The California Nutrition Center brought in $3,800 over the weekend.

The center (CNC) hosted a Piccadilly auction on Friday with 150 items up for sale. CNC President Carol Mesey told the Democrat more than 100 attendees came to the event.

Items included gifts with wine, cheese and crackers; handmade products; jewelry; potted plants; floral arrangements; and baked goods.

“There’s a lot of effort that goes into it. In fact, we work on it for a couple months before collecting things and then arranging them and packaging them,” Mesey said. “It took all day Friday afternoon to get that going, and then people were here even before we announced the doors were open.”

Mesey said it’s worth the price of admission just to listen to the event’s emcee, former mayor and owner of Mr. G’s Liquor Norris Gerhart.

In a previous Democrat article, Mesey said the center is striving to match up to a $50,000 donation. “A significant boost to the center’s stability came last year from an anonymous donor who said he would provide a $35,000 donation if the center could match it,” the article read. “Now, the same donor has proposed a similar deal: he will donate $50,000 if the center can raise a matching amount by the end of June.”

This comes after CNC ended its contract with the Columbia nonprofit Aging Best in March of 2025. The organization provided state and federal funding for the center, however, that came with strict guidelines. Staff said since ending the contract they have more freedom, more popular options on their menu and more say in how the center operates.

However, the CNC now relies on donations and community support to operate. With the additional $3,800 the Piccadilly auction brought in, the center is close to finally completing that $50,000 match, according to Mesey.

“We have Fourth of July, where the city asked us to do bingo at the Fourth of July celebration at the (Moniteau County Fairgrounds) and so we’ve been working on that, and then we kind of take off fundraising through the summer,” Mesey said. “We have a benefit – the California Eagles Club is doing a benefit for us in October. We’re having some live music sometime in October, so that’s what we have coming up.”

If anyone would like to donate to the California Nutrition Center they can visit it 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, at 107 W. Versailles Ave. or call at 573-796-4240.