Mariposa and Common Market work to meet fresh, local food demand
By Christine Fisher
For PlanPhilly
When Common Market started in 2008 as a way to provide a direct link between regional farmers and urban food providers, it had just five customers. One of those customers, Mariposa Food Co-op, was a four-person-staff, 700-member co-op operating a single-aisle storefront grocery on Baltimore Avenue.
Since then, Common Market and Mariposa have experienced remarkable growth, and this March that growth became visible when Mariposa managed a $2.5 million relocation from its 500-square-foot storefront to a nearly 5,000-square-foot retrofitted, historic bank just up the street from its former location.
“In some ways it’s like we’re growing together, and we are filling this need that people want to have access to fresh, local food,” said Tatiana Garcia-Granados, who co-founded Common Market with her husband Haile Johnston.
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