LETTER FROM THE CEO
For 12 years now, The Nashville Food Project has brought people together to grow, cook and share nourishing food, cultivating community and alleviating hunger in our city. Over the years, this humble pursuit of gathering around food for good has transformed how we engage with one another. We have learned to recognize the abundance that surrounds us, and used it to strengthen and sustain our lives in community.
2023 was a year of exceptional abundance. With a growing network of Nashvillians, we shared more meals and grew more produce than ever before. We expanded our infrastructure, building a greenhouse at the Growing Together farm and a walk-in fridge at our headquarters. We partnered with more organizations, supporting more people, than ever.
This year also marked the launch FeedBack Nashville, a first-of-its-kind initiative that brings community members together to build a just and sustainable food system for our city. We are proud to be among the founding organizations who see gaps in our current food system, and dare to imagine alternatives that prioritize the needs of our community.
In this report you will find the fruits of our collective labors. I hope you will be as inspired as I am, and be moved to join us in the year to come. There is indeed much to do, and we cannot do it without you.
Gardens are the place where food begins. From sowing to harvest, growing our own food connects us more deeply to the land, our food system, and each other. Our gardens are vibrant urban ecosystems where community members gather to learn from each other and grow nourishing food for themselves and their families.
Community Gardens
McGruder Community Garden in North Nashville and the Community Farm at Mill Ridge in Antioch connect people of all ages with the resources they need — from land and water to seeds and education — to grow food that is fresh, healthy, and culturally relevant. Both gardens use regenerative agriculture practices to grow produce that is shared with community members who lack reliable access to fresh produce.
What We Accomplished Together
285
individual volunteers
seeded, weeded, harvested and more in our gardens
1,666
hours volunteered between three garden sites
10,757
pounds of produce grown and shared in community
52
individual garden
plots occupied at 100% capacity
Growing Together
Growing Together is an urban farm stewarded by Burmese and Bhutanese farmers who came to Nashville as immigrants and refugees. The program connects farmers with land, resources, agricultural training, and market access so that they can generate income for themselves and their families. In 2023, the seven Growing Together farming families sold produce to restaurants, food access partner organizations, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) customers.
Farm Highlights
In October, the Love, Tito’s team visited the Growing Together farm to celebrate their gift of a new greenhouse, which will enable farmers to extend their growing season and expand their skills through full-season production.
Tito’s also helped us beautify the farm by planting a pollinator garden, fruit trees, and berry bushes, as well as installing new water catchment structures to harvest water throughout the year.
Cooking brings us together to nourish one another. Recipes tell stories that connect us to places and people, and by sharing dishes, we share ourselves. Our kitchens use recovered, donated, and garden-grown food to prepare and cook made-from-scratch meals that nourish our community and create new stories around the table.
Food Recovery
In Nashville, about 40% of all food is wasted while 1 in 8 residents in our city lack sufficient access to nutritious food. Our food recovery program works to bridge this gap by redirecting would-be wasted food away from landfills and onto plates. We partner with grocers, farms, restaurants, and individuals to glean high-quality excess food, which becomes ingredients in nourishing meals shared with our community.
What We Accomplished Together
109
farms, grocers, and individuals contributed to food recovery
287,117
pounds of food recovered
80%
of each meal is made with donated or recovered ingredients
Community Meals
In our kitchens, we transform recovered and donated foods into nourishing and delicious meals, using a variety of fresh produce, dairy, and dry goods to develop unique menus each week. A growing network of cherished volunteers joins us daily to help prepare pastas, salads, casseroles, and more. We then work with poverty-disrupting partner organizations across the city to distribute these meals to community members.
Responding in a Time of Need
In December, a line of tornadoes wreaked havoc across Middle Tennessee, destroying homes, leaving thousands without power, and resulting in injuries and fatalities. A coalition of relief organizations, known as the Nashville Volunteer Organizations in Disaster (VOAD), immediately stepped up to help. Through our involvement with VOAD, we shared 2,020 meals with families affected by the storms.
volunteers
From bread baking to beekeeping, weeding to watering, chopping to blending, and packing food into boxes and trucks, volunteering at The Nashville Food Project takes many forms. Every day, we rely on a dedicated, diverse community of volunteers who give their time, skills, and hearts to help create a city that is nourished by a just, sustainable food system.
1,083
volunteers across all programs
7,196
volunteer hours worked
Volunteer Portrait Project
Photographed by our dear friend Aidan Fitzpatrick, the Volunteer Portrait Project documented just a few of the faces in our community who helped to carry this work forward in 2023. The small, consistent, and caring gestures of our many volunteers are the beating heart of The Nashville Food Project.
Building A Welcoming Community
In partnership with Welcoming America, a national nonprofit dedicated to fostering welcoming communities for immigrants and refugees, we hosted a series of Welcoming Week events in the fall.
At a family festival at the Community Farm at Mill Ridge, more than 100 people gathered to share a meal, play games, and get to know each other. Later in the week, we also hosted a panel that explored how organizations in our city are working together to make Nashville a safe and welcoming city for everyone.
Why Systems Change?
Nashville residents face all kinds of inequities: limited access to healthy, affordable food, persistent health disparities, the loss of agricultural land, food waste, and environmental degradation. All of these challenges are interrelated, caused by a food system that does not work for farmers, grocers, restaurants, or eaters — which, of course, is all of us.
