Lueken’s Village Foods is poised to make a culture shift -- and take the city of Bemidji along for the ride.

Lueken’s, one of the largest grocery stores in the area, has locations on both the north and south ends of town and employs about 240 employees. But it’s more than a grocery store. The Lueken’s enterprise also includes:

• Root Value, a three-year-old super-efficient aquaponics greenhouse that grows fruits and vegetables in water containing the natural byproducts of tilapia for nutrients; and
• TJ Studio, a technology company, that also serves as in-house tech support.
  

To reduce the carbon footprint that results from transporting food thousands of miles and stay competitive, Root Value’s goal is to supply their stores with their greenhouse-grown produce.

“Envision a future where every community has the ability to grow a large portion of their fruits and vegetables in a facility like this,” said Jeff Lueken, son of founder Joe Lueken, during an Earth Day tour of the greenhouse. “Think of the fuel we’re not going to be burning, and polluting the air, the pesticides and fertilizers we’re not going to be pumping into the soil.”

“Lueken’s needs to immerse their workers in sustainability and learn how to promote a healthy lifestyle to enthusiastic customers,” said Kerry Ross of Optivation-Bemidji State University, the outreach training and professional development arm for Bemidji State and Northwest Technical College.

A $49,572 grant from the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Program to Optivation-Bemidji State University will help them do that by training 43 employees representative of the entire Lueken’s enterprise. Optivation-Bemidji State will work with Lueken’s to develop training curriculum for employees in cross-functional teams.

Two new courses -- Lean Aquaponics Farming Strategies and Aquaponics Lifestyle Awareness -- will help the employees to understand and sustain aquaponics farming.

Enterprise Thinking will also help employees understand how potential improvements and better communication affect the entire business. Currently in the process of becoming an employee-run organization through an employee stock ownership program, they are incorporating strategies to ensure long-term success.

How does the training project benefit Bemidji State University and the community? New aquaponics lifestyle curriculum will be delivered through Bemidji State’s sustainability department and websites and delivery systems accessible to the community.

For more information about the grant, contact Kerry Ross, Bemidji State University, 218-755-4902.