2025 COMMUNITY IMPACT REPORT

LETTER FROM THE CEO

Dear friends,

As we reflect on 2025, I am struck not only by what we accomplished, but by the spirit in which this community showed up for one another. Across gardens, kitchens, and shared tables, we witnessed again and again how nourishment becomes possible when people commit themselves to the well-being of their neighbors.

This year, our collective work moved through the city in meaningful ways. Hundreds of thousands of meals were prepared and shared across Nashville. Fresh produce was grown, harvested, and offered with care. Volunteers, growers, and partners contributed thousands of hours to ensure that nourishment reached the people and places where it was needed most. These numbers help us understand the scale of our work, but they do not capture its depth. The true measure of 2025 is found in quiet moments of connection and resilience: a volunteer learning a new skill beside a stranger, a gardener offering produce from a patiently tended plot, a meal bringing comfort during a difficult season.

We also strengthened our partnerships with organizations across Nashville, expanding access to healthy food and deepening our shared commitment to justice and community well-being. These collaborations remind us that the work of nourishing a city does not rest with any single person or organization. It is a collective effort, shaped by many hands and grounded in the belief that everyone deserves good food and a place to belong.

None of this would have been possible without you. Your generosity, your time, and your steady presence sustained our work through every season. You reminded us that nourishment is not only about what is served on a plate but about the community that forms when people choose to care for one another.

As we look toward 2026, we carry with us the lessons and hopes of this year. We remain committed to building a Nashville where good food is shared widely, where neighbors are connected, and where care continues to take root in ways both ordinary and profound.

Thank you for being part of this work. Together, we will continue to grow, cook, share, and create a more just and compassionate community.

With gratitude,
C.J. Sentell

Gardens are where nourishment begins. In the simple act of planting and tending the soil, we are drawn into a deeper relationship with the land, with our food system, and with one another. Our gardens are social ecosystems, places where neighbors gather, learn, and grow together the foods that matter to them. They remind us that food is not only something we consume, but something we cultivate together.

Growing Together Farmers Market

The Growing Together Farmers Market in Nashville, the only market on a working farm serving South Nashville, celebrated its first season focused on community food security. Led by immigrant and refugee growers, it offers fresh produce while promoting cultural traditions, economic opportunities, and community ties. Shoppers enjoyed diverse vegetables and dishes, supporting local farmers and businesses. The market’s success earned it the 2025 Salute to Excellence New Generations Award, recognizing its role in fostering inclusive, community-driven food systems

What We Accomplished Together

Community Engagement

Our kitchens transform recovered, donated, and garden-grown ingredients into meals that nourish our community and strengthen our connections to one another. While food alone cannot solve hunger or poverty, the act of sharing meals helps cultivate resilience and supports the broader work of creating lasting change.

What We Accomplished Together

Community Engagement

We share food with partner organizations across the city to support their vital, poverty-disrupting, community-building work. Whether it is a youth program offering an afterschool meal or a refugee support group providing fresh vegetables to newcomer families, we believe food is most powerful when it is shared in community.

Food is Medicine

We prioritized health equity through two food is medicine initiatives producing 5,145 meals total. In partnership with the Nashville Wellness Collaborative, the Heart of Nashville provided culturally-appropriate, heart-healthy meals for select patients with hypertension at Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center. And, with support from the Tennessee Department of Health’s Project Diabetes, we officially launched Produce Rx, offering weekly fresh produce shares to patients at Wayspring. These efforts aim to improve access to healthy food in underserved communities and combat chronic health disparities.

What We Accomplished Together

Community Engagement

We share meals with

Nourish fundraiser

This year, Nourish was recognized as the Best Nonprofit Fundraising Dinner by the Nashville Scene, showcasing hospitality, creativity, and connection. The event gathered over 350 guests, including farmers and chefs, raising nearly $250,000 for our community efforts. It featured culinary talent from various notable restaurants, highlighting the importance of community and shared purpose in nourishing relationships.

2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

THANK YOU TO OUR 2025 SUPPORTERS!

$250,000+

State of Tennessee

$100,000+

Christy & Mike Moberly

Dettwiller Foundation

Enterprise Holdings

Impact 100 Nashville

Marlene and Spencer Hays Foundation

The Frist Foundation

$50,000+

Fifth Generation, Inc (Tito's Handmade Vodka)

HCA Healthcare Foundation

Jackson National Life

Joe C. Davis Foundation

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Healing Trust

The Memorial Foundation

TN Department of Agriculture: Division of Forestry

West End Home Foundation

$25,000-$49,999

Anchor Investments

Andrea Waitt Carlton Family Foundation

Bank of America

Boedecker Foundation

CVS

Ingram Charitable Fund

Kroger Zero Hunger Zero Waste Foundation

Marlene Colucci

Melinda & Jeff Balser

The Giving Grove

Truist Foundation

United Way of Greater Nashville

$10,000 TO $24,999

 Download a PDF copy of the 2025 Community Impact Report for The Nashville Food Project

Table of Contents
Grow
Cook
Share
Financials and Supporters