Heart of Nashville
Advancing Health Equity Through Food, Care, and Community
Heart of Nashville is Nashville's first Wellness Opportunity Zone: a place-based, cross-sector initiative designed to improve health outcomes and advance health equity in North Nashville. Convened by NashvilleHealth through the Nashville Wellness Collaborative and seeded by a $1 million investment from the Metro Government of Nashville, the initiative brings together 20 organizations — healthcare providers, nonprofits, public agencies, researchers, and community leaders — to address the root causes of chronic disease through coordinated, community-centered interventions.
The Nashville Food Project serves as the initiative's lead food and nutrition partner. Working alongside Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center (the initiative's clinical anchor), TNFP prepares and delivers scratch-made, heart-healthy meals to patients, integrates Produce Rx produce prescriptions into clinical care plans, and co-leads the design of ANCHOR — a permanent, resident-led community food center intended to carry this work forward.
Heart of Nashville currently serves 245 adult patients (ages 18–97) living in ZIP codes 37208, 37218, and 37209 — all diagnosed with uncontrolled hypertension. TNFP volunteers support meal preparation and packing in TNFP's commercial kitchen, making the food systems work possible at the scale the initiative requires.
Heart of Nashville proves that health outcomes improve when healthcare, food access, and community infrastructure are designed together.
Key Performance Indicators
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Medically tailored meals prepared and distributed to patients
Meals delivered to patients' homes (via DoorDash partnership)
Pounds of fresh produce distributed through Produce Rx
Patients enrolled in the initiative receiving TNFP food support
Volunteer hours contributed to meal preparation and packing
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Change in patients' blood pressure classification (baseline to follow-up)
% of patients improving by at least one hypertension stage
% of patients reporting increased engagement with care and nutrition
Current Data (196 patients with eligible baseline and follow-up readings, as of September 2025):
7,100+ heart-healthy meals provided | 4,924 meals delivered home via DoorDash | 1,050+ lbs. fresh produce distributed | +24% more patients with normal blood pressure | -26% fewer patients in Stage 2 hypertension | 33% improved by at least one hypertension stage
Community & Systems Integration
Heart of Nashville succeeds because no partner tries to do everything and each partner focuses on their core competency. NashvilleHealth convenes the Collaborative and provides backbone organizational support. Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center serves as the clinical anchor: enrolling patients, managing care coordination, and providing primary care, pharmacy support, and behavioral health services. Senior Ride Nashville ensures patients can reach appointments. Metro Parks provides fitness access at Hadley Park. Meharry Medical College, Belmont University, The Sycamore Institute, and the Belmont Data & AI Collaborative contribute data and evaluation capacity that tracks outcomes and informs replication.
TNFP supports the food and nutrition strategy. Our kitchen team prepares heart-healthy meals using approximately 80% recovered or donated ingredients — connecting Heart of Nashville to TNFP's food recovery infrastructure. TNFP volunteers are essential, supporting meal production and packing at the scale the initiative demands. Produce sourcing flows through TNFP's Community Agriculture Network and regional farm relationships.
Together, this model directly contributes to a more coordinated, less fragmented city food system — demonstrating what aligned, multi-sector action can achieve at the neighborhood level.
North Nashville deserves lasting infrastructure, not just programs. Help us build it. Healthcare and civic partners can integrate community-based food access into care models and explore replicating this framework in other neighborhoods. Funders can invest in TNFP's food and nutrition role within Heart of Nashville and in the development of ANCHOR. Volunteers power the meal preparation that makes this work possible. Join us in building a healthier North Nashville.