Weavers Way Co-op - The Marketplace Program

559 Carpenter Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19119
215-843-2350

8424 Germantown Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19118
215-843-2350

2129 72nd Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19138
215-276-0706

The Marketplace Program

Weavers Way Community Program’s (WWCP) Marketplace Program is an innovative partnership between Weavers Way Co-op, WWCP, and area schools. Marketplace is a school-based cooperative food business run by students with support and guidance from teacher advisors and the WWCP Marketplace Coordinator.

Through WWCP, Marketplace school groups buy healthy, locally produced products from
Weavers Way Co-op an

d other local vendors at cost and then package, price, and sell them to their fellow students and teachers. In 2008-09, more than two hundred students participated in the program, exposing thousands of their fellow students to delicious and nutritious snacks.

The Marketplace sale is offered as an alternative to the typical afterschool and lunch snacks purchased by many children at neighborhood stores, and is a powerful way to begin
addressing the

epidemic of obesity among children. Marketplace promotes healthy eating, provides a project-based learning opportunity to participating students, and promotes awareness and understanding of locally produced options for shopping and eating.

The students who run Marketplace gain experience in business, co-operative principles, nutrition, and the importance of locally produced food. At the end of the school
year, the student

s donate a portion of their earnings to support causes in the community and around the world. This year, the students selected beneficiaries such as Project H.O.M.E, Mt. Airy Stenton Family Manor, Heifer International,
Awbury Recreation Center, Homes for Our Troops, Action AIDS, Shriners Hospital for Children, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, as well as programs within their own schools.

In 2008-09, the Marketplace program was held at six elementary schools (C.W. Henry, Houston, Jenks, A.B. Day, Pastorius, and Wissahickon Charter School) and two high schools (Martin Luther King and Parkway Northwest Peace and Social Justice High School) in Northwest Philadelphia.

For more information about the WWCP Marketplace Program, contact Carly Chelder at marketplace@weaversway.coop or 215-843-6552 extension 1#

Marketplace Coordinator
Carly Chelder

Going into her second year with WWCP, Carly is excited to continue to improve the strength and organization of the program and influence among her students by educating them about the benefits of healthy eating and locally produced foods, the importance of entrepreneurship and expanding their understanding of food culture. Carly’s attitude and energy blends well with Philadelphia’s desire to be the greenest city in the country, and she sees Weavers Way as playing an important role in that transformation to make Philly more sustainable by working with youth.

Carly’s academic and work experience has prepared her for the position as Marketplace Coordinator. She gained operational skills by working in corporate settings to small businesses and in between. Carly has experienced work in various industries and different facets of life, but embraces the cooperative way. Academically she has earned a Bachelor of Arts in Middle Studies, Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate in Secondary Social Studies, as well as the Pennsylvania Family & Consumer Sciences certificate, and is currently working towards a Masters of Education in Instructional Technology.

She loves to play with food and is excited to share her passion with the students participating in the Weavers Way Marketplace Program.

Contact Carly Chelder at marketplace@weaversway.coop or by phone at 215-843-2350, ext. 312,