It’s been five years since wholesaler
Common Market started distributing local, sustainably-produced foods. As with many successful ventures, they eventually outgrew their digs. Fortunately, last Thursday, Common Market celebrated their fifth anniversary with a "warehouse warming" party in honor of their new, much larger space.
Since 2008, Common Market has moved over 200,000 cases of local produce, dairy and meats. They work with an average of 75 family farms and have over 150 customers, including schools, colleges, hospitals, grocery stores, workplaces, nonprofit organizations and faith-based institutions.
"In 2012, we were turning down partnership opportunities because we didn't have enough space," explains co-founder and Executive Director Tatiana Garcia Granados.
After a long search, Common Market purchased a large North Philly warehouse and raised close to $2 million for the relocation and renovation. The new space will allow them to do what they do best: be the bridge between big buyers and local farmers -- and in a big way (the new space is 70,000 square feet).
“Reaching the five year mark is a big deal," says Granados. "Before five years, you're still an experiment -- people are waiting to see if you succeed. We can now show what we are doing is working and making a difference."
Source: Tatiana Garcia Granados, Common Market Co-Founder and Executive Director
Writer:
Greg Meckstroth