A Joplin nonprofit has been presented with an award highlighting their work building community through food.
The Missouri Main Street Connection presented the Outstanding Economic Impact Project award to Downtown Joplin Alliance (DJA) for their Bunny and Jane Newton Community Kitchen during Missouri’s Premier Downtown Revitalization Conference.
They were one of 14 communities, individuals, businesses and organizations from across Missouri that have completed exemplary work in downtown revitalization. The Empire Market opened in 2018 as a year-round “city market” style farmers’ market offering local goods. DJA initiated development of the Bunny and Jane Newton Community Kitchen as a shared use commercial kitchen inside the store to grow the capacity of the Empire Market.
This project has furthered its mission of “Building Community Through Food” in an area that would otherwise be a food desert, with limited access to fresh, nutritious food.
In 2023, the $350,000 commercial community kitchen facility was completed which brought a shared kitchen to Downtown Joplin that allowed current vendors and small business owners to work in a kitchen that met the health department requirements of their goods.
The Joplin Empire Market is open Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm.
Copyright 2024 Four States Public Radio. To see more, visit Four States Public Radio.
Copyright 2024 89.9 FM KRPS