Common Market: Smart, Sustainable Sustenance

Abstract

Summary

The Common Market is a values-driven food distribution organization in Philadelphia. The Common Market’s dual goals are to broaden access to local food to diverse communities and to enhance the viability of family farms in the Philadelphia region. The Common Market recognized that farmers, in need of selling product, and procurement staff at institutions such as hospitals, schools and retail stores, in need of purchasing product, were having a difficult time connecting with one another. Where connections were successfully made, the supply of local food was unreliable and prices varied widely. The Common Market determined that the root of the problem was the dominance of the mainstream global supply chain, and sought to radically shorten the supply chain to return more of the profits to the farmers while simultaneously providing procurement staff with reliable, affordable access to local food. While the Common Market is a young organization, its initial successes and trajectory toward sustainability make it a promising model for national replication.