Grow With Us: Community Garden Beds Now Available

At The Nashville Food Project, growing food is about more than what ends up on the plate. It’s about stewardship, shared learning, and the relationships that form when neighbors come together around the land.

We’re excited to share that community garden beds are now available at McGruder Community Garden and Mill Ridge Community Farm for the upcoming season. These spaces are open to individuals and families who want to grow fresh food while being part of a supportive, connected gardening community.

Our community garden beds offer more than a place to plant. Gardeners receive access to shared tools, compost and soil support, educational opportunities throughout the season, and connection with other neighbors who are growing alongside them. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just getting started, these gardens are designed to meet people where they are.

At The Nashville Food Project, we believe growing food together strengthens both individual wellbeing and collective care. Our gardens are places where questions are welcome, learning is shared, and relationships deepen over time.

Garden beds are limited and available on a first-come basis. We encourage anyone interested in growing with us this season to register early to reserve a space.

What’s Included with a Garden Bed

• Access to shared tools

• Compost and soil support

• Educational opportunities throughout the season

• Community connection and shared learning

Garden Locations

• Community Farm at Mill Ridge

  • Plots available: 500 square foot in-ground plots

    Address: 12944 Old Hickory Blvd Antioch, TN 37013

• McGruder Community Garden

  • Plots available: 4x8' raised garden beds

    Address: 2013 25th Ave N Nashville, TN 37208

How to Register

Please fill out the application below.

Garden beds are limited, and spaces will be filled as registrations are received.

If you have questions about community gardens or the registration process, please reach out to gardens@thenashvillefoodproject.org.

We’re looking forward to another season of growing together and welcoming neighbors into these shared spaces.

Steady Care

Care is rarely dramatic.

More often, it is steady. It looks like meals prepared on schedule. Routes driven again. Kitchens opened on cold mornings. Volunteers returning, not for recognition, but because someone is counting on them.

For many of our neighbors, especially seniors and those who rely on regular meals, care is not an occasional kindness. It is a necessity shaped by consistency. Hunger does not pause for weather or calendars. Nourishment must remain reliable if it is to be dignified.

For us, care takes the form of rhythm. Food is grown, recovered, prepared, and shared not only in moments of urgency, but day after day. Seniors living on fixed incomes. Neighbors managing chronic illness. People navigating isolation. For them, a steady meal is more than food. It is reassurance. It is stability. It is the quiet knowledge that someone remembered.

This kind of care is built over time. Through repetition. Through trust earned slowly. Through systems designed to endure and people willing to carry responsibility together. It is not flashy work. But it is faithful work.

We often measure impact in numbers, and those numbers matter. But the deeper story of care lives in consistency. In the volunteer who learns a delivery route by heart. In the cook who prepares each meal with the same attention, whether the room is full or nearly empty. In the neighbor who opens their door each week knowing that care will arrive as promised.

Caring community is not built only in moments of crisis. It is built through reliability. Through showing up even when it is cold. Especially then.

This is how nourishment becomes human. Not as charity, but as relationship. Not as a one time response, but as a shared practice. Some neighbors depend on this work, and that dependence is not a failure. It is a reflection of our shared life together.

As this work continues, we remain grateful for everyone who makes steady care possible. The volunteers who return. The partners who remain committed. The supporters who understand that consistency is its own form of generosity.

Supporting neighbors day after day is how caring community takes shape.

Supporting neighbors, day after day
Steady care

Get involved:
Volunteer | Give Food | Donate

Winter Storm Fern Resources

Many of our Nashville neighbors continue to navigate the impacts of Winter Storm Fern. In moments like this, access to clear, reliable information matters. Below are trusted local resources to help neighbors stay safe, warm, and supported as recovery continues.

Last updated on January 31, 2026

COMPILED RESOURCES:

Food & Nutrition

2-1-1 RESOURCE CONNECTION

United Way provides 2-1-1 as a vital community service to help you connect to the resources you need. Specialists are available Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm CST.

•••

WARM MEALS BY MADISON COMMUNITY CO-OP

OPEN DAILY | 752 MADISON SQUARE MADISON, TN 37115

11:00 am - Warm breakfast and the community space is open with family friendly activities

1:00 pm - Warm lunch and resources

5:30 pm - 8:00 pm - Warm dinner *7:00 pm

Shuttle will pickup at bring people to the shelter

•••

Mobile Pantry by by One Generation Away

Centennial High School | 5050 Mallory Ln

Saturday, January 31 | Distribution begins around 8:45 a.m.

Note: This distribution includes fresh produce and shelf-stable dry goods. Warm meals are not available at this site.

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Life & Safety

Medical Support

If you or someone with you is experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

For non-urgent medical needs, you may contact the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center to speak with an on-call physician: 615-327-9400

•••

Transportation to Warming Stations

Call 615-401-1712
When calling, please be ready to share your name, location, number of people needing transportation, mobility needs, and whether you have pets.

•••

Transportation to Emergency Shelters

Call 615-844-3399
This line provides access to emergency shelter transportation, including Nashville Rescue Mission, Room In The Inn, and overflow shelter locations.

•••

Warming shelters

They are available in Davidson, Dickson, Hickman, Montgomery, Robertson, and Williamson Counties.

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Travel & Cleanup

Road Conditions

For the most up-to-date information on road closures and driving conditions across Tennessee, visit Tennessee Department of Transportation SmartWay.

Please use caution when traveling and avoid unnecessary trips when possible.

•••

Power Outages in Davidson County

If you are experiencing a power outage or need updated information, contact Nashville Electric Service.

Report an outage by phone: 615-234-0000 (available 24/7)
Text “OUT” to 637797 (NESPWR)
View outage maps and updates: nespower.com

If you see a downed power line, please stay away and call 911 immediately. Even lines that appear inactive can be dangerous.

•••

Property cleanup assistance

The Crisis Cleanup Hotline connects residents with volunteer groups who may be able to help with storm-related cleanup.

Crisis Cleanup Hotline: 844-965-1386
Available through February 13th.

