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<p style="font-weight:bold; display: inline; line-height:150%; font-size: 115%;">1 S Seventh Street
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Columbia, MO 65201</p></div>
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<p style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: bold;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</p>
<p style="font-size: 120%; margin-top: -5px; font-weight:bold;">October 26, 2023</p>
<p style="float:right; font-weight:bold; margin-bottom: 25px; font-size: 100%; text-align:right;">CONTACT: Tammy Miller
<br />Communications Coordinator
<br />Parks and Recreation
<br />City of Columbia
<br />573.874.7465
<br />Tammy.Miller@CoMo.gov
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<br />Adam Saunders
<br />Friends of the Farm
<br />573.356.9392
<br />adam@columbiaurbanag.org</p>
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<div style="font-size: 110%; line-height:150%;"><h1 style="clear:both; margin-top: 75px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 130%;">Ribbon-Cutting set for expansion of the MU Health Care Pavilion</h1>
<div class="content"><span style="padding-left: 50px;">(COLUMBIA, MO)</span> - A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Saturday, Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. to celebrate the expansion of the MU Health Care Pavilion, home of Columbia Farmers Market. The public is invited to join the partner organizations, donors and key stakeholders to help celebrate the milestone. <br /><br />When: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. (During the weekly Columbia Farmers Market)<br /><br />Where: MU Health Care Pavilion at Columbia’s Agriculture Park (1769 W. Ash Street)<br /><br />What: Celebration of the completion of the expansion of the MU Health Care Pavilion<br /><br />Project Partners: <br /><br />Columbia Parks and Recreation Gabe Huffington, P&R director<br /><br />Columbia Farmers Market Corrina Smith, CFM executive director <br /><br />Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture Billy Polansky, CCUA executive director<br /><br />City of Co
lumbia De’Carlon Seewood, City Manager<br /><br />Key stakeholders: <br /><br />Economic Development Administration (EDA), Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB), MU Health Care and 800+ private donors who have contributed to this project. <br /><br />Project History:<br /><br />This ribbon-cutting is a major milestone of decades of visioning, planning and effort. The dream of having all the vendors and customers of the Columbia Farmers Market under one roof dates back to the founding of CFM in 1980, and now 43 years later is finally a new reality!<br /><br />Progress is largely due to the success of the public-private-partnership to develop a 20-acre City park called Clary-Shy Community Park. It’s more commonly known as the site of the Activity & Recreation Center (ARC) and more recently, Columbia’s Agriculture Park, home of Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA) and Columbia Farmers Market (CFM). <br /><br />In 2015 planning be
gan between City partner Parks and Recreation, and private partners CCUA, CFM and Sustainable Farms & Communities. A master plan for infilling 10 acres of vacant park ground was developed, and a phasing plan that would bring this vision to life over a number of years. Funding from the city’s Park Sales Tax helped seed the funding, and was quickly matched by numerous other private and public sources, most notably, a 10-year naming sponsorship from MU Health Care. <br /><br />"As a health care provider, our mission extends well beyond the walls of our hospitals and clinics, because the connection between the food we eat and our health outcomes is inextricable," Richard J. Barohn, MD, executive vice chancellor for Health Affairs and Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson dean of the MU School of Medicine said. "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."<br /><br />The project broke ground on the initial phase of construction in early 2018, and opened the middle third of the MU Health Care Pavilion in July 2019. Since the opening of the pavilion, attendance at the weekly farmers market has surged, along with sales by farmer vendors in the "producer only" market (50-mile radius catchment around Columbia). <br /><br />"The addition of a covered pavilion for the Columbia Farmers Market has been a monumental piece in allowing the market to grow for the farmers who sell there," Dustin Stanton of Stanton Brothers Eggs and CFM president said. "The pavilion has brought in more customers and has provided an overall greater economic impact for everyone involved. This pavilion truly serves as a physical bridge connecting the urban and rural communities of our area." <br /><br />After completion of the middle third of the pavilio
n, the park built over 3 acres of demonstration and production gardens. The produce grown at the park is donated to hunger relief with over 47,000 pounds being donated in 2022. The site also serves as a hands-on education hub for CCUA’s Farm-to-School partnership with Columbia Public Schools, a robust volunteer program that had over 450 people volunteer in 2022, and the new farmer apprenticeship program CCUA launched in 2023. <br /><br />"The Agriculture Park is such a great resource that connects our community to food and farmers. It is a working farm, a classroom, economic opportunity for local farmers, and an inspiration to many," Billy Polansky, CCUA executive director said.<br /><br />In 2022, the partnership was awarded a $1.3 million federal grant from the Economic Development Administration to support the expansion of this pavilion. These dollars are a critical and timely investment in the local/regional food system infrastructure and aim to help
improve the vitality of the farming economy in Mid-Missouri. <br /><br />"The Economic Development Administration is proud to support the city of Columbia in expanding its Farmers Market," EDA Denver Regional Director Angela Martinez said. "With the support of dozens of small businesses, the additional indoor space and increased vendor capacity will grow the region’s food economy and provide more opportunity for local vendors to sell their products, creating jobs, and supporting a growing and diverse regional economy."<br /><br />The expansion of the pavilion began in 2023 and was completed by Reinhardt Construction Company. The final size of the roof is now approximately 550 feet long and 60 feet wide. The expanded size has helped lead to a further boost of attendance at the market and reduced risk placed on farmers because of heat or rain. <br /><br />"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. "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." <br /><br />The final phase of the park’s development is the Community Welcome Center, a 11,000 square foot multi-purpose building that will house a Teaching Kitchen, Activities Hall, Resource Center and offices for the park’s partners CCUA and CFM. <br /><br />"We are pleased to be partnering on this project and excited to see it come to completion," City of Columbia Parks and Recreation Director Gabe Huffington said. "Clary-Shy Community Park has developed into a true gathering space for the whole community." <br /><br />More information about Columbia&r
squo;s Agriculture Park can be found at BuildThisTown.org or by contacting Adam Saunders at 573.356.9392</div>
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<em>Columbia is the best place for everyone to live, work, learn and play.</em></p>
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