The Columbia Farmers Market celebrated with new and returning vendors, a wide variety of produce, live music and a tree giveaway.
The Columbia Farmers Market welcomed thousands of shoppers to its spring kick-off, the start of their 43rd season, on April 1.
To welcome spring, the Columbia Farmers Market collaborated with Columbia Parks and Recreation, the Columbia TreeKeepers volunteer group, the Columbia City Tree Board and the Center for Agroforestry at MU to host the annual Arbor Day Tree Giveaway.
The giveaway allowed the community to give back to the environment through planting trees. Shoppers interested could pick two seedlings from a variety of trees including blackberry, Kentucky coffeetree, Ohio buckeye, persimmon and more.
“There was a long line of people for the first hour or so, and I believe they had distributed all of [the tree seedlings] before 10 a.m.,” Columbia Farmers Market Executive Director Corrina Smith said.
Smith said there were around 3,300 people and 53 vendors in attendance Saturday morning.
A customer makes a purchase during the Columbia Farmers Market in Columbia, MO on April 1, 2023.
From meat to plants to baked goods, the Columbia Farmers Market is home to a wide variety of vendors. In addition to produce, numerous vendors sell prepared food or meals, and food trucks also participate in the weekly markets.
Just as the previous spring season, the farmers market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday. Smith said that starting May 24, it will be bringing back its Wednesday market from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the spring season.
“We did that [Wednesday market] last year and that was a big hit,” Smith said. “It’s an evening or late afternoon market, which worked really great. It’s a great space for people to come after work and have dinner.”
Similar to Saturday markets, Wednesday evening markets will have live music, kids activities, food trucks and multiple vendors.
A vendor speaks with customers during the Columbia Farmers Market in Columbia, MO on April 1, 2023.
Shoppers can also look forward to an expanded market in future seasons as construction on the market’s pavilion is finally underway.
Construction has already started, and over the next two months the market will be working with two-thirds of its space, as opposed to previously only using one-third of the pavilion.
“When it’s done, we’re going to have this amazing finished pavilion that we have been working to complete for 30 years,” Smith said. “The fact that it is finally here and almost done is hard to believe.”
The market has numerous other resources for shoppers like recipes, cooking lessons, kids activities and more. Information on the vendors and programs can be found on the Columbia Farmers Market’s website.
Edited by Mercy Austin | maustin@themaneater.comCopy edited by Shirin Rekabdar-Xavier and Mary Philip