Earlier this month we hosted our 14th annual Nourish, presented by Kroger. We are humbled and so incredibly proud to announce that this was our most successful Nourish to date, raising over $260,000! We are floored by this outpouring of support for our mission to bring people together to grow, cook and share nourishing food, cultivating community and alleviating hunger here in Nashville. However, beyond a fundraiser, this night is one we always look forward to as a special time to share connection over a beautiful meal with so many friends, volunteers, and supporters. This year, as always, the table was a conduit for community among our 350 guests.
The Chefs
Nourish 2024 included a lineup of chefs from Nashville’s most beloved restaurants. Each chef brought a piece of themselves to this dinner, resulting in an incredibly special meal that weaved together distinct cultures, styles, techniques, and a singular love for food. While each chef planned and prepared their own signature course, a highlight of the evening was the sense of community between the chefs as they worked together to bring one another’s dishes to life.
Colby Rasavong, executive chef of Bad Idea Restaurant and Wine Bar in East Nashville, kicked us off at the cocktail hour with an impressive spread of hors d’oeuvres, including nam khao croquettes, vegetable laab on rice crackers, and pâté en croûte with a homemade red-eye aioli.
Tiffani Ortiz and Andy Doubrava, the chef team behind nomadic restaurant series Slow Burn and upcoming, sixth-iteration chefs at The Catbird Seat, prepared a pork and herb terrine with a marigold glaze, showcasing their signature take on food preservation in the first course.
Leina Horii and Brian Lea, whose restaurant Kisser was recently nominated for a James Beard award, dressed up a beloved menu item to serve a hokkaido scallop with sake-marinated Japanese eggplant, garnished to the nines and served in a chilled broth, for the second course.
Vivek Surti, chef-owner of Tailor, stepped outside of the box to prepare an innovative salad course: a crunchy corn bhel using local kernels, sweet and hot peppers, and a variety of Indian-inspired garnishes like tamarind, milt, and sev and served it over poha, a traditional flattened rice.
Julio Hernandez, whose brick-and-mortar iteration of popular taco truck Maiz de la Vida is slated to open later this summer, prepared the main course by cooking chicken over charcoal and then serving it in a mole amarillo with ejotes, or Mexican green beans, and escabeche potatoes.
Levon and Kim Wallace, who own FatBelly Pretzel Bakery & Deli, brought their baking skills to the table for the dessert course. They served a roasted corn cake with Tennessee peaches, buttermilk pudding, vanilla bean whip and a crunchy pretzel topping.
The same sense of community the chefs demonstrated at Nourish is central to how each of these chefs understands their role in Nashville’s food system. Ahead of Nourish, we got the special opportunity to hear about what inspires and motivates these talented and passionate individuals — and for all of them, it’s the power of food to bring people together. Together, we’re creating a transformed food future where everyone in Nashville has access to the food they want and need.
The 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. In partnership with our vibrant community, we grow food in three gardens strategically located in Nashville food deserts, recover would-be-wasted food from grocery and farm partners, and share hundreds of thousands of meals each year with over fifty poverty-disrupting partner organizations across the city.
“Tonight fills me with hope: hope for a community where everyone has reliable access to nourishing food and where no one feels alone. Hope for a future where hospitality and generosity thrive in every corner of our city. Your presence here and your support of The Nashville Food Project embodies that hope and inspires us to reach higher.”
Thomas Williams Golden Skillet Award
The Thomas Williams Golden Skillet Award, established in 2017, recognizes a volunteer who has shown deep dedication to the work of The Nashville Food Project. Its namesake Thomas Williams is the founder of Nourish, and this year, we had the tremendous honor of presenting it with his help to a longtime champion, volunteer and board member of The Nashville Food Project: Ann Fundis.
We have volunteer hours recorded for Ann as early as 2012, but she was probably here even before that. In fact, we often refer to her as a “mother of the Food Project.” She leads a regular cook team, which is our most trusted type of volunteer group in the kitchen. Over the years, she has assembled an incredible group of women who come to the kitchen at least twice a month to blend smoothies, build lasagnas, make salads and take care of just about anything else — first at the Woodmont Christian Church kitchen, affectionately known as South Hall, then at the St. Luke’s Community House kitchen, and eventually migrating to the commercial kitchen we built at our headquarters in 2018.
Ann’s volunteer team consistently brings lots of chatter, energy, and laughter. They’re extremely self-sufficient, and it often feels like they are an extension of our staff — they just see what needs to be done and do it. Ann arrives early for each session to make sure she knows what the day’s tasks involve and can lead her team with the quiet confidence that we love her for. She thrives when it comes to recognizing the strengths of others and setting them up for success.
In addition to serving multiple terms on our board, Ann has also served on the boards of other poverty-disrupting nonprofits in Nashville, helping us make connections and establish partnerships with like-minded organizations across the city. She’s been with us every step of the way in taking The Nashville Food Project to the next level. She is a leader, a visionary, a fierce advocate, a trusted confidant and a champion who has helped steer the direction of this organization.
Thank you, Ann, for sharing your time and treasure with us and with the entire Nashville community!
Our Sponsors
More companies pitched in to help underwrite the cost of Nourish in 2024 than ever before. This event would not be possible without them! We’d like to thank:
