Statements

Mission

The Nashville Food Project brings people together to grow, cook and share nourishing food, with the goals of cultivating community and alleviating hunger in our city.

Background

The Nashville Food Project was born from the idea that everyone should have access to the food they want and need. Since our beginnings in 2007 as Mobile Loaves & Fishes, we have served thousands of Nashvillians facing food insecurity through a meal distribution program. But we know that good food alone is not a solution to hunger. In 2011, The Nashville Food Project (TNFP) was incorporated as an independent nonprofit, shifting the focus of our meals program toward a collaborative partnership model and launching a garden program. Today, we're continuing to connect people to nutritious food and to each other through vibrant urban agriculture projects, made-from-scratch meals cooked in our kitchens, and food shared with local poverty-disrupting partners.

Impact

Accomplishments:
- Growing organic produce in gardens to support a collaborative meals program, cooking and sharing over 290,000 scratch-made meals and snacks annually
- Aligning nutritious food support with vital poverty-disrupting and community programming through collaborations with nonprofit partners
- A food recovery program that rescues hundreds of thousands of pounds of edible food each year from local grocers, farms, and restaurants
- Supporting over 70 families with the land, training and resources to grow food for themselves in community gardens
- A market garden program, Growing Together, that supports immigrant/refugee farmers in selling food they grow, earning thousands of dollars in supplemental income through meaningful work
- Expanding a successful contract meals social enterprise that allows us to earn revenue by supplying our partners the nutritious meals they need for their programs
- Involving record levels of volunteers through our various programs

Goals:
- Build the health of our community by expanding opportunities to grow and access nutritious food, and by promoting shared knowledge of food and agriculture
- Strengthen social connections, reduce isolation, and support community leadership
- Leverage shared resources of land, food and relationships to increase economic vitality for individuals, communities, and partners
- Engage our community in care for the environment by modeling sustainable practices and responsible stewardship of land and food

Needs

TNFP relies on the generosity of our community in everything that we do. Our greatest needs include:
- Operating support to fund our ongoing programs
- Volunteers in our gardens and kitchens
- Fresh food donation from your home garden or from local farms
- Pantry item donations including olive oil, whole wheat pasta, cereals, etc.

Donations can be made on our website, or checks can be mailed to 5904 California Avenue Nashville, TN 37209. Visit our website for more information: www.thenashvillefoodproject.org

CEO Statement

High poverty and the disintegration of communities have resulted in Nashvillians without enough food to eat and without the connections to tap into community resources for support. TNFP believes that food is the perfect medium to unite people in deep ways. The nonprofit partners we work with every day share our meals to build community and strengthen their programs. Our gardens provide places for deep connection to the land and to diverse community-building strategies. The volunteers in all of our programs nurture, support and build community with us and each other every time they gather. While neighboring organizations address food insecurity by providing emergency food, our holistic approach and emphasis on collaboration supports our vision of a community food system, in which every Nashvillian has access to the food they want and need through a just and sustainable food system. TNFP is creating and sustaining a vibrant food web that makes connections, supports people, repairs what is broken, and carefully stewards its resources to bring about a more equitable food system for all.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Food, Agriculture & Nutrition  - Food Programs
Secondary Category:	Food, Agriculture & Nutrition  - Agricultural Programs
Tertiary Category:	Food, Agriculture & Nutrition  - Nutrition

Areas Served

We share meals in partnership with community partners at over 50 sites throughout the greater Nashville area and grow food in community at 3 garden sites in North and South Nashville.

TN - Davidson