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Partner Spotlight: Legacy Mission Village

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As a people of fierce hope that believe in intersectionality and interdependence, we’ve also seen generous creativity implemented to help neighbors care for each other. We found this type of resistant and persistent care in the work and community fostered by Legacy Mission Village.

Fighting for Tennessee’s Food Security Safety Net: Pandemic EBT and Food Assistance in the Age of Coronavirus

We know how important free and reduced-price meals are for Tennessee families—over 663,000 Tennessee kids rely on free lunch and breakfast during a typical school year. As the pandemic shutters businesses and causes unprecedented layoffs, families are more vulnerable to food insecurity than ever before. While support from incredible locally-run organizations like The Nashville Food Project, this does not replace the need for food assistance legislation from state governments—especially in times of crisis.

A Statement From Susannah Berry, Chair of The Nashville Food Project Board of Directors

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A STATEMENT FROM SUSANNAH BERRY, CHAIR OF THE NASHVILLE FOOD PROJECT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

As Tallu Schuyler Quinn, The Nashville Food Project’s founder and CEO, undergoes medical treatment for a recently-diagnosed brain tumor, the Board of Directors has focused on how to ensure the organization continues its essential work in our community and our city — while providing Tallu the flexibility necessary to care for herself during this time.

To do so, the Board has offered the positions of Interim Co-CEOs to Christa Bentley, Interim Chief Programs Officer and Teri Sloan, Development Director. Together, these two dedicated and experienced colleagues will guide The Nashville Food Project’s day-to-day operations. 

In considering strategies for interim leadership, the board also wanted to ensure that Tallu’s wisdom and guidance continues as a meaningful, essential part of The Nashville Food Project. Hence, the board offered — and Tallu has accepted — a new position, in the role of Founder. In that role, she’ll work with the board on vision and strategy, among other duties. We are so pleased and gratified that in this role, Tallu will stay core to the work of The Nashville Food Project.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the staff, thank you for supporting The Nashville Food Project and its mission. And thank you for keeping Tallu and her family in your thoughts and prayers. 

Sweet Peas 2020 with Gratitude for Good Neighbors

As for nutritious meals and snacks, we’re proud to partner with Project Transformation at three of their sites this summer. We know one in six children do not have access to the food they want and need. Lack of access can be even greater during the summer with the absence of school meals. Given this alarming information we launched a program last year called Sweet Peas: summer eats for kids. Now in its second year—amidst the current crisis—we know the need for nourishing meals is even greater.

What it Means to Nourish Community

Nourishment, after all, is about so much more than feeding and eating. To nourish another centers on the emotional tie—the care, regard, and concern—you have for another. It is about maintaining a relationship by prioritizing and cherishing another, not imposing what you think you know, but rather about listening. And it is this relationship that informs what makes another person or a community healthy and strong.

Sowing Seeds of Justice

It is past time to sow seeds that yield justice and a more equitable future. The profound impact of racism on life and death demands a full response from every single part of American society. At The Nashville Food Project we know we do not have all the answers, but we believe we can be part of the solution. We have learned and continue to learn that anti-racism work cannot be treated as side work, but it is the work of community food justice.

Banana Bread for the Pandemic: Remembering a Loved One Lost to Coronavirus

In this time of unbelievable confusion and pain, we cling to the things that bring us comfort, and the most time tested ways of feeling better is to cook and eat a good meal, to bake a loaf of bread. We are reminded of the meals we have shared with the people we love. We ease the sting of separation with delicious memories of dinner parties past. We honor those we have lost by cooking something that they have loved.

The Nashville Food Project Care Package: Part 2

We collected our inspirations, recommendations, motivations—all salve for the loneliness and fears this virus and social distancing can produce. These recommendations aren’t necessarily heavy or directly related to the pandemic or our work. Rather it's a collection intended to nourish and accompany our community as we all stay home together.

An Update from the Growing Together Farmers: "Believing in Tomorrow"

So many doors, businesses, and communities are closed and we are all feeling the impact and the collective suffering. And yet. We at the Nashville Food Project and within the Growing Together community have no choice but to use this as an opportunity to imagine, envision, and create new doors, new opportunities, and new pathways forward. We will continue on with our vision of community food security, where everyone has access to the food they want and need.

Learning New Ways to Share

We talk a lot about the sharing at The Nashville Food Project. Many times that looks like fresh produce or local proteins generously shared by farmers or grocers that our team transforms into nourishing meals to be shared with our community. Other times sharing is the donated labor of our beloved volunteers who give us their time and talents to help us prep ingredients and cook meals. But in a recent turn of events in these unprecedented times, sharing also has involved wheels.

Finding Hope in the Garden

“Working in gardens is hopeful work for me. I can only work with what’s available to me today. There is no way to know what the season will be like. Certainly some things will flourish and some will struggle. So, we plant the seeds…We rejoice in our relationship to the earth, to our commitment to this plot of ground and to the delicate but resilient plants growing in it.”