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Teamwork Helps a Garden Grow

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On any given day, the groups coming together in the gardens are often as varied as the crops harvested. A recent week at the Wedgewood Urban Garden welcomed Friends Life, a nonprofit serving the needs of adults with intellectual and development disabilities…

World Refugee Day Celebrate with Art and a Potluck

Potlucks make the best parties for their diversity of flavors. They give us an opportunity to share a bit about ourselves while learning about others through food.  A few weeks ago, a collaboration and art project for World Refugee Day included such a meal…

TNFP Welcomes Darrius Hall as Meals Assistant

Nashville native Darrius Hall is an entrepreneur who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. Joining The Nashville Food Project as Meals Assistant, he gleans food on local farms and works in the kitchen to keep track of donations and meal prep for delivery.

Darrius also put his business degree to good use by founding his company Creative Curren$y. He works to provide essential living needs and empowerment to those in his community near the McGruder garden.

"I have dedicated my time, business, and it's resources, to nurturing melanin-based communities and those similar to it," he said. "When I do find time to myself, I like to indulge in books, painting, music and gardening."

A Day in a Dozen: 12 photos tell the story of one day at TNFP

A variety of volunteer groups meet in the Wedgewood garden each morning to work. This group from RISE (Refugee and Immigrant Students Empowered), a youth program of the Center for Refugees + Immigrants of Tennessee, paused for a lesson on the importance of bees.

Meanwhile back at the kitchen, a morning crew of volunteer cooks prepared trays of sausage strata made from donated and gleaned ingredients that will be delivered to Bethlehem Centers.

By 1 p.m., a volunteer prep team had arrived including Olivia, a young woman visiting Nashville and Woodmont Christian Church on a mission trip from Ohio. She chopped kale harvested from the Wedgewood garden the previous day.

Then at 3 p.m., a two-person team swooped in to prepare hot meals for 170 people. The meals on two separate truck runs would head out by 5 p.m. As part of the process, Judy clipped herbs from the garden behind the kitchen.

Then she prepared squash boats over roasted greens including produce gleaned from Delvin Farms and a donation of meats.

The squash boats would be served with slaw made with donated produce from Granbery farm.

Just before 5 p.m., volunteers arrived to load trucks and deliver the food.

While one truck headed for Rex Courts, an Urban Housing Solutions property, another truck left for the Community Meal at Trinity United Methodist.

Grace, TNFP Outreach Coordinator, plated food with volunteers at Trinity United Methodist...

...as guests began to gather for the meal. 

And a parting gift? Produce to-go with recipes!  


TNFP Welcomes Makisha White as Meals Coordinator

Makisha with volunteers from Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC), a component facility of the Navy Reserve Center.

Makisha was introduced to TNFP last year when her family took on a community garden plot at Wedgewood Urban Garden. Now she is thrilled to be part of our staff as she steps into her role of Meals Coordinator. Makisha's desire to serve others was inspired by her father's military service. Her career began in nursing, but recently she changed gears in order to embrace her true passion of cooking and serving her community. She stays busy balancing her job at TNFP while finishing her Bachelor of Science Degree in Culinary Arts Management at The Art Institute of Nashville and enjoying family time with her husband and 3 children. In her leisure time she loves cooking and gardening (of course), and trying new activities like camping and zip-lining. Stop by our kitchen - Makisha is looking forward to meeting you!

Cabbage!

Meals Manager Anne Sale helps Treanor Granbery unload 345 pounds of cabbage donated from the Granbery farm. Meals Coordinator Makisha White is excited to include this beautiful green and purple cabbage in our meals this week. A huge thank you to the Granbery family for their generosity!

A Note

Dear Grace,

Everyone was so grateful for the food that Nashville Food Project provided to our first ever Defend Your Rights workshop in Cayce public housing. With kids, 18 people participated, so it was the perfect amount of food. The greens were the biggest hit. Here's a couple photos from the workshop. One is of some of the participants and the other is of a skit on organizing against workplace abuse.

Thanks. You rock.

Mt. Carmel Supports Youth

We are excited to partner with Mt Carmel's new program, G.A.N.G (Gentlemen And Not Gangsters) - a youth mentoring group that's teaming up with the Juvenile Courts. We're sharing 30 lunches served alongside their weekly meetings. Our first lunch was delivered last week and was happily welcomed to the table!

Delvin Farms Helps Feed the Community

Volunteer Kelly Hines, TNFP kitchen staff Sarah Morgan and Darrius Hall, garden coordinator Madi Holtzman, Hank Delvin Jr. and intern Marijke Kylstra harvest at Delvin Farms. (Marilyn Lane participated but was busy taking this photo!)

We are thrilled to partner with Delvin Farms this growing season. Every Monday morning TNFP staff and volunteers will travel to this beautiful organic farm in College Grove to harvest vegetables from their fields. We will use this food in our meals to help feed some of Nashville's most vulnerable residents. With a crew of six workers last week, we harvested 135 lbs of squash & zucchini, 30 lbs of kale, 25 lbs of onions and 10 lbs of strawberries.  We are so grateful to the Delvin family for their generosity of sharing this beautiful produce. If you would like to join us on the farm, contact Darrius Hall at darrius@thenashvillefoodproject.org.

You're Invited!

ITOP students take a break to play and be carefree on their last workday of the semester at the Wedgewood garden.

We are partnering with the Frist Center and the Oasis Center’s International Teen Outreach Program (ITOP) to create a unique art installation in celebration of the United Nations' World Refugee Day. Join us at our Wedgewood Urban Garden from noon until 2pm on Saturday, June 20th, when teaching artist Daniel Furbish and the teens will unveil their artwork. The Wedgewood garden is located at 613 Wedgewood Avenue. Additional street parking is available along Benton Avenue. Hope to see you there!