Rhythm in the Kitchen

It’s a rainy and foggy Friday Nashville morning. The day brightens as I enter The Nashville Food Project kitchen, greeted by committed volunteers, Joyce and Marirae. The space is full of joy. On the menu: fish tacos, slaw, and sweet potatoes.

Every Friday, Joyce and Marirae work together to cook a meal to share with the residents of Vine Hill. One would think this pair has known each other since college, but after talking to them, you learn that their story starts here, in the TNFP Kitchen. 

Joyce: Marirae and I met right here in the kitchen at TNFP when it was called Mobile Loaves and Fishes. We met about 6 years ago.

Over the years, the two have had various others join them on the weekly Friday morning cook sessions. Now, Joyce and Marirae cook together every single week and deliver that meal at least once a month. 

The stories of how they joined the TNFP family are different, yet still bring them together for the weekly cook time:

Marirae: My story’s a bit funny. I joined a group of “food people.” One of them had a party at their house. I noticed a letter addressed to Mobile Loaves and Fishes (ML&F). I kept seeing the trucks and thought, “I want to do that”. After asking around, someone put me in touch with Tallu, and I began volunteering! In the meantime, this transitioned from ML&F to TNFP. 

Joyce: I go to church at Woodmont Christian. After retiring from my regular day job, I had some free time and knew I wanted to volunteer here and work. I talked to Tallu about it, and here I am. 

The kitchen gets warmer as the sound of sizzling oil in the pan starts to fills the room. When Joyce and Marirae are not at TNFP, they are very busy running their own businesses. Joyce is self-employed in accounting and rental management while Marirae is a personal chef that cooks and delivers healthy food. They make the weekly commitment to serve others in spite of their busy lives. 

So I asked them: What is it that brings you back? What is your favorite thing about TNFP?

Joyce: My favorite thing about TNFP is working with Marirae.

Marirae: Working with Joyce, and I love the vibe. I love feeding healthy food to people instead of “junk.”  I love Tallu’s good spirit, and everyone that works here is kind.

As the meal progresses, I watch the two move around the kitchen, working seamlessly to complete the meal in time. There is a calming flow to them that allows me to interview them all without being in the way. They begin putting the fish tacos together. 

 According to the pair, they “party like rock stars” when they have free time. They go on double dates with their husbands, go out to lunch, dinner, and see each other a lot. In fact, during the interview, the pair made lunch plans for that day!

Watching their cooking rhythm is mesmerizing so I asked “If you describe your cooking rhythm in a music genre, what would it be? Could it be fast like Hip Hop or slow yet upbeat like Jazz?”

Marirae: We have comedic rhythm.

Joyce: We laugh a lot.

Marirae: And I swear a lot! 

Laughter and the sizzling of the tortillas continue throughout the small kitchen as I leave. Joyce and Marirae continue cooking, as they have done together the past several years. The happiness within their friendship is evident, and anyone that enters the kitchen can feel the joy. It’s enlightening to learn of a relationship that began at this organization and has been cultivated ever since. We could all stand to be a little bit more like these two.

While We're Here

On a typical Tuesday our South Hall kitchen is filled with a steady group of diverse and dedicated volunteers, and you can’t escape the good vibes. A 3-year veteran, Linda, tells me that it’s the music that Meals Coordinator Katie always plays that gets everyone grooving. Very easy to agree with after hearing the funk of Ray Charles come through the radio. I do feel our cherry sorting production was increased with the help of the background music, not to mention it led to the first common ground and opening to discuss the focus of this blog: friendship.

Although Linda suggests that the music was meant to appease some of the older volunteers (Psshh, she was in tow with her teenage grandson that day, back for his second visit.), it really is just another tool in nurturing community and friendship. With so much food to prep, it would be easy to get too involved with the work and miss the opportunity to build relationships, but that never seems to be the case around here.

I asked my delightful cherry sorting partner, Meera (very cool lady), why she keeps coming back, and she told me that, for her, she just wants to help and volunteer her time, simple as that. She went on to say that “while we are here, is when you see something special.”

Hearing the story of how she began meeting and building friendships with other volunteers, you can see that there is much more going on here than just sorting cherries. Meera is apparently an amazing cook and master of spice! As we are having this conversation, a dedicated volunteer cook Mary comes by to try out a few of the Rainer cherries on the table.

I soon find out that Meera and Mary have been volunteering together for nearly five years! These ladies, along with Linda and their friends Marilyn and Cheri, all met in the TNFP kitchen, and through their service to the organization, they’ve built lasting friendships that follow them outside our kitchens. It is amazing to see the friendships that have been cultivated over these cutting boards and mixing bowls.

These ladies and their friendship really shows the mission of The Nashville Food Project in action, and shows how we are fulfilling our mission to cultivate community. Each time I volunteer with TNFP, I am amazed at how much of the real work of the organization happens just by being in the space surrounded by these amazing volunteers.

If you want to help us cultivate community, just show up, open-up, give a hand, and listen to the music. Why we are here is great, but what happens while we are here is the magic.