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.
If we think only in terms of hunger, our response will be emergency food. This is important, but it’s reactive. If we frame the problem as food insecurity, we begin to think bigger. 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.
Two volunteers from The Nashville Food Project received honors at the 2025 Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards. Marcie Smeck Bryant won the Social Justice Impact Award, and Cheri Ferrari was a top finalist for the Charles Strobel Legacy Award. Presented by Hands On Nashville/United Way, the awards are Middle Tennessee's largest annual celebration of volunteerism.