The common market georgia is a 501(c)3 nonprofit local food distributor founded in 2016 with a mission to connect communities with good food from sustainable family farms in the southeast

The Common Market Georgia, Incorporated was awarded a $828,602.40 Project Grant from the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service under the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP) to expand its farm-to-institution model in Georgia and Alabama.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit local food distributor founded in 2016, Common Market connects communities to sustainable family farms in the Southeast through its wholesale food distribution services. It sources fresh produce, meats and dairy from over 35 regional farms to deliver to school lunches, hospital meals and college cafeterias in the Atlanta and Birmingham metro areas. This three-year grant will allow Common Market to forge deeper value chains with additional institutions and generate $2 million in annual sales of local farm food by 2024, furthering the goals of the FMLFPP to develop and expand local and regional food systems.

We achieve our mission by working as an intermediary in indirect producer to consumer marketing to increase access to and availability of local food. Food arrives from regional farms and is stored and packed in common market's atlanta warehouse to be delivered to our customers' loading docks on our refrigerated trucks. Each day, cases of fresh produce, meats and dairy leave our warehouse destined for school lunches, hospital meals and college cafeterias in the region. The twin health and economic crises of the past year revealed the importance of local food sourcing, its affordability, and the supply chains to make IT possible. We seek to expand our farm to institution model to new schools, colleges and hospitals in the southeast, increasing the visibility and community benefit of local food systems. The "connecting southeast farms to anchor institutions" project seeks to build on our 5+ years of experience facilitating regional food chain coordination in atlanta to forge new and deeper value chains with institutions throughout georgia and alabama. We aim to work with at least 35 farmers, ranchers and processors in GA and AL; increase the seasonal availability of produce; and harness the buying power of institutions in atlanta and birmingham metros and generate $2 million in annual sales of local farm food by the end of the grant.