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Recovery & Support

Replacement SNAP benefits

Neighbors who lost food due to power outages may be eligible for replacement SNAP benefits through the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

•••

HOTEL DISCOUNTS FOR RESIDENTS

Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp and local hospitality partners are offering discounted lodging for residents displaced by the storm. Rates typically range from $70–$200 and require proof of residency.

•••

Caring for One Another

Extreme weather reminds us how interconnected we are. If you are able, consider checking in on neighbors nearby, especially those who may have limited mobility, rely on refrigerated medications, or face barriers to staying warm and nourished.

We encourage partners, volunteers, and community members to share these resources with anyone who may need them. Care and safety matter deeply in moments like this, and small acts of attention can make a meaningful difference.

Our hearts are with our neighbors as the city recovers. We look forward to resuming our work as soon as conditions allow, and we remain grateful for the community that continues to show up for one another.

Please stay tuned for additional updates.

Anatomy of a Meal

Have you ever wondered what it takes to place a hot, nourishing meal in a neighbor’s hands? For us, a meal does not begin in the kitchen. It begins much earlier.

What follows is a careful, collective process shaped by stewardship, skill, and care. It is the work of turning surplus into nourishment, and nourishment into connection.

Recovery

The first step is recovery. Across Nashville, food that is still fresh and abundant is often left without a destination. We work alongside grocers, farmers, markets, restaurants, and individuals to recover food that would otherwise go to waste. This is not about scraps or leftovers. It is about recognizing the value of food that has already been grown, harvested, and prepared with care.

Recovering food is an act of responsibility. It acknowledges that hunger and waste exist side by side, and that abundance can be redirected toward justice when we choose to act.

Prep and Cook

Once recovered, food moves into our kitchens. Here, volunteers, cooks, and staff prepare meals from scratch, guided by skill and intention. Vegetables are washed and chopped. Recipes are tested and refined. Meals are prepared with the understanding that the people who will receive them deserve food that is nourishing, thoughtful, and well made.

Cooking is where transformation becomes visible. Ingredients become meals. Surplus becomes sustenance. And strangers become neighbors through shared effort.

Delivery

Meals do not remain in our kitchens. They travel outward, carried by partnerships and logistics that make access possible. Through coordination with nonprofit partners across the city, meals are delivered to places where they can be shared with care and dignity.

Delivery is not simply about transportation. It is about trust. It depends on relationships built over time and a shared commitment to meeting people where they are.

Shared with Care

The final step happens around tables, in community spaces, and through organizations doing vital work across Nashville. Meals are served alongside programs that support children, seniors, immigrants, and unhoused neighbors. In these moments, food becomes more than nutrition. It becomes an expression of hospitality and belonging.

A meal shared with care communicates something essential. You matter. You are welcome. You are not alone.

Impact

Every meal tells a larger story. It is a story of hunger addressed and waste reduced. It is a story of volunteers showing up, partners collaborating, and systems working together in service of the common good.

This work fights hunger by increasing access to consistent nourishment. It reduces waste by honoring the value of food already grown. And it builds community by creating spaces where people come together around a shared table.

Be Part of the Journey

The anatomy of a meal is a collective effort. It relies on people who believe that good food should not be wasted and that neighbors deserve to be nourished with dignity.

If you want to be part of this transformation, there are many ways to get involved. Whether through volunteering, donating food, or offering financial support, your participation helps keep this cycle of care moving forward.

Together, we turn what might be thrown away into meals that strengthen our community, one plate at a time.

Steady Care on the Ground: Community Mapping in North Nashville

Care shows up where people pay attention.

In North Nashville, the ordinary work of getting through the day often carries extra weight. A walk to the bus stop. A trip to the grocery store. A short stretch of sidewalk. Broken pavement, missing curb ramps, and poorly maintained bus stops shape how neighbors move and whether food, services, and community spaces are truly within reach.

For the people who live here, none of this is a surprise. Neighbors know where the gaps are. They know what is broken. They know which places feel safe and which do not. What is often missing is a way for that knowledge to be seen, recorded, and taken seriously when decisions are made about transportation, safety, and access.

This is where community mapping matters.

On Saturday, February 7, we will gather volunteers in North Nashville to serve as Community Mappers. Together, we will walk through ZIP code 37208, documenting sidewalk conditions, bus stop safety, and walkability. This work helps ensure that conversations about food access and transportation begin with lived experience rather than assumption.

Community mapping is a form of care. It is an act of attention. By walking alongside neighbors and recording what is already known on the ground, we help make visible the conditions that shape daily life. The information gathered will become resident verified data that can support advocacy with WeGo Public Transit and Metro Nashville, strengthening efforts to improve sidewalk safety, transit access, and food justice.

Reliable meals depend on reliable pathways. For seniors, families, and neighbors who rely on public transportation, safety and accessibility are part of nourishment itself. Food access cannot be separated from the systems that determine how people move through their community.

No technical experience is required. Volunteers are asked to wear comfortable walking shoes, dress for the weather, and be prepared to spend most of the time outdoors. The work is simple. Its impact lasts.

As we focus this month on Building a Caring Community, this event reflects what care looks like in practice. Showing up. Paying attention. Standing with neighbors. Doing the quiet work that makes shared life more possible.

If you are interested in becoming a Community Mapper and helping build safer, more accessible pathways in North Nashville, we invite you to join us.

Community Mapping Event
Saturday, February 7, 2026
12:00 to 3:00 PM CST
Starting at The Nashville Food Project: 5904 California Avenue, Nashville, TN 37209, US

Together, we can help ensure that care extends beyond the plate and into the pathways that shape daily life.

Beginning the Year Together

January offers a moment to pause and reflect on what we have built together.

At its core, food justice is a commitment to consistent access to nourishing food. Not only in moments of crisis, but every day. It asks us to look beyond emergency response and toward the systems that shape how food moves through a city, and who is able to access it.

In Nashville, food access is shaped by income, transportation, and geography. Some neighborhoods are close to grocery stores and fresh food outlets. Others face longer distances, limited transit options, or higher food costs. Over time, these differences affect health, stability, and dignity.

