The Nashville Food Project’s Community Agriculture Network (C.A.N.) is more than gardens and orchards—it’s a part of a growing citywide effort to increase food access, protect greenspace, and bring neighbors together.

TNFP provides the backbone support—tools, training, volunteers, and resources—so garden leaders can focus on growing food and building community. Harvests are shared freely or at low cost, ensuring that people in low-income, low-access (LILA) neighborhoods have fresh, nutritious produce.

With every season, volunteers help transform these spaces into thriving hubs of learning, connection, and resilience.

Community Agriculture Network Sites

  • Growing Together Farm* — 299 Haywood Lane, Nashville, TN, 37211

  • Community Farm at Mill Ridge* Park - 12944 Old Hickory Blvd., Antioch, TN 37013

  • McGruder Community Garden* at McGruder Family Resource Center — 2013 25th Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37208

  • Both Hands Community Garden at Alameda Christian Church — 4006 Ashland City Hwy., Nashville, TN 37218)

  • Southend United Methodist Church — 5042 Edmondson Pike, Nashville, TN 37211

  • Hope Community Gardens — coming in 2026

  • Donelson Community Garden — coming in 2026

*These are demonstration sites that serve as living classrooms for exploring different models of community agriculture.

Types of Partner Gardens & Orchards

  • Rental Plot Gardens – Neighbors rent in-ground or raised beds to grow food for themselves

  • Donation/Communal Gardens – Growers work together to grow food for free distribution to communities experiencing low food access

  • Hybrid Gardens – A mix of rental and communal models

  • Production Gardens – Affordable land access for small-scale farmers, typically growing produce for market on ⅛–½ acre plots

  • Community Orchards – Orchards providing free fruits, nuts, and berries, developed in collaboration with The Giving Grove

Support Provided to Network Partners

  • Volunteer coordination — connecting neighbors with meaningful ways to help

  • Infrastructure improvements — mobilizing groups for projects like building beds or improving irrigation

  • Workshops — open to all growers and volunteers to learn sustainable practices

  • Leadership training — equipping garden leaders and orchard stewards to guide thriving spaces

  • Site planning — assessing and shaping gardens to meet community needs

  • Shared tools and supplies — low or no cost essentials

  • Plot enrollment support — helping neighbors access growing space

  • Harvest distribution planning — ensuring food reaches communities with the greatest need

Vision and Growth

We aim to create a thriving network of gardens and orchards across Nashville, ensuring every neighborhood has access to fresh food and green space.

Each year, TNFP aims to:

  • Build one new community garden

  • Onboard 2–3 existing gardens to the network

  • Plant and activate 3–5 new orchards

Building a just and sustainable food system takes all of us. Each year, we welcome new partners whose creativity and commitment make this vision possible.

We would be honored to learn about your garden or orchard and how it might grow within the Community Agriculture Network.

While we sometimes receive more requests than we can support, our annual selection process helps us prioritize projects—and we encourage you to apply.