As the summer produce season comes to a close, the Columbia Farmers Market celebrates a busy season despite extreme heat, a cattle shortage and a nationwide illness linked to fresh produce.
Corrina Smith, executive director of the Columbia Farmers Market, led vendors through a successful summer.
“It has been a great year for the market despite the weather challenges,” Smith said.
This year’s heat waves affected farmers battling with increased lettuce demand. The cyclospora outbreak, linked to lettuce, turned consumers from national companies to local vendors throughout July and August.
“The lettuce cyclospora outbreak has been a success and challenge for our producers,” Smith said. “That happened at the worst time of the year for growing lettuce in Missouri.”
National beef shortages also increased demand for local producers at the market.
“People are buying out ground beef from our farmers,” Smith said. “When our greater food system breaks down, people turn to their neighbor.”
Concern around the Trump administration’s tariff-free beef imports has also driven consumers to the market. Matthew Van Schyndel, co-owner of Hedge Holler Harvest in Mexico, Missouri, has seen increased demand.
“People are seeing it, and they really want to know who their farmer is,” Van Schyndel said. “I think the customers need to know, and they have the right to know, where their meat comes from.”
Outside of excessive heat and produce concerns, inflation also affected consumers and vendors.
“It makes shopping for groceries in general more challenging,” Smith said. “In shopping locally, those farmers have more control over the bottom dollar. Their input costs have drastically increased, too.”
Smith shared her dedication to supporting mid-Missouri farmers through country-wide struggles.
“It shows the importance of supporting your local food system,” Smith said. “Supporting your farmers year-round allows them to make a living out of this.”
Other summer successes
Last month, the market hosted its 12th annual Farm to Pavilion Dinner, a fundraiser that supports vendors and other programs at the market. At the dinner, the event made a new record for both money raised and total guests to attend the event. There were 250 attendees and they raised $26,128, according to a post from the Columbia Farmers Market Facebook page.
“This was the second time we’ve done it here at the pavilion,” Smith said. “We were able to sell more tickets than in the past. The only challenge is that it was very hot.”
Just days before the fundraiser, the market celebrated the opening of the Clary-Shy Community Welcome Center, a multipurpose building that supports multiple organizations, including the market and the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture.
“That has been a big help for our organization and our friends at CCUA,” Smith said. “The welcome center is going to offer even more resources in the future, with a rentable kitchen for value-added production for our farmers.”
The market will be open through October from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday inside the MU Health Care Pavilion at 1769 W. Ash St. From November through March, the market will be open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
The Columbia Farmers Market is a financial supporter of KBIA.