Over the past 15 years, our community responded together. Through food recovery, gardening, cooking, and partnerships, surplus food was redirected. Fresh produce was grown and shared. Meals were prepared with care and offered in collaboration with organizations across the city. This work reflects more than distribution. It reflects shared responsibility.

Food justice recognizes that hunger is not simply about a lack of food. It is about access, infrastructure, and the choices communities make to care for one another. When we invest in long-term solutions, we strengthen not only individual well-being, but the health of the entire community.

As we begin a new year, we do so grounded in what we have already accomplished and attentive to what is still possible. There is more to grow, more to learn, and more to build together.

Stay connected. Step into the year with us.

Building Inspired Community

The beginning of a year invites reflection. Not only on what lies ahead, but on what has already been built.

We start each new season grounded in memory, grateful for the work carried out by many hands, and attentive to the ways that shared effort becomes shared life.

Last year, we grew more than food. We grew relationships across gardens and kitchens, partnerships across neighborhoods, and trust across tables where strangers became neighbors. Together, we stewarded land, recovered food that might otherwise have gone to waste, prepared meals with care, and shared nourishment with dignity. These acts may seem ordinary on their own, but together they formed something meaningful. They formed community.

What we built together was not simply a response to need. It was a practice. A commitment to showing up consistently. To believing that food can be a tool for justice, connection, and belonging. To trusting that when people gather around shared work and shared meals, something larger than any one of us takes shape.

As we step into a new year, we do so inspired by that shared impact. The gardens will rest and then awaken again. Kitchens will continue to hum with quiet purpose. Volunteers will return, new faces will join, and partnerships will deepen. The work ahead is not separate from the work behind us. It grows directly from it.

The year ahead asks the same simple and demanding question it always has: how will we care for one another?

Our answer remains rooted in the daily practice of growing, cooking, and sharing food in community. We will keep learning. We will keep listening. We will keep building a food system that reflects abundance rather than scarcity, relationship rather than isolation.

This work is never finished, but it is always worth doing. And it is never done alone.

The year ahead starts here.
Step in together.

Get involved:
Volunteer | Give Food | Donate

Hands in the soil, heart in the community

Since May 2025, Mary Jess Holt has offered more than 200 hours of her time volunteering. In that time, she has tended both the soil and the shared life that grows around it. You might find her at the South End United Methodist Garden, hands deep in cucumber vines, or in our main kitchen, helping transform recovered food into nourishing meals. Wherever she is, Mary Jess brings curiosity, warmth, and a genuine desire to learn.

A student at Belmont University majoring in Economics and Chinese, Mary Jess first encountered our work through her church, where she once taught one of our founder Tallu Schuyler Quinn’s children in Sunday School. When she began thinking about how to spend her summer with intention, she remembered the stories her parents had shared about our work and decided to step into it herself. “I wanted to understand where food really comes from,” she said, “and how I could be part of its journey.”

Over 200 hours

offered in service to community since May 2025.

That curiosity carried her from garden to kitchen. At the South End United Methodist Garden, Mary Jess worked alongside long-time volunteers and growers like Joe Bowman and Linda Bodfish, asking thoughtful questions about why each practice mattered and what helped the garden thrive. Ann Cover, who has led the site for more than fourteen years, watched her grow into a confident presence. “Mary Jess became a skilled volunteer,” Ann shared. “She could teach others how to pick green beans or manage the cucumber vines. She often took on ‘cucumber rounds’ with good humor. Not everyone loved that task, but she made it her own.”

The garden was often filled with laughter. Joe Bowman would tease her by saying, “When you are in your thirties, you will start a garden.” She would laugh along, though it was clear to everyone that he might be right. Even after her semester began, she returned on October 1 simply because, as she put it, “I just missed the garden.”

What Mary Jess values most is seeing how small acts of care accumulate. Planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting are not isolated tasks. They are part of a larger movement that carries food from soil to table across the city. “It is inspiring,” she said, “to see how people show up with such consistency and conviction, in both the gardens and the kitchens.”

Whether she is harvesting heirloom tomatoes, sharing produce with neighbors, or searching for the last cucumber hidden among scratchy vines, Mary Jess embodies the values that guide this work. Stewardship. Hospitality. Transformation. She reminds us that community grows slowly, one faithful act at a time, and that tending the earth and one another is work that is both humble and deeply meaningful.

Thank you, Mary Jess, for your steady presence, your curiosity, and the quiet care you bring to every space you enter.

December's Seasonal Bounty: A Feast for the Senses

As the year draws to a close, December brings a generous offering of seasonal produce. These fruits and vegetables remind us that nourishment begins long before a meal reaches the table. It begins in the soil, in the hands that tend the land, and in the shared commitment to care for one another.

At The Nashville Food Project, we value the way seasonal food connects us. It honors local farmers. It strengthens our gardens. It brings fresh, healthy ingredients into our kitchens, where they become meals shared with partners across the city.

The Green Giants
Brussels sprouts, kale, and Swiss chard thrive this time of year. Brussels sprouts offer a deep, nutty flavor when roasted. Kale brings strength and color to warm salads, soups, and stews. Swiss chard, with its bright stems and tender leaves, cooks quickly and adds nourishment to any meal. These greens mirror our values of resilience and care.

Root Vegetables
Carrots, beets, and turnips grow quietly beneath the surface, storing sweetness and strength. They remind us that much of our community work happens out of sight, yet its impact is deeply felt. Carrots offer brightness, beets bring rich color, and turnips become tender when roasted.

The Sweet and Citrusy
Oranges and grapefruit reach their peak in December and bring a lift to winter days. Their brightness reflects the hospitality we aim to extend through every shared meal.

Winter Comforts
Winter squash and sweet potatoes offer warmth and steadiness. Their hearty nature mirrors the consistency our partners and neighbors rely on. These ingredients form the base of many scratch-made meals prepared in our kitchens.

Seasonal produce teaches us about stewardship, interdependence, and the generosity of the land. This December, may the bounty of the season inspire us to grow, cook, and share in ways that nourish both neighbor and community.

Holiday Helpings: when action nourishes community

Meals shape who we are and how we belong. This season, Holiday Helpings invites us to remember that nourishment, connection, and care are gifts meant to be shared.

