A new food market from the Mid-Ohio Food Collective (MOFC) is coming to southeast Columbus.
MOFC bought an empty Kroger store to serve as an anti-hunger service hub. The building, located near the corner of Hamilton Road and Refugee Road, is 67,000 square feet. The location will serve as a space for MOFC to offer food access and critically needed services for people in the area.
Which services will be offered has yet to be determined and MOFC plans to work with the community to assess what’s needed.
“It’s a lot of space with a lot of raw potential,” MOFC President and CEO Matt Habish said in the press release. “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.”
The facility last served as a store in May 2022, when Kroger closed. According to the press release, MOFC and Kroger were able to come to an agreement that allowed the food collective to purchase the strip mall for a below-market price.
MOFC already operates vital Mid-Ohio Markets around Columbus, providing free fresh food to those in need.
The old Kroger store served as an anchor store for the strip mall. With the sale of the property, existing tenants will not be affected. To learn more about the programs MOFC has available or to follow along with this new space, visit mofc.org.