The Nashville Food Project’s Blog
Spreading Joy Through Nourishing Food
On any day of the week, you can walk into the kitchen at St. Luke’s and be greeted with a smile and warm hello in the midst of all of the hustle and bustle that takes place when over 200 meals are being prepared for the day. This warm and inviting atmosphere is just one reflection of the great partnership that has been established between St. Luke’s and The Nashville Food Project.
by Patricia Bing, St. Luke's Community House Family Resource Center Director
On any day of the week, you can walk into the kitchen at St. Luke’s and be greeted with a smile and warm hello in the midst of all of the hustle and bustle that takes place when over 200 meals are being prepared for the day. This warm and inviting atmosphere is just one reflection of the great partnership that has been established between St. Luke’s and The Nashville Food Project.
The partnership between the two organizations began in March of 2016, sprouting from two separate places- St. Luke’s need to provide quality and nutritious food to our clients, and The Nashville Food Project’s desire to begin a social enterprise. After being connected with one another, talks ensued, and that, as they say, was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The Nashville Food Project now provides food for two programs at St. Luke’s. The first being our Senior Services program, that provides freshly prepared lunches that are delivered to seniors in their homes Monday through Friday and meals for our weekly senior activities. The second program is our preschool, for which The Nashville Food Project prepares breakfast, lunch, and snack daily.
There was a period where we had to transition the participants of both programs to the new menus and foods they were now being served. The Nashville Food Project did a great job of finding compromises that mixed in the foods clients were used to being served with healthier alternatives. The communication between the two organizations was essential to a successful partnership. The Nashville Food Project did, and still does, an excellent job of making sure they understand what both our seniors and children like and want. They talk to the teachers. Seniors are polled and asked questions, and they are always open to any idea or suggestions that may come from the St. Luke’s staff.
At St. Luke’s we recognize that food is a vehicle. It is a way to educate, bring people together, and help us discover what other needs the members of our community may have. Through this partnership, we are able to not only introduce nutritious foods to our clients, but it gives us an opportunity to educate them on why it is healthy and what other healthy food options may be out there.
We have heard stories from individuals about how this change in their diet has improved their quality of life. One of our seniors let us know that since switching to the healthier meals, her blood pressure is lower, blood sugar is better controlled and she has lost 8 pounds. Today, I walked into a classroom of two-year olds during lunch time and they could not get enough of the salad, green beans, and spaghetti they were eating. Most had abandoned their forks in favor of their hands to make sure they got every delicious bite.
There is now a positive energy that surrounds the preparation, delivery, and consumption of the food that is pure joy to witness. These examples truly show what a success the partnership between St. Luke’s Community House and The Nashville Food Project has been and will continue to be.
Simple Snacks with a BIG Impact
Amid cooking club, homework help, reading intervention, book club, fitness time, and the hum of many more activities, the elementary through high-school aged students at Preston Taylor Ministries’ (PTM) after-school program gather two times each week over a snack prepared by The Nashville Food Project (TNFP).
Amid cooking club, homework help, reading intervention, book club, fitness time, and the hum of many more activities, the elementary through high-school aged students at Preston Taylor Ministries’ (PTM) after-school program gather two times each week over a snack prepared by The Nashville Food Project (TNFP). It may be as simple as carrot sticks and fruit salad, or a healthy spin on traditional snacks like pizza with hummus or vegetable chips, yet these snacks have made a big impact at PTM.
“Not only have our students been more open to trying new foods, but we see a better attitude, more even energy and well balanced moods on TNFP snack days,” says Lisa Lentz, director of PTM’s programs at their St. Luke’s Community House site.
The almost 80 students involved in this program are engaged in SPARK (Sport-Play-Active-Recreation-for-Kids), a program designed to promote daily activity and healthy living for youth during after-school time. TNFP’s twice per week snacks fit squarely alongside this mission. These snacks offer a more nutritious alternative to the high sugar/simple carb processed snacks that PTM was serving before partnering with TNFP, supporting balanced energy levels and providing opportunities for the students to experience new, healthy foods.