Visit participating businesses during Holiday Helpings. Every contribution helps us grow, cook, and share nourishing food with neighbors across Nashville. Food brings us together. Your generosity keeps that work moving.

Holiday Helpings Partners

This season, we are grateful for the businesses who have opened their doors to support Holiday Helpings. Below, you will find all participating partners. Tap any business name to learn more about what they offer.

These partners remind us that food is one of the most powerful ways we show up for one another. When you dine, shop, or gather with them, you help nourish another neighbor in Nashville.

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If your business is contributing to Holiday Helpings or would like to explore additional ways to support this work, we would love to connect with you. This includes businesses already participating in ways we may not yet know about, as well as those interested in joining the effort. Email us at: events@thenashvillefoodproject.org.

Your support helps nourish neighbors across Nashville in a season where care and connection matter more than ever.

Growing Together Farmer's Market: New Generations Award recipient

This week, we were honored to receive the New Generations Award at the Salute to Excellence celebration hosted by the Center for Nonprofit Excellence of Middle Tennessee.

This recognition celebrates our Growing Together Farmers Market, a cornerstone of The Nashville Food Project’s Community Agriculture Network and a living example of what it means to cultivate belonging through food.

For more than a decade, Growing Together has supported refugee and immigrant farmers in Nashville. These skilled agrarians from Burma, Bhutan, and beyond bring deep agricultural knowledge and rich food traditions to our shared city. With access to land, tools, training, interpretation, and markets, these farmers are reclaiming agricultural heritage, building economic independence, and nourishing their communities.

In 2024, seven farming families cultivated more than 30,000 pounds of produce on a single acre of land, earning nearly $92,000 in total income and growing their CSA program by 67 percent from the previous year. Each seed planted is more than a crop. It is a story of resilience, hope, and homecoming.

Launched in the spring of 2025, the Growing Together Farmers Market is the only market in Nashville located on an urban farm stewarded by immigrants and refugees. Nestled in the heart of the city’s International Corridor in Antioch, the market connects cultures through shared food traditions. Shoppers find familiar flavors from around the world, such as Nepali mustard greens, roselle, and long beans, alongside Southern staples like collards and kale.

The market also serves as a model of partnership and accessibility. The Nashville Food Project manages point-of-sale systems, provides multilingual signage, and promotes the market citywide so that farmers can focus on growing and connecting with their customers. Each week, this small corner of Antioch becomes a meeting place of stories, flavors, and futures, a vision of what a just and sustainable food system can look like.

We are deeply grateful to the Center for Nonprofit Excellence for this recognition and to our growers, partners, and volunteers who make this work possible. The New Generations Award honors their hands, hearts, and courage and reminds us that the next chapter of Nashville’s food story is already being written in the soil.

Because when we grow together, we do not just grow food.
We grow belonging.

There is enough when we work together

Updated: 11/7/2025 at 12:00 PM

Across the country, millions of families are waiting for clarity on November SNAP benefits. It has been announced that 50% of November benefits will be paid, but it is still unclear when those funds will be available.

Here in Nashville, that uncertainty is already being felt. Families who depend on SNAP to buy groceries have not received their benefits this month. Behind each number is a name, a home, and a story of resilience.

Our commitment does not waver. Every week, our team recovers food, prepares nourishing meals, and shares them across the city. No matter what, Nashville neighbors will continue to find care around a shared table.

To meet this moment, we have opened a second kitchen shift that will provide an additional 1,000 meals each week. This expanded capacity allows us to respond week by week as community needs evolve.

We have also updated our kitchen needs list to reflect the current situation. Right now, protein donations are most needed.

• Together for Nashville

  Current efforts in Nashville include:

  • Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee: emergency food distribution and mobile pantries: Hunger Can’t Wait.

  • Open Table Nashville: outreach and connection to Food Boxes/Pantries and meals

  • YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee:family support and community care.

  • The Branch:neighborhood food assistance and meal delivery.

  As more nonprofits and organizations share their plans, we will keep this space updated with new ways to connect, support, and give.

• How You Can Help Right Now

  Give: Your support today helps us keep fresh ingredients moving where they are needed most. Every dollar helps turn recovered food into hot, healthy meals.
  ➜ [Donate here]

  1. Volunteer: From meal preparation to garden work to food distribution, your time makes a difference.
     ➜[Volunteer]

  2. Share: Tell others about the need. A simple post or conversation can connect someone to a meal or a way to help.

  If you or someone you know is affected by the loss of SNAP benefits, please visit thenashvillefoodproject.org/together for updates, community resources, and ways to get involved.

  This city has weathered hard seasons before. Each time, Nashville has shown that compassion is stronger than crisis. Together, we will show once again that care always finds its way to the table.

• other efforts include:

  Healing Minds and Souls: 500 weekly community meals and medically tailored meal boxes to families and seniors across the 37208 zip code

  We hold fast to a simple belief: there is enough. When we work together, we can make sure that good food continues to find its way to every table.

together

Each and every contribution makes a big impact.

Building a Healthier North Nashville, Together

In North Nashville, community means care.

Through Heart of Nashville: Operation Pulse, we are part of a growing network of people and organizations committed to helping neighbors manage hypertension through free rides, clinical care, and nourishing meals. This work is led by the Nashville Wellness Collaborative, a partnership of more than twenty local organizations that share one conviction: that health and hope are not luxuries, but basic conditions of human dignity.

Members of the Collaborative include NashvilleHealth, Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center, The Nashville Food Project, Belmont Data and AI Collaborative, Meharry Medical College, The Sycamore Institute, Urban League of Middle Tennessee, Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee, Juice Analytics, STARS, American Heart Association, Senior Ride Nashville, AgeWell Middle Tennessee, Raphah Institute, Metro Parks Nashville, The Housing Fund, Metro Public Health Department, Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, and Second Harvest Food Bank.

Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center serves as the anchor of this initiative, guiding patient care and connecting families to the resources they need. By sharing best practices and lessons learned, Heart of Nashville is nurturing an ethos of wellness that complements our city’s deep spirit of creativity and growth.

Together, we are working to show that where you live should never determine how healthy you can be.

