Davisville, Oct. 14, 2024: The Davis Night Market, offering free food every weeknight, turns 5

Davisville

Each weeknight at 9, people gather in Central Park near 4th and C streets, some to receive surplus food, some to hand it out. This is the Davis Night Market (pictured), a small-budget volunteer venture created in 2019 to feed people and reduce food waste. We talked with two of its co-founders in January 2020, and the market has since grown to five nights a week. “The food is kind of the carrot to get people in. It’s more about the community,” adds Max Morgan, a volunteer since 2019. "People are in desperate need of community, as much as they need food.”

“We really have only one rule: take what you can eat,” says Joanna Sodke, a volunteer for nearly a year. “Anyone can come here and take food.” (There are limits on pizza, she says, “a very hot item.”) Donors include well-known food purveyors in Davis, plus people with extra produce from their trees and gardens. The market operates with a county permit. Sometimes a volunteer will need to talk a person through a difficult moment. Today on Davisville, Joanna and Max talk about how it all works, including why they meet at night.