History
Urban agriculture is not new. People have been growing food where they live for thousands of years. Columbia itself has a robust tradition of urban agriculture with legacies like Henry Kirklin’s farm on Switzler Street (started in 1883), Mizzou’s Sanborn Field (started in 1888), the Community Garden Coalition with 40 years of history across 31 gardens, and the historic Boone County Fairgrounds that have become Columbia’s Agriculture Park in recent years.
CCUA aims to carry on these legacies. Keep reading to learn how CCUA came to be and how we have continued to grow over the years.
2008- 2009
CCUA started as a project of Sustain Mizzou, a University of Missouri student group. CCUA's founders taught a service-learning class that composted food waste from campus dining halls. Food was grown downtown at a property leased from Mark & Carol Stevenson for a rent of tomatoes & eggs.
2010
CCUA gained access to 1.3 acres at the corner of Smith & Fay to establish the “Urban Farm,” also owned by the Stevensons. Collaborations took root like gardening with Douglass High School and leading a Community Garden with Kilgore’s Pharmacy. CCUA sold produce and offered for-hire garden work to earn income in these early days. The first Harvest Hootenanny was held with over 400 attendees.