This effort focuses first on reducing high blood pressure in North Nashville while learning from this work to inform how all of Nashville can be healthier. A recent countywide survey by the Belmont Data and AI Collaborative found that 31 percent of adults in Nashville live with high blood pressure. In North Nashville, that number is nearly half. Behind these figures are real lives, families, and neighborhoods where wellness is both a need and a hope.

At The Nashville Food Project, we see our city not as a grid of streets and buildings, but as a living table. A table where shortage meets possibility and where every plate carries a story of care. We believe that the heart of Nashville is not found in its skyline, but in the simple act of sharing food.

Each day, food that might have been lost is gathered, cooked, and shared. Vans leave our kitchens carrying more than ingredients. They carry care. They carry the belief that nothing good should go to waste. Our work affirms that abundance is possible when people come together. The work of food recovery is not only logistical. It is moral. It is a daily act of restoration.

The gardens, the kitchens, the vans, and the shared tables are all part of a system of care. Yet the most essential structure is the relationship between people. When transportation is limited or grocery stores are out of reach, the answers are not only technical. They are relational. We can improve roads and expand routes, but most of all, we must widen the circle of care.

We imagine a Nashville where abundance is not conditional. A city where everyone has access to fresh food, meaningful work, and true belonging. We are not only distributing meals. We are cultivating hope. We are making space at the table for everyone.

Every effort in Heart of Nashville is an act of gathering. It is a circle of people who choose to care for one another. That story continues each day, one meal, one neighbor, one act of love at a time.

Looking Back at Nourish 2025

On July 17, 2025, we gathered for our 15th annual Nourish, presented by Kroger—and what a night it was. We're humbled and incredibly proud to share that Nourish 2025 brought together more than 300 guests and raised nearly $250,000 to support our mission of bringing people together to grow, cook, and share nourishing food.

But beyond the numbers, Nourish was once again a beautiful celebration of community, collaboration, and connection—a night where the table became a place for generosity, shared purpose, and joy.

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An Unforgettable Meal

This year’s all-star chef lineup included teams from:

• Bad Idea

• Curry Boys BBQ

• S.S. Gai

• Tantísimo

• Turkey and the Wolf Icehouse

• Saap Saap BBQ (unable to attend due to a family emergency)

Each chef brought a distinctive voice and vision to the meal, creating a multi-course experience that reflected diverse cultures, techniques, and a shared love for food. One of the evening’s most inspiring moments was witnessing these chefs collaborate in real time—helping one another plate, prep, and bring each dish to life with care and camaraderie.

We also premiered a behind-the-scenes chef video, highlighting their visit to the Growing Together Farm—and what fuels their passion for food and community.

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Honoring Our Volunteer Hero: Theresa McCurdy

One of the evening’s most heartfelt moments was the presentation of the Thomas Williams Golden Skillet Award, which honors an outstanding volunteer who embodies the spirit of our work. This year, we were thrilled to present the award to Theresa McCurdy, who has quietly and faithfully given over 440 volunteer hours since 2022.

Theresa’s steady presence, compassion, and commitment have made her an integral part of our kitchen community. Her story is a powerful reminder that it’s not just meals we’re making—it’s community, built one kind gesture at a time.

The Thomas Williams Golden Skillet Award, established in 2017, recognizes a volunteer who has shown deep dedication to the work of The Nashville Food Project. Its namesake Thomas Williams is the founder of Nourish.

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Raising Paddles, Raising Hope

This year’s Night of Giving was especially impactful thanks to a $20,000 matching gift, which helped double the power of every contribution made that evening. From $5,000 pledges to $100 gifts, the generosity in the room was overwhelming and deeply inspiring.

Thanks to the support of individual donors and corporate partners, we’ll be able to share tens of thousands more nourishing meals with our neighbors in the months ahead.

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With Gratitude to Our Sponsors

Nourish 2025 would not have been possible without our generous sponsors. We are deeply grateful to the following partners:

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Looking Ahead

Nourish isn’t just an annual event—it’s a reflection of our ongoing work and the community that makes it possible. Whether you were with us in person or supporting from afar, thank you for helping us grow this movement.

Together, we’re building a more food-secure, connected, and resilient Nashville. One meal. One garden. One relationship at a time.

Fueling Potential: How Summer Meals Support Youth at the Boys & Girls Club

At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee’s Andrew Jackson Clubhouse, every day is filled with opportunities for youth to learn, grow, and connect. And thanks to Sweet Peas Summer Eats for Kids—sponsored by Jackson National Life Insurance Company® (Jackson®)—those days are also fueled by healthy, made-from-scratch meals from The Nashville Food Project.

We handle the food so BGCMT can stay focused on its mission: to help all young people—especially those who need us most—reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

“When school is out, many children and teens lose access to regular meals,” says Denise Carothers with BGCMT. “The Nashville Food Project’s summer meals ensure that youth have access to healthy food even when school is out. These meals do more than fill plates—they strengthen support systems, create safe spaces, and help children and teens thrive.”

Each week this summer, the Andrew Jackson Clubhouse receives hundreds of meals packed with local produce and kid-friendly favorites like veggie pasta and chicken tacos. And they’re just one of many partners receiving meals through Sweet Peas this summer. With Jackson’s incredible support—now in its sixth consecutive year—we’ll serve more than 100,000 meals this summer to children across the city.

This partnership is part of our Community Meals program, which provides nutritious, made-from-scratch meals to organizations already gathering people in meaningful ways. Our meals help reduce barriers to food access by showing up where people already are—programs like BGCMT that offer stability, community, and a sense of belonging.

This work is only possible because of corporate partners like Jackson, who share our belief that good food is a powerful way to build stronger, healthier communities—one meal at a time.

TNFP Volunteers Honored at Hands On Nashville Strobel Volunteer Awards

Each year, our friends at Hands On Nashville/United Way honor dedicated volunteers across Middle TN for their commitment to service through the Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards. Named after Mary Catherine Strobel, an activist and community leader. This May, The Nashville Food Project had the honor of two of our nominations being selected as finalists!

