Piper Brintnall, Veterans United Foundation outreach coordinator, two years ago was volunteering at the Mark and Carol Stevenson Veterans Urban Farm at 1207 Smith St., helping spread straw on a sweltering July day.
During this process, former Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture’s veterans programs manager Dustin Cook mentioned a vision for a portion of the land to be home to a more accessible garden space for veterans.
“He said, ‘Hey, I want to show you these plans I have,'” Brintnall said, expressing she hoped they would look at them in the shade, which happened, eliciting laughs from the audience at the farm Wednesday, who all were there for a ribbon cutting on Cook’s plan, now known as the Warriors Garden.
This section of the Veterans Urban Farm features multiple raised garden beds on flat, graveled ground, allowing those in wheelchairs or with limited mobility a chance to garden. The horseshoe-esque garden space also has arbor coverings to slightly protect from the elements. An open central space will allow for other outdoor programming at the farm.
What Cook did not know at the time two years ago was that the Veterans United Foundation soon was to launch its 10-year anniversary celebration by giving out $10 million to a multitude of organizations supported and voted on by Veterans United staff, Brintnall said.
“When I came and heard about Dustin’s plans, I thought, ‘Just wait,'” she said. “Employees nominated CCUA, they voted on CCUA and they helped fund this project (with a $102,000 grant).”
Food from the Veterans Urban Farm and now Warriors Garden is provided to the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, a pantry at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital and other organizations that aid the community and veterans. The farm and garden is supported by row sponsors.
A place for healing
The Warriors Garden and by extension the Veterans Urban Farm is an important place in the city because it allows for veteran healing and both figurative and literal growth, said Crystal Wiggins, CCUA’s new veterans programs manager. She is a veteran herself and joined CCUA roughly four months ago.
“We plan to continue to expand our initiatives and outreach to reach more veterans in the area. We are working diligently as a team to try and find more ways to build that community through events, trainings, community gatherings and all of those things to get people out here, get their hands in the dirt, learn how to grow the food and then what to do with that food once you have it,” she said.
The Veterans Urban Farm and its Warriors Garden provides the foundation for a community, said Joe Walls, with CCUA. A person who helped construct the garden space was Billy Froeschner, who also is a veteran.
“Let this thing’s strength remind you to stand strong under your own burdens,” he said also recognizing all the volunteers who aided him in building the raised beds and arbors.
The Warriors Garden will welcome all mid-Missouri veterans. They will be able collaborate and coordinate on what they want to grow in the space, along with the other programming, Wiggins said.
“We really are going to do a lot of amazing stuff in this space to bring the veteran population out here to help them heal, grow, connect and re-find a purpose in their life if they have lost it,” she said. “The Warriors Garden is just the beginning of the next phase of the Veterans Urban Garden.”
The key catalysts
The Veterans Urban Farm and Warriors Garden would not be a reality without the donation of the land by Mark and Carol Stevenson. The farm covers roughly 1 1/3 acres.
“I thought it would be a good use of vacant ground and something useful going on,” Mark Stevenson. “It benefits a lot of people as (an urban farm).”
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While the farm and garden is dedicated to veterans, it enriches the entire community, he added.
“Carol and I are glad to offer this garden to veterans. We find ourselves inspired by their work and are proud of their accomplishments,” he said.
“We are so proud about everything (CCUA) does,” added Carol Stevenson. “Mark gave Adam (Saunders, CCUA co-Founder) a chance. This is such a remarkable place for veterans.”
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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.