Over the first 15 years of CCUA's existence, a vast majority of the work toward this mission of "Hands-on Learning from Seed to Plate" has been on the first half of that arc; building healthy soil sowing seeds in the greenhouse or field, tending through the season, and harvesting for distribution to the food pantry.
In practice, there are lots and lots of steps and nuances to the process. Furthermore, we've been able to set roots (and help others set roots) across Columbia at the Veterans Urban Farm, Columbia's Agriculture Park, at the local Title One schools via the Farm-to-School program, and in hundreds of backyard gardens via Opportunity Gardens mentoring program.
The heart and soul of the forthcoming Community Welcome Center is in the kitchen. CCUA is beyond excited about the doors that this new space will open up for new programming and strategic partnerships with existing and new groups. This punch list aims to outline the tip of the iceberg as we see it today. Time will continue to help us screen these opportunities and the feedback from our community and partners will also greatly influence what work ultimately takes place in this space.
Read more at Build This Town