Growing the Volume of Local Food Produced and Distributed in Mid-Missouri
The opening of the MU Health Care Pavilion in 2019, and the completion of the wings in 2023 have been a game changer for Columbia Farmers Market, the thousands of customers, and the 90 plus vendors that sell there. A large, simple roof was part of the initial vision for this public-private-partnership, and has lived up to expectations. Often, simple things are the most profound. In the case of this pavilion, the reduced risk of weather (be it rain, heat, or cold) has helped the market grow. Customer counts are more than double what they were prior to the pavilion (we’re seeing 6-7,000 customers every Saturday during summer months), and likewise total sales of food has also more than doubled to an estimated over $ 4 million annual gross for the vendors.
Plans for the Commercial Kitchen that will be inside the Community Welcome Center
The Community Welcome Center will add a critical supporting piece to this pavilion to help mid-missouri farmers--a Commercial Kitchen. Use of this kitchen will be prioritized for educational programming run by Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, and for vendors of the Columbia Farmers Market, and other local farmers. Here are a few top “layers” of the onion that relate to how farmers could utilize this commercial kitchen space to support their businesses and get more food grown/distributed through the food system: (note a deep dive on how the kitchen will support CCUA’s programming will be featured in the next blog series)
Preparation of food to be sold at market: Many vendors prepare food to sell fresh at the market. These include baked goods, sandwiches, canned goods, wraps, burgers, and more. Currently, these vendors base their operations on a number of kitchens around the region. Having a space on-site will help streamline efforts for some of these vendors and make it more viable for prepared food to be sold on site.
Preparing Samples: Vendors often slice produce for samples, cook-up sample meals, or show other creative ways how their foods can be prepared. A commercial kitchen on-site will make this option more viable and help make the market experience more interactive for customers wanting to try something new. For example, dozens of different varieties of tomatoes are grown at the market, and all have slightly different flavors, textures, or culinary uses. Sampling helps customers learn more about these nuances and can feel more confident in experimenting in their kitchens.
Value-Added Products: This may be the biggest and sweetest layer of this onion for vendors. This inspected commercial kitchen will allow for the production of (what the FDA calls) “potentially hazardous” value-added foods. These include but are not limited to canning, freezing, drying, fermenting, and more. Farmers work hard to bring in fresh produce to market, and it’s a shame to have food go to waste if it wasn't sold.
The kitchen will have equipment that makes quick work of processing vegetables. Large slicers, peelers, and cooking appliances will help make local food more convenient to consumers. One idea that has emerged over the years that we’re excited to explore more is, for lack of better words, a Tomato Sauce Cooperative. In this case, the cooperative would provide a wholesale ‘floor’ price to buy up surplus tomatoes after the close of market. This puts more money in the pockets of farmers and ensures more food gets brought into the food system. The team of farmers and helpers would then simply process the bounty into basic sauce or other recipes and preserve it for use later in the season. This food could then be sold to a number of outlets throughout the year and ensure that more food is grown and distributed in Mid-Missouri.
“Our farm grows lots of tomatoes and other veggies that are a perfect fit for value-added products. We’re excited about the opportunities the Commercial Kitchen will create, and the idea of collaborating with other growers to right-scale an effort to preserve food and get more local produce into the community” McKinley Worley of Abounding Acres just outside Ashland, MO.
McKinley Worley with his wife and their three sons.
Risk Bearing in Agriculture
Columbia Farmers Market has an amazing assortment of farmers who produce a wide range of produce, meat, dairy, baked goods and other local foods. All of these growers experience risk in different ways: weather, pests, production variability, cost of farm inputs, and much more. Prior to the construction of the MU Health Care Pavilion, rain or heat on a Saturday morning was a risk that all the vendors had to deal with. We’re happy to see that this pavilion roof has been effective at taking this risk dynamic off the backs of the growers. Looking forward to the Community Welcome Center, we’re asking a similar question: “How can the commercial kitchen help take some risk off the growers?” We’re excited to see what uses emerge in this space over the coming years, and what other good ideas float to the top that help support our regional food producers and get more healthy local food onto the plates in the area.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this concept and other ideas/angles you’d like to see develop.