Meal Partnerships, Meals, Community, Poverty & Food Insecurity
Jenny Barker
Fueling Potential: How Summer Meals Support ...

At the Andrew Jackson Clubhouse of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee, kids are spending the summer learning, growing—and thanks to The Nashville Food Project’s made-from-scratch meals—staying nourished, too.

Through the Sweet Peas Summer Eats for Kids program, sponsored by Jackson®, hundreds of healthy meals are delivered each week to support youth during a time when access to regular food can drop off.

This partnership is part of The Nashville Food Project’s Community Meals program, which brings nutritious food directly to organizations already creating safe, supportive spaces for young people.

Now in its sixth year, the collaboration with Jackson is helping serve over 100,000 meals this summer—fueling not just plates, but potential across the city.

Fueling Potential: How Summer Meals Support Youth at the Boys & Girls Club
Community, Gardens, Volunteers
The Nashville Food Project
The Community Agriculture Network Is Live—And ...

The Community Agriculture Network is a collaboration of growing spaces—community gardens, church plots, urban farms, and orchards—each managed by trusted leaders in their respective communities. These sites are independently managed but supported by TNFP through shared tools, technical assistance, access to seed and compost, and a network of volunteers and educators.

The Community Agriculture Network Is Live—And Growing!

Recipes

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Featured Recipe from Produce Rx: Butternut Squash with Black Beans

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Featured Recipe from Produce Rx

A Program of The Nashville Food Project

Food can do more than fill a plate. It can support healing, strengthen community, and help people care for their bodies in ways that feel sustainable and dignified.

Through our Produce Rx pilot, we are working alongside community partners to support better health outcomes through access to fresh, nourishing food. In partnership with Wayspring, we provide fresh produce for patients while care teams help coordinate access and provide ongoing support.

Together, we are building a model that strengthens dignity, connection, and well-being through food.

One way we support this work is by sharing simple, nourishing recipes that make fresh ingredients approachable in everyday kitchens. This month’s featured recipe brings together two ingredients that are both accessible and deeply nourishing: butternut squash and black beans.

The natural sweetness of squash pairs beautifully with the earthy richness of black beans, creating a dish that is hearty, flavorful, and full of fiber and plant-based protein. Meals like this remind us that good food does not have to be complicated. With a few ingredients and a little care, it is possible to create something both nourishing and satisfying.

Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 2¾ cups butternut squash, cubed (about 1 small squash, roughly 1 pound)

  • 1 small onion, chopped

  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (or cooking oil of choice)

  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar

  • ¼ cup water

  • 2 cans (15.5 ounces each) low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

  • ½ teaspoon oregano

Instructions

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.

  2. Heat the squash in the microwave on high heat for 1–2 minutes. This softens the skin and makes it easier to peel.

  3. Carefully peel the squash with a vegetable peeler or small knife, then cut into ½-inch cubes.

  4. Peel and chop the onion.

  5. In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic powder, and squash. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

  6. Add the vinegar and water. Reduce heat and cook on low until the squash becomes tender, about 10 minutes.

  7. Add the beans and oregano. Cook until the beans are heated through.

Recipes like this are a reminder that nourishing food can begin with simple ingredients and shared knowledge. Through Produce Rx and partnerships across Nashville, we continue working toward a future where access to healthy food supports not only nutrition, but long-term health and well-being.

Together, we are growing a food system where care and nourishment move hand in hand.

Recipe from the United States Department of Agriculture. You can find more recipes at https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/resources/recipes-and-menus

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Recipes from the Growing Together Farm: Lu Ja's Fried Rice

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By Gabby Raymond, AmeriCorps Food Justice Storytelling Content Leader

Lu Ja, Growing Together’s newest farmer

"I'm already 30, I need to eat healthy now," says Lu Ja as she vigorously stirs long beans sizzling in a pot with a little oil. She is preparing fried rice homemade style, which she describes as different from restaurants because of its simplicity and lack of lots of salt or MSG.

