The Healthy Community Center is housed in a building that was already well-loved and well-visited in the neighborhood: the former Columbus Metropolitan Library Martin Luther King Jr. branch at 1600 E. Long St.
Thanks to our community partnerships and an investment of $5.1 million by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, it’s simply been reimagined into a space that will work better for all of our activities. This one-story building has about 8,900 square feet. It’s near Ohio State’s East Hospital and Outpatient Care East, and it has easy access to seven COTA bus lines.
The Healthy Community Center will include:
Teaching Kitchen
- Demonstration kitchen for food presentations and demos for up to 30 people for an interactive session and up to 50 people for a food demo session
- Educational demos will cover nutritional topics related to diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity
- Teaching sessions will focus on participants' current skills, education and prior experience
Café
- Through partnerships with independent restaurant entrepreneurs, the cafe will offer a variety of culinary options
- There will be food and beverage options for residents of the Near East Side to enjoy while using the center as a gathering space
- Indoor and outdoor seating will be available
Gathering Space
- There will be 3 conference rooms that can be easily scaled for larger meetings/events or catered events
- Conference rooms will accommodate 40 attendants/per room and can hold up to 120 attendants in total
- These spaces will be available to the business community and nonprofit and local organizations
Healthy Foods
- Educational opportunities will teach residents about the importance of healthy foods for disease prevention
- There will be fun social events centered around healthy eating
Additional programming and opportunities available at the Healthy Community Center will include:
- Moms2B meeting site
- Health and wellness activities
- Health screening events
- Smoking cessation
- Cancer risk education and coaching
- Supporting the lifespan: Outreach to seniors, families, youth development “Kids in the Kitchen”
- Movie and lecture series
Your feedback is important to us. Share ideas and feedback about the Healthy Community Center with Javonte.Mcdonald@osumc.edu.