No more need for pop-up tents with Columbia Farmers Market pavilion expansion completed

Pop-up tents now are a thing of the past for vendors at the Columbia Farmers Market.

A $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration received last year meant Columbia Farmers Market and its partners through City of Columbia Parks and Recreation, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Farms and Communities could complete construction of the MU Health Care Pavilion.

A ribbon-cutting is planned 10 a.m. Saturday at the pavilion during the morning market at Clary-Shy Park at 1769 W. Ash St.

The completed expansion of the pavilion east and west now means that all roughly 100 vendors will be under cover. When the pavilion was first built in July 2019, the center portion provided cover for about 40 vendors, meaning the remaining vendors still had to bring their own pop-up tents to protect from the elements of a beating sun or rain, depending on the weekend.

The final size of the pavilion is 550 feet long and 60 feet wide.

"The roof expansion on the MU Health Care Pavilion completes a historical goal for Columbia Farmers Market and will play a critical role in supporting our farmers and customers," Corrina Smith, CFM executive director said in the ribbon-cutting announcement. "This versatile, sheltered space will nurture the community that congregates every Saturday throughout the year, enabling our local producers to boost their sales and thereby positively impacting our local food system."

Having a fully covered pavilion will have knock-on effects for market vendors, Smith said last year when the grant was awarded.

Expansion creates further regional food economy resiliency and is estimated to increase the number of farm jobs by nearly 100.

"As we get more customers, (vendors) will be able to ramp up production and then hire more people to work at their farms, in their kitchens or at the market," Smith said last year, with CFM Board President Dustin Stanton adding that since vendors come from rural areas in a 50-mile radius to Columbia, economic impacts from the expansion will be felt in those communities as well.

The food people eat and subsequent health outcomes are inextricably linked, said Richard J. Barohn, MD, executive vice chancellor for Health Affairs and Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson dean of the MU School of Medicine, in the ribbon-cutting announcement.

"As a health care provider, our mission extends well beyond the walls of our hospitals and clinics. MU Health Care is pleased to be part of this innovative effort to support local farms, improve access to healthy food, and develop robust hands-on education efforts related to growing, cooking and sharing food," he said.

There still is more work to be done before the entire agriculture park is completed. Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture aims to construct a welcome center adjacent to the pavilion featuring offices for CCUA and farmers market staff, a commercial teaching kitchen and large open meeting space.

From 2022: What expanded Columbia Farmers Market pavilion could look like after $1.3 million grant

Along with private donations and other grants, CCUA received a $1.5 million American Rescue Plan Act allocation from Boone County in July that will go toward the welcome center. A groundbreaking is expected next year.

"We've created a big onion with a lot of layers and there is a lot here," said CCUA Capital Campaign Director Adam Saunders at the time about the partnerships and the work of CCUA at the agriculture park. "It has been very humbling to be an organizer like this. … The last piece of the puzzle is the 11,000-square foot community welcome center."

Columbia Farmers Market is open Saturdays in the spring and summer months from 8 a.m. to noon and the fall and winter months from 9 a.m. to noon. An additional Wednesday evening market from 3-7 p.m. occurs in the summer months. There are some special market days as well, such as in the couple days prior to Thanksgiving.

More: 'A lot of guts to start:' Happy Hollow Farm expands footprint

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Ribbon-cutting marks expansion of Columbia Farmers Market pavilion