Almost eight years ago, Bianca Morton was searching for work that felt purposeful.
As a chef, she had always loved food. But love alone was not enough. She was looking for mission. For meaning. For a place where food could be more than craft.
At The Nashville Food Project, she found it.
Food, for Bianca, has always been a connector. A way to show care. A way to build community. A way to express love when words fall short. Her life has been shaped by faith, purpose, and a deep belief that what we make with our hands can change what happens in the world.
She often speaks of “each one, teach one.” It is not simply a phrase. It is a way of living.
As a young person, Bianca was not exposed to the kinds of dishes she now curates and stewards. But she was formed by something more foundational: the act of breaking bread. Around her family’s table, she learned that food was not performance. It was presence. It was culture made visible. It was love made tangible.
Through her work, Bianca has built relationships with a network of neighbors she never imagined possible. She has supported individuals navigating barriers and helped create pathways into culinary skills through internships, volunteer experiences, food demonstrations, and hands-on training. Representation matters, she says. And in the kitchen, that representation becomes empowerment.
Food is not only nourishment. It is access. It is skill-building. It is dignity.
Bianca also shares openly about her own journey. Diagnosed with clinical depression in high school, she turned to food as a way to manage her emotions. At the time, she did not yet understand what that instinct meant. Now she sees it clearly. Food was not simply escape. It was medicine. It was a catalyst for healing and a pathway toward a healthier life.
That understanding shapes how she leads today.
Whether stewarding large-scale meal production or mentoring someone in their first culinary experience, Bianca approaches the kitchen as a space of care. A space where skill and compassion meet. A space where legacy is formed.
She speaks often of her grandfather. Of yeast rolls rising in the kitchen. Of recipes passed down not only as ingredients and measurements, but as memory and mission. She sees echoes of that same spirit in the founding vision of Tallu Schuyler Quinn: that food, shared with intention, can knit a community together.
For Bianca, this work is about the legacy of tomorrow.
It is about ensuring that the next generation experiences not only access to good food, but the power that comes from learning to prepare it, share it, and steward it well. It is about cultivating kitchens that do more than produce meals. They produce confidence. Connection. Care.
In every tray prepared, every intern mentored, every volunteer guided, Bianca is doing what she has always done.
She is breaking bread.
And in doing so, she is building a community where food is not simply eaten. It is shared as an expression of hope.
