Coming in 2025: The Community Welcome Center

Every Saturday, Columbia Farmers Market welcomes 6,000 or more guests purchasing fresh food and products from the farmers and chefs who produced it. Visits have more than doubled since the pavilion was built and all-weather shopping was introduced. In 2021, Columbia Farmer’s Market was named the #1 Farmers Market in the nation, the Midwest, and in Missouri by American Farmland Trust.

Each week, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture welcomes dozens of third grade classes, brings pounds of fresh produce to the Central Food Bank Market Pantry and through education and hands-on learning makes gardeners out of eaters and farmers out of gardeners. 

And all of this is done without a place to call home! 

Bids have been opened!

A builder is about to be named! In a short few weeks, construction will finally begin on The Welcome Center at Columbia’s Agriculture Park. A permanent structure means that you will have more access to our programs, farmers and fresh food!

What the Welcome Center Will Include:

  • A commercial/teaching kitchen to support a well-fed Columbia.

    • Using the amazing produce grown by CCUA, a commercial kitchen will bring more options for feeding hungry families – we can bring healthy food straight into the kitchens of families across Columbia.

  •  A resource library

    • Giving you the power to try out new growing, canning and preserving ideas through our resource library where you can check out important supplies just like you would a library book! 

  • A community activity room

    • For meetings, classes, and events.

  • Office space for Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA) and Columbia Farmers Market (CFM) staff

    • Right now, CCUA staff work out of a small, temporary trailer with no plumbing. Columbia Farmers Market staff don’t have any office space at all. A permanent home will help both organizations work more effectively and serve more of our community.

Keep Your Eyes on This Spot!

The Future Home of the Community Welcome Center! The spaces in this new building will support programs already running at the park and help us expand services that focus on healthy food access, nutrition, and urban agriculture.

This project supports more than just Columbia. Farmers from across mid-Missouri benefit from better facilities to connect with customers, create value-added products, and safely prepare food samples.

Help Build the Final Piece

We’re close to completing the Agriculture Park. You are an integral part in this process. Help us finish strong by supporting the construction of the Community Welcome Center.

Bernadette Crehan