Marcie Smeck Bryant, a beloved board member and leader in fostering community meals across Nashville, took home the award for Social Justice Impact. Cheri Ferrari, a longtime kitchen volunteer, pie extraordinaire, and "pie-oneer" of our Volunteer Lead Program, was among the top three finalists for the Charles Strobel Legacy Award. Check out more of their stories below!

Marcie Smeck Bryant - Social Justice Impact Award Recipient

Since before we were officially known as The Nashville Food Project, Marcie Smeck Bryant has been a dedicated volunteer—sharing her time, heart, and energy to support our neighbors across Nashville. She plays a key role in our community meals program, showing up every Tuesday to deliver and share meals at Trinity Community Commons (TCC), where neighbors—housed and unhoused alike—gather to eat, connect, and support one another through daily challenges.

In addition to her on-the-ground work, Marcie has served on our board since 2023 and chairs our Strategy Committee, where she played a key role in shaping a new strategic communications plan designed to support and advance our broader organizational strategy.

Marcie is also a leader in Nashville's "community meals" movement, helping launch a weekly dinner at Belmont United Methodist Church that brings neighbors together around food and mutual support. Beyond the TCC and Belmont meals, she's contributed to FeedBack Nashville workshops—a collaborative effort to envision a more equitable and accessible food system in our city. Marcie's steadfast commitment to strengthening her community through food is not only inspiring—it's a model we strive to emulate at The Nashville Food Project.

Cheri Ferrari - Charles Strobel Legacy Award Finalist

Cheri Ferrari is the living "embodiment of hospitality," a quality that has defined her service since she began volunteering with The Nashville Food Project in 2015. With her warmth, generosity, and tireless commitment, Cheri invites every volunteer who comes through the doors to "be part of our joy." Her dedication to making everyone feel welcome and valued has not only enriched TNFP's culture but created a ripple effect of positivity that keeps volunteers returning time and time again.

As a Volunteer Prep Lead, Cheri is often the first person new volunteers meet, greeting everyone with her characteristic warmth and enthusiasm. On Monday mornings and Tuesday nights, when Cheri is leading, the energy is palpable—as laughter and chatter echo through the kitchen. From remembering everyone's favorite pie or dessert to staying hours after her scheduled shift to support our Meals Team, Cheri approaches every interaction with love and authenticity. Her ability to make volunteers feel connected and valued speaks to the core of our mission, demonstrating the transformative power of her service.

Want to hear more about Cheri and Marcie? Check out their stories—along with those of all the other inspiring finalists and winners on United Way of Greater Nashville's YouTube channel!

YouTube Links:

Marcie Smeck Bryant - 2025 Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards | Social Justice

Cheri Ferrari - 2025 Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards | Charles Strobel Legacy of Service

Hunger vs. Food Insecurity: Why the Difference Matters for Food Justice in Nashville

At The Nashville Food Project, we often find ourselves using the terms "hunger" and "food insecurity" side by side. They sound similar. They even seem interchangeable. But in truth, they point to very different challenges—and understanding the distinction is critical if we are to build a more just and sustainable food system for Nashville.

In simple terms, hunger is the physical sensation of not having enough to eat. It is immediate. It is urgent. It is visceral. On the other hand, food insecurity refers to a broader condition: the lack of consistent, reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food. It is chronic. It is shaped by systems. And it is often invisible.

Hunger: A Symptom

When someone shows up at a food pantry or meal program, what they are experiencing is hunger. It is the tangible result of deeper structural forces, and it calls for an urgent response. In Nashville, we see this every day through our community meals program, which last year alone provided over 325,000 scratch-made meals to individuals and families experiencing hunger. We partner with more than 60 community organizations to make this possible, ensuring that food is delivered in dignified, culturally appropriate ways to those who need it most.

Many of our partners—from Second Harvest Food Bank to Catholic Charities’ Loaves and Fishes program—are on the frontlines of this hunger response. Their work is crucial. Without it, thousands of Nashvillians would go without their next meal.

But as essential as this work is, it is not enough to truly end hunger. Because hunger, while visible and immediate, is only the tip of the iceberg.

Food Insecurity: The System Beneath the Surface

Food insecurity looks deeper. It asks why that person was hungry in the first place.

It considers the mother who skips meals so her kids can eat, the senior choosing between medication and groceries, or the family living in a neighborhood without a nearby grocery store or affordable transit. It acknowledges how structural racism, disinvestment, gentrification, and economic inequality create ongoing barriers to food access.

Here in Nashville, food insecurity is often hidden. It is not always marked by empty stomachs, but by chronic tradeoffs, instability, and stress. It affects health outcomes, educational performance, and community well-being. And it disproportionately impacts Black and Latino households, single mothers, and the working poor.

That’s why The Nashville Food Project is committed to not just feeding people, but transforming the systems that produce food insecurity. Through urban agriculture, culinary job training, food recovery, and partnerships with healthcare providers, we are building long-term pathways toward food security and food sovereignty.

Why the Difference Matters

Why does this distinction matter?

Because how we define the problem shapes how we solve it.

If we think only in terms of hunger, our response will be emergency food—meals, food boxes, donations. These are important, but they are reactive.

If we frame the problem as food insecurity, we begin to think bigger. We look at land access, wages, housing, healthcare, education, and transportation. We move from charity to justice.

In other words, you can end someone's hunger for a day. But ending food insecurity means making sure they don't face that hunger tomorrow, next week, or next year.

Both/And: Bridging the Immediate and the Transformative

At TNFP, we believe in a both/and approach. We will continue to provide nourishing meals—because hunger cannot wait. And we will continue to grow our work in food systems change—because food insecurity will not be solved with meals alone.

That means partnering with local growers and advocating for urban agriculture policies that increase land access. It means teaching cooking and nutrition skills using recovered food that would otherwise go to waste. It means collaborating with healthcare providers on food-as-medicine models. And it means participating in citywide coalitions like FeedBack Nashville to reimagine the future of food in our city.

What You Can Do

Understanding the difference between hunger and food insecurity helps us all become more effective advocates and allies in this work.

Here are a few ways you can take action:

• Support both immediate relief and long-term change. Donate to organizations meeting urgent needs, but also invest in those changing the system.

