COLUMBIA – MU Health Care Pavilion, home of the Columbia Farmers Market, got an upgrade.
Construction managers, CFM directors and Columbia residents gathered Saturday to cut the ribbon on the expanded pavilion. The additions include hundreds of feet of covered market space.
The project’s completion, initially proposed in 1980, is a major milestone in the 43-year joint effort between CFM, the City of Columbia, MU Health Care and the dozens of Farmers who use the space to display their produce.
The final product added nearly 500 feet of covered market space, with industrial ceiling fans for the summer, and drop-down vinyl walls and heaters for the winter.
“This pavilion will make a huge difference,” Corrina Smith, executive director of CFM said. “Now it’s kind of an even playing field for everybody where everyone will be under the roof, protected from the weather.”
Before the expansion, two-thirds of the vendors in the market would be exposed to the elements, according to Smith. Now, they can operate in comfort.
“It’ll protect the vendors, the products and the customers that are attending too,” Smith said.
The market runs year-round, something Smith says surprises people.
“A lot of people are like ‘Oh, a farmers market in the winter, like what’s even there?'” Smith said. “But I’ve been doing this for 11 years, and every winter I’m still blown away with the fresh produce that our vendors are able to bring year-round.”
While the products are great, Smith argues the community built through the market is just as important.
“It’s this space where urban meets rural, and they get to connect with the farmers,” Smith said. “It’s really kind of this family event that takes place every Saturday.”
With the new upgrades, it’s easier to connect than ever, Smith said.
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“It is much more comfortable, easier to navigate,” Smith said. “This is a space where everybody can come and have access to all this amazing food that our farmers and our bakers and our ranchers are producing within a 50-mile radius of Columbia.”
Jim Thies has been participating in the market since 1995 when he founded his farm The Veggie Patch.
“We started out with a little piece of parking lot when we started marketing here,” Theis said. “We’ve got pictures of where we had four to six inches of water coming washing across the parking lot after a big thunderstorm.”
He said the new upgrades make business much more consistent.
“If it rained, there was no market. Customers just didn’t show up,” Theis said. “Now, where we have cover and protection, customers will grab their umbrella, get under the shade, they’ll take some time… and keep on shopping.”
Theis, and The Veggie Patch, can now look forward to year-long sales.
“It makes it so much more functional, where we’re depending on having sales every week and making things work,” Theis said.
One aspect of the market Theis said he was happy to see grow is the culture.
“It’s become a center, it’s becoming a culture here and everything’s positive about it,” Theis said. “Getting to know that full community from the production to the consumers, that’s so important.”
That producer, consumer communication is something he said he’s excited for in every week to come.
“It’s an awesome place to come out and spend a Saturday morning for anyone in Columbia,” Theis said. “I’ve made so many friends it’s like a second family.”
The market’s winter hours begin in November, operating every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.