The Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture and Columbia Farmers Market opened a new $6 million Welcome Center in Columbia’s Agriculture Park with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday. 

The project completion marks the final phase of a 11-year development initiative. The project was a joint effort by CCUA, the Columbia Farmers Market and Columbia Parks and Recreation.

“This project shows what can happen when a community decides to invest in food, health and local business at the same time,” said Adam Saunders, campaign director of Build This Town, the organization that helped facilitate the construction of the new center. 

Saunders said the Welcome Center will expand CCUA’s capacity to deliver programs that support families, farmers and community health. The lead donor this phase was the David B. Lichtenstein Foundation, and the funding enabled the project’s completion.

“Everybody I’ve ever talked to eats food every day and really enjoys it,” Saunders said. “That shared love breaks down politics, economies and other things that divide us.”   
Inside the center, visitors can utilize shared tools, seeds, cookbooks and gardening equipment. The space is designed to support home gardeners, volunteers and community education programs.

“They got a seed library, tool library and kitchen equipment that’s expensive to buy individually,” he said.   
The Community Welcome Center is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, during the Farmers Market.

In a new partnership with Meals on Wheels, produce grown on-site is integrated in a commercial kitchen with ingredients sourced from local farmers.   
“We’re making 200 lunches a day … (there were) already over 3,100 meals made and delivered,” Saunders said.

The final portion of the event featured introductions of key contributors, acknowledgments of long-term partnerships and recognition of the staff who built the Agriculture Park’s programs. The Chamber of Commerce prepared the ribbon-cutting as attendees lined up for tours and refreshments.   
“We started as an all-volunteer group 18 years ago, and now, (we have) 27 or 28 full-time staff with hundreds of volunteers helping us grow, clean, teach and prepare lunches,” Saunders said

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/new-ccua-welcome-center-strengthens-food-health-infrastructure/article\_0a1829b6-a683-44c9-88fc-5af2eecae1a7.html#tncms-source=featured

New CCUA Welcome Center strengthens food, health infrastructure