Facilities

Food Innovation Center

Located at 224 E Crosstown Parkway, just south of Downtown Kalamazoo.
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Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Food Innovation Center (FIC) is a living lab for skills-based training programs, community education and networking focused on building a sustainable, healthy, prosperous and equitable food system in Kalamazoo and greater Southwest Michigan.
In addition to the offices and licensed Wholesale Food Facility for ValleyHUB, the FIC has:
Classroom space
Classroom space for college and community classes
Urban Farm
Urban Farm: Greenhouse, Grow Room, Raised Bed Chef’s Garden, Apiary
Garden and landscape
Garden and landscape demonstration spaces

What the FIC Offers

  • Community Collaboration – Bronson Healthy Living Campus
    Community Collaboration – Bronson Healthy Living Campus

    The Food Innovation Center is part of the Bronson Healthy Living Campus, a collaboration between Bronson Healthcare Group, Integrated Services of Kalamazoo, and Kalamazoo Valley Community College. The campus opened in 2016.

    The Bronson Healthy Living Campus is a catalyst for urban revitalization, community health and workforce development through sustainable food education, training production, distribution and preparation. Innovative collaborations between the three project partners, the nearby medical school, the City of Kalamazoo, adjoining neighborhoods, and other organizations are meeting increasing community demand for holistic approaches to health. Together, we are preparing the next generation of professionals for existing and emerging careers in food and healthcare.

  • Living Lab and Demonstration Space
    Living Lab and Demonstration Space

    Our flexible food processing and logistics space is equipped to wash, peel, chop, freeze and package fresh, in-season produce. And we love to share about how we do it.

    All of our standard operating procedures and training manuals are being published as a Toolkit (available late 2022) and will be available for download and use by other food businesses. Students in Kalamazoo Valley programs use the FIC as a living laboratory, where they learn skills and best practices in the operation of a real business.

    Learn more about our degree programs in Culinary Arts & Sustainable Food Systems, Sustainable Brewing, and (in development) Sustainable Horticulture.

  • Supportive Employment
    Supportive Employment

    Running a dynamic social enterprise like ValleyHUB takes all kinds of talents, and we are proud to be an inclusive and supportive workplace. We are proud to partner with MRC Industries, Inc., to welcome adults with barriers to employment, and with Kalamazoo Valley’s Financial Aid and Internship offices to offer opportunities for our students.

  • Community Education
    Community Education

    We offer a robust catalog of non-credit, open-enrollment Life Enrichment courses for the community, centered around skills like beekeeping, mushroom cultivation and home landscape design. These courses provide opportunities for the greater Kalamazoo community to build skills that make us more resilient and self-sufficient.

    Offerings change seasonally. Check our Events and follow us on social media for announcements of new courses.

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