Community market brings school supplies and health checks together

Starting a school year can put pressure on families who are already managing tight budgets and limited access to healthcare. A community market in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is responding by bringing support together in one place.

Pontiac Street Market will hold its third annual Pack 2 School event on 1 August. Families can access free school supplies, haircuts and braiding, immunisations and sports physicals, alongside food, community organisations, family activities and wraparound services.

The market was created not only to improve access to healthy food in the Pontiac Street neighbourhood, but also to act as a local hub. Returning for a third year suggests the organisers have built enough community support to keep the event going.

The approach is useful because families can address several back-to-school needs in one visit, reducing cost and practical barriers. It is still a limited response: places are first-come, first-served, registration is required, and one event cannot resolve wider inequalities in household income, healthcare or education. But it shows how trusted neighbourhood spaces can coordinate existing help around the moments when families need it most.