FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Nashville Food Project Announces Brooklyn Heights Community Garden as New Partner Orchard Site
October 29 planting will bring fruit trees and berry bushes to the community, with applications open for future neighborhood orchard sites across Nashville
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 27, 2026) – The Nashville Food Project will welcome Brooklyn Heights Community Garden as its newest partner orchard site with a community planting on October 29, 2026.
The orchard installation will be facilitated by The Nashville Food Project, with Brooklyn Heights Community Garden staff and community members taking part in the planting. The new orchard will help expand access to fresh fruit in a neighborhood where community members have identified a need for more healthy, nourishing food close to home.
“We would love to plant an orchard in the community because there are few fruit trees and little access to any in the neighborhood and we would love to be able to provide them.” said Bridget Bryant, Farm Manager of Brooklyn Heights Community Garden. “Having access to healthy food is essential to having a healthy mind, body, and spirit.”
The planting is part of The Nashville Food Project’s growing community orchard work, which supports neighborhood-led sites interested in cultivating long-term food access through fruit and nut trees. The Nashville Food Project is an affiliate partner of The Giving Grove, a national nonprofit that helps make small orchard installations possible in communities across the country.
“Community orchards are a long-term investment in food access, neighborhood connection, and shared stewardship,” said Lindsey McKee, Community Orchard Manager of The Nashville Food Project. “We are grateful to partner with Brooklyn Heights Community Garden and The Giving Grove to help bring this orchard to life with the people who will care for it and benefit from it for years to come.”
The orchard installation will also be supported by Coast of Maine, which donated Castine Blend Raised Bed Mix through Elder’s ACE East Nashville for the planting.
The Nashville Food Project is currently accepting applications for future community orchard sites on a rolling basis. Neighborhood groups, community gardens, faith communities, schools, and other community-led sites interested in planting and stewarding an orchard are encouraged to apply.
Orchard Planting Details
What: Brooklyn Heights Community Garden Orchard Planting
When: October 29, 2026 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Where: Brooklyn Heights Community Garden, 1833 Haynes St, Nashville, TN 37207
Partners: The Nashville Food Project, Brooklyn Heights Community Garden, The Giving Grove
Supported by: Coast of Maine and Elder’s ACE East Nashville
Community Orchard Applications
Applications for future community orchard sites are accepted on a rolling basis.
Learn more and Apply here: www.thenashvillefoodproject.org/community-orchards
About Brooklyn Heights Community Garden
Brooklyn Heights Community Garden is a community-centered garden in Nashville working to provide space for neighbors to grow food, build connection, and support health and well-being.
About The Giving Grove
The Giving Grove supports community-led orchards that increase access to fresh food while strengthening neighborhood stewardship, environmental health, and long-term food security.
Promotional Assets:
About The Nashville Food Project
The Nashville Food Project was born from the belief that all people should have access to the food they want and need. In pursuit of that vision, we bring people together to grow, cook, and share food, cultivating community and working to alleviate hunger across our city.
In Nashville, one in seven people lacks consistent access to enough food to sustain a healthy lifestyle, while more than 40% of all food goes to waste. Hunger is not caused by a lack of food alone. It is shaped by systems. Poverty, unemployment, low wages, and rising housing costs all contribute to the challenges many of our neighbors face.
We believe food can be a powerful tool to foster health, belonging, and justice in our community. Through our kitchens, Community Agriculture Network, and partnerships across Nashville, we work to transform surplus into nourishment and connection.
In 2026, we will share more than 344,000 scratch-made meals and recover over 330,000 pounds of food, supporting after-school programs, immigrant communities, homeless outreach organizations, and many others across Nashville.
Grow — In our gardens, we grow organic food intensively, and share resources with others interested in growing their own food.
Cook — In our kitchens, we use recovered, donated and garden-grown food to prepare and cook made-from-scratch meals.
Share — In our community, we share nourishing meals in partnership with local poverty-disrupting nonprofits and community groups.
The Nashville Food Project embraces a vision of vibrant community food security in which everyone in Nashville has access to the food they want and need through a just and sustainable food system.
Media Contact
Esperanza Merritt
(615) 541-8225
