribute partly to easing inflation.

But that 28% is still nearly double the national average, and the disparity between Black and white residents in the region – 37% versus 17% – is stark. A more recent Hopkins report found that two-thirds of SNAP recipients in the Baltimore area still experience food insecurity, even after this progress.

Pastor Mark's own numbers at Breath of God bear this out directly: his caseload has grown, not shrunk, over the past year, driven by SNAP benefit cuts and the chilling effect of immigration enforcement on families' ability to access food and income. Citywide progress and neighborhood-level crisis are both true at once–and a program built during one emergency is still addressing current issues.

“At a time of diminishing food supports and massively increasing food costs, access to fresh, healthy, local produce means 250 fewer local families are having to make the difficult decision between [paying their utility bills], and dinner, rent and a family meal,” Pastor Mark explained.

Impact on the community: What it looks like on the ground

In a 2025 report by Baltimore City Food Policy and Planning (FPP) Division, the city reflected on in-person site visits they conducted the previous year–a part of their strategy to strengthen relationships with partners and witness the program’s impact firsthand.

Yewande Akinkuowo, food access planner, and Jessica Fink, a food policy fellow, conducted visits to all partnering produce box distribution locations during delivery and distribution times, the report notes. Some of their observations within the report, included below, underlined the power of community and the program itself–the feedback was largely positive: “At each location, FPP observed The Common Market delivering pallets of fresh produce boxes. Residents were often already waiting, some reportedly up to an hour in advance, reflecting the importance and high demand of the program. The deliveries were on time with staff receiving an “ETA” from the driver when en route. The produce was fresh, plentiful, and vibrant across each visit. Boxes were also set aside for individuals with mobility challenges or those at work during distribution hours, highlighting the thoughtful and personalized care provided by the sites. This level of trust and familiarity is a major benefit of working with community-based partners, who often have deeper, more personal connections with residents than City agencies. Many residents expressed deep appreciation for the consistency of the produce box distributions, highlighting how reassuring it was to know that they could come to a specific site, on a specific day and time, and reliably receive fresh produce. This predictability was especially important for families managing tight budgets, as several residents shared how the boxes helped stretch food at home and ease monthly grocery expenses. While a few residents suggested including more variety or culturally familiar items, the overall sentiment reflected gratitude for both the quality and dependability of the service. It was equally meaningful to hear directly from residents, many of whom described the program as a bright spot in their week and a vital support for their household.

The program not only impacts the livelihoods of Baltimore residents, but also drives consistency and meaningful business for farmers located just hours or less outside Baltimore limits.

Millions of dollars have reached regional growers from Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New York as a result of this food access program. Curtis Saxton, Executive Director of The Common Market Mid-Atlantic, notes that beyond the economic impact, it also lends to a smooth operational flow for his aggregation and warehouse.

“This program enables so much,” he said. “Because of how this program is built, we are able to keep food waste down while building out beautiful, diverse seasonal produce boxes around a consistent schedule we have come to lean on. It offers flexibility within our warehouse operations, and allows us to support multiple farmers on a single pallet,” Saxton shared.

Baltimore Farm-Fresh Box - Week of August 31, 2026 White Potatoes, Red Hill Farm, Pitman, PA Red Cabbage, Dagele Brothers Produce, Florida, NY Yellow Sweet Corn, Buster Petronglo & Son Farm, Vineland, NJ Sugar Cube Cantaloupe, AT Buzby Farm, Woodstown, NJ Mixed Cherry Tomatoes, Eagle Road Produce, Quarryville, PA Collard Greens, Country Hill Produce, Kinzers, PA Green Curly Kale, Country Hill Produce, Kinzers, PA

Colin Andersen, Outreach Associate with The Common Market Mid-Atlantic, has shepherded many of the program details and logistics, overseeing site onboarding and management for much of its duration. He’s seen firsthand the outpouring of need and gratitude for the program, oftentimes shared candidly over the phone.

“The need for the food has only gotten greater,” Andersen shared, “and every time there's an increase in availability or access, [and I call to deliver the news], the community responds with a sigh of relief.”

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What’s next

Unfortunately, the Farm-Fresh Box Program can only run in Baltimore if it has the funding to keep the efforts afloat. The Common Market prides itself on being able to pay its local, family farmers and producers fair and timely wages for their products. Dispatching The Common Market refrigerated box trucks filled with pallets of individually packed boxes is a true investment of time and money.

Earlier this year, WBALTV11 covered the impact of the program. Akinkuowo described the end of the program as a “sting” for recipient communities.

"Honestly, it's just a really, really well-loved program," Akinkuowo said according to WBALTV11. "Folks have become very accustomed to that weekly consistency. So, for it to just halt would definitely be a sting to the community."

At the time of the coverage, March 2026, Akinkuowo and her team were “reallocating funding, applying for funding and tapping into resources to try to continue the program beyond 2026.” Additionally, if the program continues, they noted that they wish to “expand it using cooking demonstrations and nutrition education to teach people how to use the fresh produce they are getting.”

The Common Market is prepared to facilitate food access programming in partnership with the City through October 2026. Beyond that date is presently unclear. What does remain certain is the need, one that persists regardless of where the funding stands.

"Our neighbors need this too much for us to let it go," noted Pastor Mark of the Breath of God distribution site. He added that they would find ways to keep the good food flowing, despite the program's end. "Food is a practical necessity, yes. But it is also joy, it is culture, it is social connection, it is heritage, it is health."

Five years, 81 sites, nearly a million boxes, and $14 million invested in Baltimore families: it is not a pilot or emergency program. That's infrastructure. The Common Market built it alongside the City, one box at a time.