• Ask deeper questions. When you hear about hunger, ask what’s causing it. What barriers are upstream?

• Talk about the difference. Help others understand that ending hunger is not the same as achieving food security.

• Join the movement. Volunteer in a community garden, attend a food policy forum, or support policies that center equity in food access.

A Just and Nourishing Future

Hunger and food insecurity are connected, but they are not the same. At The Nashville Food Project, we are committed to addressing both—with urgency, compassion, and a systems lens.

Because in our vision of a just food future, everyone in Nashville not only has a meal today—they have reliable, dignified access to the foods they want and need for the long haul.

That’s the difference. And that’s the work.

Brooklyn Heights, Cosecha, and TNFP team up to grow something powerful in Nashville

Nashville’s spring ushers in more than just warm weather and blooming gardens: It marks the start of a new chapter in community-powered food justice. As the last frost melted away in early April, seasoned gardeners and first-timers alike rolled up their sleeves, eager to tend the soil and nurture the possibilities growing there. 

This spring, The Nashville Food Project is proud to launch a new, multi-year partnership with Brooklyn Heights Community Garden and Cosecha Community Development, made possible by a USDA Community Food Projects Grants Program. Through this grant, the three organizations are working together to increase community members’ access to fresh fruits and vegetables. That includes some free produce boxes, new produce markets, and new gardening and wellness educational opportunities. It’s a major milestone for our city — the first time Brooklyn Heights, Cosecha, or TNFP have received federal funding. This grant recognizes the essential work grassroots organizations are doing to build a more just, inclusive, and resilient food system. It also signals Nashville’s growing potential to become a national leader in urban and community agriculture.

This work is especially urgent in North and South Nashville, where many neighbors still face barriers to fresh, healthy food because of a long history of redlining, displacement, and disinvestment. From North Nash and Jefferson Street to Nolensville Road and out to Antioch — Black, immigrant, and refugee families are often surrounded by fast food and convenience stores instead of grocery stores. 

These overlapping food deserts (neighborhoods without easy access to fresh, affordable food) and food swamps (areas crowded with fast food and convenience stores) contribute to high rates of chronic illness. That is why it matters so much that Brooklyn Heights and Cosecha are part of this project — they are right at the heart of where change is needed most.

Recently Brooklyn Heights Community Garden hosted a spring kickoff to set the tone for what’s to come. Children ran through the garden laughing, while local chef Mariah Ragland of Radical Rabbit fed the community mouthwatering vegan soul food nachos. In the background stood a new hoop house — a structure that will help feed neighbors through a free CSA program later this season.

Soon after, The Nashville Food Project opened its Community Farm at Mill Ridge with a community work day, plant sale, and lunch where community gardeners gathered to get to know each other. At that site, more than 60 families grow food through rented plots. On any given day, you can hear many different languages spoken and see varieties of vegetables growing from around the world.

The stories behind this work are just as vibrant as the gardens themselves. At Cosecha Community Development, Celia manages the school garden at Whitsitt Elementary. A quiet, consistent presence in the community, Celia is known not just for maintaining crops, but for being a source of knowledge and comfort. "What can I plant for a stomach ache?" neighbors ask her. 

Celia is deeply woven into the school community — coordinating lesson plans with teachers, helping students learn about pollinators and plant life cycles, and guiding families through their first gardening experiences. Her four children all attended Whitsitt, and today she works alongside the school’s family engagement team to make the garden an interactive classroom for hundreds of children. Teachers have guided students through harvesting potatoes and picking and tasting hot chilis — inviting them to experience the full spectrum of tastes and sensations food can offer.

Brooklyn Heights has a parallel story. Ms. Pearl, a longtime resident, first bought a home on Haynes Street, then another across from it, and then the lot next door — that land is now the Brooklyn Heights Community Garden. Bridget Bryant, one of TNFP’s former growers at Mill Ridge Farm, now serves as the site’s garden manager. She plans crops, maintains the space, and hosts monthly workshops. Their Healing in the Garden series uses yoga, meditation, and medicinal herbs to support mental and physical health. These third spaces — neither home nor work — offer refuge, connection, and healing for isolated neighbors.

Recent surveys of local gardeners affirm what we know to be true: 95% reported building meaningful relationships through their time in the garden. Every participant said gardening improved their connection to the land and to one another.

“I’ve started harvesting and drying herbs to make homemade soap. I never thought I’d have the tools or confidence to do something like this”

— The Nashville Food Project gardener

The beauty of this work lies in the people. In a neighbor offering compost tips to someone new. In a shared bowl of freshly picked greens. In a parent showing their child how to water seeds. These small, powerful acts are what transform a garden into a gathering place — and a meal into a movement.

As we look to the months ahead, The Nashville Food Project will launch the Growing Together Farmers Market on May 3 — Antioch’s first-ever farmers market, featuring SNAP/EBT access, multilingual signage, and culturally relevant produce grown by immigrant and refugee farmers. These growers earned significant income last year through CSA and direct-to-consumer sales, demonstrating what’s possible when land, opportunity, and community intersect. The Nashville Food Project’s new farmers market reflects the vision this grant helps make possible.

Even amid national rhetoric that threatens to divide, this work keeps us focused on what matters. The Nashville Food Project sees food as a powerful tool for justice, resilience, and belonging. In a time when national support for community-led change can feel uncertain, our gardens stand as living proof of what a community can achieve when rooted in care, courage, and collaboration — and we are deeply grateful for the USDA’s support in building a more equitable food future for Nashville through community gardens.

As this partnership between The Nashville Food Project, Cosecha Community Development, and Brooklyn Heights Community Garden blooms and our gardens open their gates, you are invited to take part. There is a place for everyone in this movement. 

You might join a community volunteer day — what we call an Energy Exchange Workday or experience healing events like Healing & Wellness: Reiki Soundscape at Brooklyn Heights. You can check out the new Growing Together Farmers Market, sign up for TNFP’s CSA, lend a hand in one of Cosecha’s community gardens, or shop the market at Cosecha Community Development.