Lu Ja has two young sons at home, and so she often cooks easy to make, quick meals at home. A go-to meal for her is steamed chickpeas sauteed with garlic and rice, which she used to eat frequently in Myanmar. When she wants to incorporate more vegetable into her meals, she will make this fried rice.

"The tongue likes sweet and spicy," says Lu Ja. "But this meal is for a full stomach."

Lu Ja’s Healthy Fried Rice

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked jasmine rice

  • Salt to taste

  • Sugar to taste

  • Black pepper to taste

  • 5 to 6 cloves of garlic

  • Cherry tomatoes, halved

  • Mixed bell peppers, diced

  • Long beans, sliced

  • 1 bunch water spinach, chopped

  • 2 eggs

  • Vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Add 1 tsp. neutral oil to a pan on medium high heat and cook egg until done. Transfer to a bowl.

  2. Massage 1 tsp salt into cooked rice.

  3. Add more oil to the pan and cook long beans until soft.

  4. Stir continuously and add salt, sugar and pepper.

  5. Add bell peppers and when incorporated stir in chopped water spinach and rice.

  6. Combine, add in chopped egg and stir in any additional seasoning.

  7. Let rice cook until you can hear it begin to crackle.

  8. Stir and then add tomatoes and Thai basil leaves and flowers.

  9. Stir and scrape the bottom to incorporate any crunchy bits.

Although the eggs and vegetables are flavorful on their own. if you're looking to pack a little more punch to the flavors of this dish, you can incorporate your own sauce when you add the rice.

Option 1:

1/2 tsp sesame oil

3 tsp soy sauce

Option 3:

3 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

Option 2:

1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

For the best consistency when making fried rice, use cold leftover rice. Day old rice works perfectly because it will not become mushy when frying.

Vegetable fried rice can also be garnished with chopped scallions or cilantro and served with tomatoes and cucumbers on the side. You can also add chicken or shrimp if you don't want a strictly vegetarian dish.

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Goodbye (and Thank You), Winter: A Reflection on Finding Beauty Even in the Toughest Seasons

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Winter holds space for all of us to deal with the hard truths of the year that has just passed. And through the sharp lens of winter’s harsh reality, it gives us something else too: the prospect of new beginnings, and with it, the arrival of spring.

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State of the Plate: A Meal Study for Better Nutrition and Less Waste

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers studied our meals for children this summer to help us learn more about how meals are consumed—and to help us maximize economically sustainable nutrition for better child health. While we always try to include as many fresh vegetables from our gardens and local farms as possible, researchers formally measured the nutritional value of our meals. Then they looked at the parts of the meals children wanted to eat, and which parts were left on the plate.

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We are only just beginning

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On November 3, many of us across the nation donned our masks—or sealed our envelopes—and submitted our votes with a deep conviction about which candidates will best set us up to move the needle in the direction of our values…However, countless unknowns, rising COVID numbers, and the brokenness of centuries of injustice continue to gnaw at us. The same convictions that surround the way we voted in this presidential election have shallow roots if they end when a POTUS is announced.

"Dirty Pages" Community Potluck

“I tell my daughters that when I go, they’ll know the good recipes by the dirty pages.” —Kim McKinney

That’s the quote that launched Dirty Pages, a recipe storytelling project celebrating our most well-loved recipes with their splatters and stains. We know they make good dishes, because they’ve been handed down to family and friends. But they also act as maps -- their scribbles in the margins helping connect us and tell our stories.

Local Food + Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette

As construction cranes loom over Nashville and development creeps into the countryside, we’re thankful for a growing number of farmers who make the best use of our fertile land and do the hard work of tending it for produce that nourishes our community. The Nashville Food Project wants to support this work. In fact, our commitment to purchasing local food is a growing portion of how our meals happen…

Homemade Pasta

Any given day you walk through The Nashville Food Project’s kitchens or gardens, the incredible care put into the little details of the work is so evident. One great example? Every week, a group of friends and acquaintances comes together in our kitchens to make fresh bread and pasta from scratch for our meals program.