Core Goods, located in Oil City, has been collaborating with two similar markets–the Meadville Market House and Edinboro Market–and the group was recently named a recipient of a $120,000 grant.

Their project is titled Cultivating Local Food Distribution in Northwest Pennsylvania and each market, along with farm partners, will work to expand on existing informal aggregation and distribution activities.

Collectively, the three retail markets support 96 unique local producers, about 90% of whom are small-scale, producer/owners with no employees. Their products include seasonal produce, dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt), salsa, baked goods, syrup, honey, meats (chicken, pork, beef, lamb), and much more.

This project will increase the amount and variety of healthy food available to consumers at each store, and reduce the amount of time/number of miles producers spend delivering products while providing them access to new markets.

The grant is through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), with funding provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The three markets were featured in an article on YourErie.com, providing more information about the project. Visit YourErie.com and type “Core Goods” in the search bar to find it. Learn more about Core Goods at core-goods.com

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s September 2022 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.