Boone County commits $1.5 million in ARPA funds to support Columbia's Agriculture Park!

Thursday morning, July 27th, the Boone County Commission announced plans to invest $1.5 million dollars of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support the development of Columbia's Agriculture Park.  Specifically these funds will be used to help develop the multi-purpose Community Welcome Center that will house a range of food security programs as well as hand-on skill building opportunities in the Park's gardens and forthcoming teaching kitchen.

Campaign Director, Adam Saunders, received the formal proclamation from Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick, and North and South Commissioners, Janet Thompson and Justin Aldred.  The grass area behind these four will be developed into an 11,000 sqft multi-purpose building called the Community Welcome Center.

While based in central Columbia, MO the CoMO Ag Park has wide-reaching impact across Boone County and the Mid-Missouri Region.  The park is home to Columbia Farmers Market, a producer only market that serves a 50 mile radius around Columbia. This market is 42 years old and has its roots here on this site, dating back to when the Boone County Fairgrounds were on Clinkscales, and up through the establishment of the 20 acre Clary-Shy Community Park.   The market has grown over the years, and has seen a significant boost since 2019 with the opening of the permanent year round pavilion, “MU Health Care Pavilion”.   An estimated $3.5 million is spent annually at the Columbia Farmers Market providing a critical economic loop that invests in rural communities. 

A novel Public-Private-Partnership

This Boone County investment adds significant momentum to an already robust public-private-partnership to develop this park.  Total fundraising over the last 7 years is over $9.1 million dollars and comes from a blend of sources.  The pie chart below shows the balance of investment after the County’s commitment.   Over 47% of the total funds from this project have been sources from private donors.  State Tax Credits offered from Missouri Development Finance Board have helped leverage large donations and elevate this project.  Please note that over $1.2 million in 50% state tax credits are still available to private donors wanting to support this project.  Learn more here. Donors wanting to utilize these credits should do so before December 1st to ensure receipt of the credits.

Community Welcome Center

The Community Welcome Center is the final major component for Columbia’s Agriculture Park.  This building will elevate the work of Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture and Columbia Farmers Market by providing permanent office space and a public-facing resource library that can engage with program participants, farmers, customers, students and the general public looking to learn more about gardening, seasonal eating, and cooking skills.  

A commercial teaching kitchen is at the heart of this building.  The kitchen will support CCUA’s programming and enable them to pilot and scale cooking related programming.  Most notable is the effort to add value to the “Planting for the Pantry'' program that grows and donates fresh produce to local hunger relief outlets.  This kitchen will enable CCUA to make ready to eat meals as well as meal kits from the seasonal produce and staple ingredients sourced by the Food Bank.   New volunteer opportunities will be established by CCUA to provide hands-on service learning opportunities in the kitchen. 

The farmers and vendors of Columbia Farmers Market will also receive priority booking in the kitchen to support their farm/food businesses.  The commercial certification will enable farmers to do a range of work to prepare for sales/samples at the market, as well as value adding and food preservation steps.   This kitchen and its proximity to the market will support rural farm/food businesses in capturing more value from their work, and add to the resiliency of our local/regional food system. 

The space also has a large activity room that will be managed by Columbia Parks & Recreation.  This rentable space will be available for civic gatherings, private meetings, farm-to-table meals, and much more.

Western View

Southern View

Floor Plan

More information about Columbia’s Agriculture Park and its partnership can be found at www.ColumbiaUrbanAg.org, www.ColumbiaFarmersMarket.org, and www.como.gov/parks-and-recreation/    For inquiries about making donations and available naming opportunities please email Adam Saunders at Adam@ColumbiaUrbanAg.org