Jasmyn Alvarez, a Wedgewood Community Gardener, reflects on her first growing season in a community garden. She shares information about her goals, how she used the square foot garden method to achieve them, and the results of her efforts.
Reconnecting with Family History Through Food
In honor of International Women’s Day, we are celebrating one of the incredible women we work with in our community gardens. Ifeoma Scott and her husband have been growing in our Wedgewood Neighbors Garden since last year after hearing about it from their friends Jay and former Meals Assistant Makisha, or Kiki as Ifeoma calls her, at Mt. Zion Church.
A February Snapshot of Our Gardens
Planting Seeds of Change
A Day in a Dozen: From Harvest To Plate
Teamwork Helps a Garden Grow
On any given day, the groups coming together in the gardens are often as varied as the crops harvested. A recent week at the Wedgewood Urban Garden welcomed Friends Life, a nonprofit serving the needs of adults with intellectual and development disabilities…
World Refugee Day Celebrate with Art and a Potluck
A Day in a Dozen: 12 photos tell the story of one day at TNFP
A variety of volunteer groups meet in the Wedgewood garden each morning to work. This group from RISE (Refugee and Immigrant Students Empowered), a youth program of the Center for Refugees + Immigrants of Tennessee, paused for a lesson on the importance of bees.
Meanwhile back at the kitchen, a morning crew of volunteer cooks prepared trays of sausage strata made from donated and gleaned ingredients that will be delivered to Bethlehem Centers.
By 1 p.m., a volunteer prep team had arrived including Olivia, a young woman visiting Nashville and Woodmont Christian Church on a mission trip from Ohio. She chopped kale harvested from the Wedgewood garden the previous day.
Then at 3 p.m., a two-person team swooped in to prepare hot meals for 170 people. The meals on two separate truck runs would head out by 5 p.m. As part of the process, Judy clipped herbs from the garden behind the kitchen.
Then she prepared squash boats over roasted greens including produce gleaned from Delvin Farms and a donation of meats.
The squash boats would be served with slaw made with donated produce from Granbery farm.
Just before 5 p.m., volunteers arrived to load trucks and deliver the food.
While one truck headed for Rex Courts, an Urban Housing Solutions property, another truck left for the Community Meal at Trinity United Methodist.
Grace, TNFP Outreach Coordinator, plated food with volunteers at Trinity United Methodist...
...as guests began to gather for the meal.
And a parting gift? Produce to-go with recipes!