A systems change approach leverages community engagement and cross-sector collaboration to address these challenges. By integrating this approach to our work, we will better understand why food-related challenges persist, and how we can work together to create a food system that actually works for everyone in our city.
Over the next few years, you will see this approach informing our work, especially in FeedBack Nashville. From convening key food system stakeholders to hosting neighborhood meetings, we are counting on your engagement to create lasting change in our city. Together, we can achieve our vision of vibrant community food security, where everyone in Nashville has access to the food they want and need through a just and sustainable food system.
Building A Better Food Future
This year, we launched FeedBack Nashville, a new initiative to build a better food future for our city. Started by a coalition of food-centric organizations, FeedBack Nashville is led by a steering committee of 16 residents with deep ties to communities most affected by injustices in our food system. FeedBack Nashville uses a systems change approach to build a better food system for everyone in our city. We serve as the coordinator of the initiative.
Project Goals
1
Understand why current challenges like hunger and food waste exist in our city
2
Create community-driven visions of a better food future for Nashville
3
Identify transformational opportunities to build a more just and sustainable food system
2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chair: Antonio Carroll, NES
Chair-Elect: Josh Westerhold, Nissan
Treasurer: John Pearce, Ernst & Young (retired)
Secretary: Sunny Bray, Catalyst Collective
Immediate Past Chair: Rick Leach, Community Volunteer
Young Leaders Council Interns:
Dana Patel, HCA Healthcare Foundation
Angie Sessoms, Koya Partners
Angie Bergman, Bass, Berry & Sims
Ashlee Brooks, Brooks Tax Consulting
Mary Lea Bryant, Harpeth Hall Academy
Marcie Bryant, YWCA (retired)
Ann Fundis, Community Volunteer
Katherine Hartle, Hartle Holdings, LLC
Katie Johnson, HCA Healthcare
Kim Johnson, Jackson National Life
Vanessa Lazón, MNPS
Christy Moberly, State Farm (retired)
Kristy Offitt, Bridgestone
Harsha Ramayya, Bank of America
Jennifer Rusie, Jackson Lewis
Jarrett Strickland, UBS
Tandy Wilson, City House
THANK YOU TO OUR 2023 SUPPORTERS
$25,000 AND ABOVE
Jackson National Life
Joe C. Davis Foundation
Marlene and Spencer Hays Foundation
The Memorial Foundation
Christy & Michael Moberly
Patagonia
Speer Foundation
Tito’s Handmade Vodka
Universal Music Group
West End Home Foundation
Andrea Waitt Carlton Foundation
The Atticus Trust
Melinda & Jeff Balser
Bank of America
Boedecker Foundation
Bridgestone Americas
Christ Church Cathedral
Enterprise Holdings
Golden Tree Asset Management
HCA Healthcare Foundation
The Healing Trust
$10,000 TO $24,999
Anonymous
Bancel Philanthropies
Susan Barge
Judith Blondell-Hardy
The Cigna Group
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
Dettwiller Foundation
First Horizon Foundation
Glen & Dorothy Stillwell Charitable Trust
Kim & Gary Hawkins
Hofseth LLC Corporation
James R. Meadows, Jr. Foundation
Kroger
Theresa & Joe MacCurdy
Milton & Denice Johnson Family Foundation
Nissan North America Inc.
Piedmont Natural Gas
Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation
Sparkjoy Foundation
TN Public Health Foundation
Thomas & Mamie Houser Charitable Foundation
United Way of Greater Nashville
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Woodmont Christian Church
$5,000 TO $9,999
American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation, Inc.
Angie Bergman
Bryant Family Foundation
John S. Bryant
Buckingham Foundation, Inc.
C&B Hearn Foundation
Michael & Jane Ann Cain
Anna & Brandon Carl
The Carolyn Smith Foundation
Caterpillar Financial Services
Mary Britton & Jody Cummings
The Dorothy Cate and Thomas F. Frist Foundation
The Enchiridion Foundation
Sara Finley
Charmion Gustke Hearn
Healthcare Realty
Greg Lanford
Mitsuki Laycock
Gracey Lipman
Martin’s Barbecue Joint, LLC
Susan Mezger
Nashville Electric Service
Nordstrom Cares
John & Lori Pearce
Publix Super Markets Charities
Stephen & Sara Anne Quinn
Fran Schell
Shoba Foundation
Michelle Supko
The Reynolds Family Foundation
Josh Westerhold
Cristina Wieck
$2,500 TO $4,999
Lisa Aston
Isaiah Beard
Susannah & Jonathan Berry
Lady & Billy Bird
Trudy & Bill Carpenter
Sunny & Bryan Cartmell
Clayton & Mary Collins
Andrea Conte & Phil Bredesen
Laurie & Steve Eskind
Fairepointe Planning
The Farm and Forest Families of Tennessee
Hugh Francis
Joe & Penny Hodgson
Immanuel Baptist Church
Katie Johnson
Terri & Doug King
Rick Leach
Maine Drilling & Blasting, Inc.
Michele McMinn & Neil Weber
Jon Michael
James & Diane Mulloy
Nanni Family Giving Fund
National Association of Fixed Annuities
Gail Pusey
Randy Rayburn
Rogers Group Inc.
Karen Rolling
Shayne Foundation
Jan Shockey
Laura Smith
Grace & Michael Sposato
St. George’s Episcopal Church
Quint Studer
Jeff & Lynne Warne
Washington Foundation
Jeremiah & Stephanie Weeden-Wright
Judy & Kelly Wright
Shirley Zeitlin