Mid-ohio Food Collective purchases former Kroger

“MOFC is used to pushing the boundaries of what fighting hunger looks like, but this is a first-of-its-kind opportunity for us.”

The Mid-ohio Food Collective is turning a former Kroger store into a hub to offer food, social services and other support to people on Columbus’ Southeast Side.

The former grocery story, at 4485 Refugee Road, measures 67,000 square feet, according to the food collective. That space will be used as an anti-hunger service hub, detailed plans of which are not yet complete.

“It’s a lot of space with a lot of raw potential,” said Mid-ohio Food Collective President and CEO Matt Habash, in a statement. “This is a chance to learn from the nearby community, respond to their needs and build something that can help tackle the interconnected causes of hunger on a scale Columbus has never seen before.” Matt Habash The collective

Mid-ohio Food

plans to work

Collective President and CEO with community

partners and do outreach to discover what services are most necessary in that part of town, according to the collective. Those could include health services, public benefits help, a commercial kitchen and more.

That neighborhood, near the shuttered Eastland Mall, has a high rate of food insecurity and evictions, according to the collective. The grocery store, in a strip mall with small businesses that will remain, closed in May 2022.

At the time, Kroger said the store’s performance had been declining despite its work to increase sales and customer traffic. The location opened in 1977 as a Kroger store.

The collective began speaking with Kroger before the store closed and the company sold the retail complex to the collective on March 3.

The sale was “significantly below market rate to help ensure continuous food access for the neighborhood,” the collective said.

The collective serves central and eastern Ohio in 20 counties and has five other Mid-ohio Markets in greater Columbus.

“MOFC is used to pushing the boundaries of what fighting hunger looks like, but this is a first-of-its-kind opportunity for us,” Habash said. “Thanks to Kroger, we will have space for multiple supports and services under one roof and the chance to imagine what a truly intersectional anti-hunger center could look like for our neighbors in need.” dking@dispatch.com @Danaeking