HeraldTimesOnline.com
Bloomingfoods to open shop at Ivy Tech’s main campus
By Mike Leonard
331-4368 | mleonard@heraldt.com
February 23, 2013
Students at Ivy Tech Community College will soon have a new option for on-the-go food and grocery items when Bloomingfoods opens a spot inside the Connie and Steve Ferguson Academic Building at the college’s main campus on Bloomington’s west side.
Remodeling is under way inside The Herald-Times Student Commons to create what will be called Bfoods Ivy Tech. The small cafe/concession/food store will include deli sandwiches and other items, similar to Bloomingfoods’ three other locations as well as a sandwich/panini station and a limited selection of grocery items.
“We really want to brand this as a Bloomingfoods location in our building,” said Ivy Tech Chancellor John Whikehart. “There’ll be signage on the interior and exterior of our building and a separate entrance for the folks who work out here on the west side and particularly in Park 48, where Cook, Baxter, Tasus and some other businesses are located. Eventually we think even patrons of the new west side YMCA might find it a convenient place to stop.”
Whikehart said he was pleased to offer the kind of quality that Bloomingfoods is known for. The agreement with the local food cooperative includes a commitment from Bloomingfoods to offer nutritional information to its Ivy Tech customers.
“I see it as just part of our cooperative mission. We might have guest lectures or brown bag seminars, whatever you want to call it,” said George Huntington, general manager of Bloomingfoods. “We’ve basically agreed to support their educational mission and they’ve agreed to support ours.”
Huntington said the small scale location will be kind of a first for Bloomingfoods but a potential model for similar operations.
Huntington said no exact opening date has been set and the timeline will depend on when certain pieces of equipment that have been ordered are received and can be installed. He said he thinks it’s likely that Bloomingfoods can get the Bfoods Ivy Tech location up and running by or during spring break and can fine-tune the operation over the summer.
Bloomingfoods is a community owned cooperative with more than 10,000 member-owners. The co-op has more than 250 staff and operates three retail grocery locations, with a fourth under construction at the site of the former K&S Country Market in the Elm Heights neighborhood. That location also is expected to open this summer.
George Huntington
Copyright: HeraldTimesOnline.com 2013
About Ivy Tech Community College
Ivy Tech Community College is Indiana's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana and also serves thousands of students annually online. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering associate degrees, long- and short-term certificate programs, industry certifications, and training that aligns with the needs of the community. The College provides a seamless transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana, as well as out of state, for a more affordable route to a bachelor's degree.