As Lisa goes on to say, as staff “it's always an adventure getting kids to try new things”, but “teaching and practicing healthy snacking is a big part of what we do with our students. At first, it was a challenge but gradually they have learned that all they need to do is take one bite and then make a decision.”
Further, these snacks promote relationship building between the students and PTM staff while enhancing what they are learning through the SPARK program. PTM staff are often the first ones to try the snack, poking into the TNFP pans to see what creative snack is on the day’s menu.
“Going through the experience of trying new foods as a staff helps us to relate that experience to our kids. Many times, I’ve heard a student make a comment about how a snack looks weird, but it opens a door for our staff to come alongside the student and share their uneasiness about something different and how they tried it and loved it. It also gives us the opportunity to talk about the ingredients and how they benefit their brain growth and body strength. It’s great to have a conversation around food in healthy ways”
TNFP also prepares a hot, made-from-scratch meal for PTM’s quarterly community suppers, providing an opportunity for students, families, and staff to share a nutritious meal together. Students prepare the room when programming is over, putting out chairs and setting tables as the space is filled with a growing excitement. Music is turned on and students begin dancing as they wait eagerly for their families to arrive.
“Eating together just takes the relationship between our staff and families to a deeper level. Conversation can slow down because they aren't rushing out the door and topics can meander off the daily grind to a more personal nature” says Lisa. Over the course of the year, this program has grown steadily, from 45 people at the first supper to 120 at the last!
In partnership with Preston Taylor Ministries, The Nashville Food Project provides twice weekly snacks and quarterly suppers for PTM’s after-school program. Yet, these seemingly small additions of nutritious food, have had big impact on the students, the staff, and the families of PTM, supporting healthy living and building relationships over the simple act of good food.
New Meal Partnership Supports Immigrant Families
Evidence has shown that the more parents get involved in their children’s’ lives, the better the children learn, behave and develop. The Nashville Food Project’s newest meal partnership supports programming that invites immigrant families into schools to feel at home in these spaces, in order to connect and engage with their children’s education.
Evidence has shown that the more parents get involved in their children’s’ lives, the better the children learn, behave and develop. The Nashville Food Project’s newest meal partnership supports programming that invites immigrant families into schools to feel at home in these spaces, in order to connect and engage with their children’s education.
Earlier this year The Nashville Food Project began a new partnership with Alignment Nashville, an initiative to improve the education and health of Nashville’s youth by providing tools that bring the community together for more effective results than we could each accomplish alone. One example is a weekly community night with the goal of Linking, Empowering and Advancing Families - LEAF. Held each Wednesday at Wright Middle School, these LEAF Community Nights allow families to meet over dinner - prepared by The Nashville Food Project - and get connected with community resources. Adults can attend community workshops and ESL classes, while their children receive other enrichment opportunities.
Through this partnership, The Nashville Food Project is sharing a weekly meal that brings immigrant families together to build a community around their children, one that is welcoming and supports youth in their education and development.
This meal has also been an opportunity to connect two of our partners with similar missions. Similar to the LEAF Community Nights, the Oasis Center’s International Teen Outreach Program (ITOP) supports immigrant, refugee and first generation American teens, providing a safe setting for these youth to explore and engage American culture. One aspect of ITOP is building community connection through volunteerism.
For more than six years, ITOP participants have volunteered with The Nashville Food Project monthly, sharing a meal from our food trucks or volunteering in our gardens, and now they share this meal with families who are not so different from their own.
Working with our partners at Alignment Nashville and the Oasis Center has provided an opportunity to bring immigrant children, teens and families together to have a real impact on the lives of each of these partners and our community. The Nashville Food Project believes that when we all come together in community, transformational change can happen, and we look forward to seeing how this new partnership transforms our community for the better!