There are so many ways to get involved at The Nashville Food Project and join a movement reshaping what is possible for food access in Nashville. Together, we aren’t just growing vegetables — we are cultivating a future where everyone has a place at the table.

With Heart and Hustle: Celebrating the Volunteers Who Feed Our City

“I leave each volunteer session knowing I’ve helped make a difference. And along the way, I’ve made some great friends. ”

— Sue Wright, Community Meals Volunteer Lead

It’s National Volunteer Appreciation Week, and we’re celebrating the people who make our mission possible: our incredible volunteers!

In 2024, over 1,600 volunteers spent 9,000 hours helping The Nashville Food Project by growing, cooking, and sharing with us. From chopping onions to shoveling compost, our volunteers show up with heart, hands, and a whole lot of hustle.

This year we’ve already experienced an outpouring of love and support from our incredible volunteer community. The energy and generosity we’ve seen recently is nothing short of inspiring. So far this year, volunteers helped prepare and distribute over 86,000 meals across 53 meal partner sites in Nashville. In the gardens, volunteers have worked side by side with community members to clean up plots and distribute compost, helping us kick off the growing season strong. 

But numbers alone don’t tell the whole story.

At The Nashville Food Project, we often say that food is the vessel, but community is the mission. In the face of increasing food costs, diminishing government assistance, and broader uncertainty, the feeling of connection and care we see in our volunteer community is more treasured than ever.

One group that embodies this spirit is our Tuesday and Wednesday evening kitchen crew. Rain, tornado, or shine, this lively crew shows up every week to prep meals, laugh over wonky carrots, and always leave the kitchen spotless (even if that means staying late). What began as a volunteer shift has, over time, turned into a little family.

Abhinav Krishnan, who joined the Tuesday crew after moving back to Nashville last year, says he was looking for a way to give back and connect with people who care about sustainability and food justice. He found working in the kitchen is the perfect way to engage with his community and uplift Nashville’s local food system.

“Our little army of volunteers save tons of fading produce from the landfill and turn them into nourishing meals for the community. Every head of lettuce represents not just waste averted, but a body nourished.”

— Abhinav Krishnan, Volunteer

Sue Wright, one of our incredible Volunteer Leads, steers the ship each Wednesday evening. Sue first volunteered with her daughter, and says she was hooked from day one. “We started with salads and dressing containers,” she laughed. “Now it’s just part of my week. I get to do something good and be with people I genuinely enjoy.”

We’re so grateful to have so many wonderful volunteers like Abhinav and Sue, who demonstrate our values of hospitality and service so well! Thank you to all our volunteers — whether you’ve been with us for years or just joined us this season. You bring our mission to life. Your time, energy, and heart make our work possible, and our community stronger.

This National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we celebrate you — not just for what you do, but for who you are.

From all of us at The Nashville Food Project: we’re so grateful you’re part of our family.

Author Maggie Atchley is often the first person volunteers meet as The Nashville Food Project’s Volunteer Engagement Manager.

Reimagining Community Agriculture in Nashville

By Hanes Motsinger, Chief Program Officer

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to live in Nashville if there was food growing everywhere? In every neighborhood, at city parks, churches and public offices, vacant lots, schools, your neighbor’s yard, and everywhere in between? 

And, what if these urban gardens and farms helped alleviate food insecurity, mitigated some of the negative effects of climate change like heat islands and loss of wildlife habitat, while also serving as important sites of social connection and emotional well-being? 

At our current community gardens and urban farms in North and South Nashville and Antioch — including the Community Farm at Mill Ridge, the McGruder Community Garden, and the Growing Together Farm — we imagine and work towards this future everyday. We do this by connecting more than 100 gardeners and farmers and hundreds of volunteers at these sites with the land, resources, education, and relationships they need to grow food for themselves, their families, and/or local markets.

Today, these three sites are nearly at their capacity. At the Community Farm at Mill Ridge, for example, we have a waitlist of more than 30 individuals who would like to have a garden plot to grow food for themselves. While we added new garden plots to the site this year, we are still unable to meet the full demand for growing space. Meanwhile at the Growing Together Farm, farmers cultivate the entire available growing area, leaving little opportunity for expanded production or new farmers to participate. At the same time, many different organizations, churches, institutions, and individuals are reaching out to us seeking support in developing new community gardens on little pockets of land in their own neighborhoods. 

Over the past few months, these circumstances have affirmed our suspicion that there is a significant and growing demand for community agriculture in our city. This has prompted us to think about how we might build on the successes and learnings from our current gardens to support the creation of a citywide network of thriving community gardens and urban farms. As 2024 comes to a close and we look ahead to 2025, we’re excited to announce that we are embarking on a journey to transform our current network of three gardens and farms into a citywide hub-and-spoke model of community agriculture. 

Inspired by the model of Denver Urban Gardens, which coordinates a network of 200 gardens across 37 acres in the Denver metro area, our new model of community agriculture will prioritize working in partnership with other organizations to achieve the following goals: expand land and resource access for small-scale gardeners and farmers across the city, increase access to garden education and skill-building through curated, publicly accessible educational offerings, strengthen community engagement and ownership over community garden spaces, and provide neighborhood community gardens with the ongoing administrative and coordinating support they need to thrive over time. 

As we begin 2025, we’ll slowly launch this model by continuing to invest in our current gardens while also collaborating with three local churches to determine how we can transform a dormant community garden, a vacant lot, and a current production garden into vibrant, community-led growing spaces. Through these pilot partnerships, we are focusing on co-creating the operational and administrative processes we’ll need to grow and support this network over time. Meanwhile, we are also developing a garden leader training program to ensure that every garden space is supported by a team of dedicated community members who deeply understand the needs and opportunities of different gardens. We are also investing in expanding our outreach and communication efforts to ensure that residents across the city are aware of opportunities to get involved. 

Through each of these efforts, we are excited to collaborate with our community and partners to bring our vision of the future to life, a vision wherein neighbors are working together and alongside one another to grow, cook, and share nourishing food in every corner of the city. After all, if we’ve learned anything through our years of experience in community gardening, it’s that community gardens thrive when they’re established and maintained in community!