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. Today, cherry sorting is 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.
Creating and Sustaining a Local Food Web
The Nashville Food Project has been proud to call ourselves a full circle organization in the past. We grow, cook and share food in a way where each of our programs nurture and sustain each other and our mission. However recent events have led us to wonder if we have limited ourselves in speaking this way and if actually what we are growing into is a vibrant and resilient food web…
Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award
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.
Celebrating Community at John Glenn
Building a Resilient Community
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).
Making the Most of Every Resource
We know that 40% of all food produced in our country is thrown away, but we also know that it doesn’t have to be that way. Last year, we began working with the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to ramp up our food recovery efforts.
Reconnecting with Family History Through Food
In honor of International Women’s Day, we are celebrating one of the incredible women we work with in our community gardens. Ifeoma Scott and her husband have been growing in our Wedgewood Neighbors Garden since last year after hearing about it from their friends Jay and former Meals Assistant Makisha, or Kiki as Ifeoma calls her, at Mt. Zion Church.
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.
Food Crosses Cultural Boundaries
It’s a warm day in early October at the Nashville Farmer’s Market, I’m sitting at our table, assisting customers and rearranging the produce as the hours pass. The crowd has just picked up, and I observe some curious onlookers eye the assortment of unique vegetables on our table: from spikey bitter gourds to long, curling beans…
Fuel for the Job
Five days a week, the office of Project Return, a nonprofit organization situated near a downtown bus line with views of the Nashville skyscape, hums with the purposeful activity of men and women determined to gain employment after returning from incarceration.
How We Cooked in 2016
With the addition of several new meal partnerships, 2016 was a year of unprecedented growth in our meals program. We opened a second kitchen at St. Luke’s Community House, doubled our meals production, nearly tripled our food recovery efforts and added a total of FIVE new positions to our meals team!
How We Grew in 2016
How YOU Nourished Our City in 2016
How We Shared in 2016
Thanks to the support of our incredible community, in 2016 The Nashville Food Project shared more food than ever before! Through a new partnership with St. Luke’s Community House and the addition of eight new meal partners, we doubled our annual meals production from 50,000 to 16 partners in 2015 to over 114,000 to 23 partners in 2016!