First Taste: An Introduction to The Nashville Food Project
Oct
29
8:00 AM08:00

First Taste: An Introduction to The Nashville Food Project

Join The Nashville Food Project to learn more about the work we do in our community. Whether you're new to our organization, a more seasoned volunteer, or a program participant, there's something for you to learn about the big picture of our vision and how we work towards it each day. We’ll offer a short presentation and plenty of time for Q&A. A light breakfast and coffee will be provided.

Our Headquarters hosts a ramp on the west side of the building as well as accessible, All-Gender restrooms available for visitor use. Currently, First Taste sessions are facilitated in English. If you require accommodations to participate, please let us know in the comment section below as part of your RSVP so arrangements can be made!

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Simmer: Food and Urban Ag in Nashville
Oct
25
6:00 PM18:00

Simmer: Food and Urban Ag in Nashville

The next installment of our Simmer dinner is here! This chef pop-up series brings chefs, writers and educators together for interactive experiences that take us a bit deeper — to tell the stories behind the food and the people who grow, cook and share it.

Local agriculture has long been an appealing option for chefs deciding how to source produce. It’s more sustainable, higher quality, and boosts local economies — and it also just tastes better. This fall, we’re teaming up with our friends at S.S. Gai, a regular customer of the Growing Together garden, to prepare a meal featuring local produce and to dream together about expanding urban agriculture in our city. Be the first to hear from our Chief Program Officer, Hanes Motsinger, about The Nashville Food Project’s vision for a new model of community agriculture that will increase access to land and food while cultivating a more connected community. Tickets include a four-course dinner with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink offerings, and are available for $105 each. This is a 21 and up event.

Funds raised from this dinner help support The Nashville Food Project’s mission of bringing people together to grow, cook and share nourishing food, with the goals of cultivating community and alleviating hunger in our city. A portion of all ticket sales are tax deductible.

Reach out to events@thenashvillefoodproject.org with any questions.

ABOUT S.S. GAI

S.S. Gai was built on the notion that flavorful, street food-style Thai chicken can thrive in Nashville’s bustling dining scene. Chris and Emma Biard opened S.S. Gai – “same-same, but different chicken” – at The Wash in East Nashville in June 2023. Through regular travel to Southeast Asia and extensive recipe development, Chris and Emma were inspired to bring S.S. Gai to Nashville upon tasting a particular style of Thai chicken during their travels. The small, focused menu is centered around traditional recipes for Gai Yang (grilled chicken) and Gai Tod (fried chicken) – each paired with sticky rice, shallots, tamarind chili fish sauce, and aromatic chili vinegar. Local produce and meats are intertwined into authentic Thai flavors by using time-honored techniques such as coal-roasting and using a mortar and pestle to make marinades, sauces, and salads, and additional menu items include Som Tum and a Charred Eggplant Salad. 

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Annual Volunteer Celebration Lunch
Oct
18
11:30 AM11:30

Annual Volunteer Celebration Lunch

Join us as we gather to share a meal and celebrate the many hands and hearts that sustain this collective work of community food security!

A delicious lunch will be provided by TNFP’s kitchens with a short program to follow!

This event will take place at our HQ in the Nations. There is street parking along the front and side of the building with limited parking in the small parking lot behind our space. Our Headquarters hosts a ramp on the west side of the building as well as accessible, All-Gender restrooms available for visitor use. A lactation room is available upon request. The program will be in English. If you require accommodations to participate, please let us know in the comment section below as part of your RSVP so arrangements can be made!

RSVPs are now full! If you would like to attend, please reach out to maggie@thenashvillefoodproject.org and we’ll do our best to make it work.

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Volunteer Driver Info Session
Oct
2
4:15 PM16:15

Volunteer Driver Info Session

Interested in becoming a volunteer driver? Join us virtually for a detailed information session where we will share about the driving opportunities available and why volunteer drivers are so important to our mission of building a just food system in Nashville!

RSVP:

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Welcoming Week Celebration at the Community Farm at Mill Ridge
Sep
14
4:00 PM16:00

Welcoming Week Celebration at the Community Farm at Mill Ridge

Bring the whole family and a food that feels like home and join us for a potluck to celebrate Welcoming Week! Offerings include:

  • Nashville Public Library Puppet Truck from 4 - 5 p.m.

  • Trail hike in partnership with Friends of Mill Ridge Park at 5 p.m.

  • Family-friendly games

  • Potluck meal: please bring a dish to share if you are able

The Community Farm is stewarded by The Nashville Food Project and is the site of around 80 families from the Antioch community accessing public land and growing food organically in both individual and communal plots. The Community Farm is part of Metro's Mill Ridge Park. The Community Farm is best found by utilizing the following address and looking for a blue welcome flag: 12944 Old Hickory Blvd, Antioch, 37013.

On September 14th (from 4-6 PM), we are coming together to celebrate Welcoming Week and the rich community fostered through shared spaces. Through Welcoming Week, organizations and communities (across the world) bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity.

RSVP to let us know you’re coming!

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The Future of Food Conversation Series: Just & Regenerative Agriculture, Climate Change & Ecological Healing
Aug
29
6:00 PM18:00

The Future of Food Conversation Series: Just & Regenerative Agriculture, Climate Change & Ecological Healing

Join us for The Future of Food Conversation Series!

The Future of Food: Just & Regenerative Agriculture, Climate Change & Ecological Healing

Agriculture is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the world. A just and regenerative food system requires agricultural practices that put more back into the environment than they take out. In this conversation, we’ll learn how farmers, river keepers, and others are changing how we grow food to improve the health and biodiversity of our ecosystems. This conversation will remind us that sometimes, imagining the future means learning about regenerative agricultural practices from the past.

The moderated panel discussion will be followed by open Q&A and an opportunity for community conversation and networking.

This event is free and open to the public.

Meet our panelists!

Marie Campbell

Marie grew up eating tomatoes and okra from her grandpa’s garden on the Coosa River right next to one of Georgia’s “dirtiest” coal-fired power plants, Plant Hammond (now decommissioned). She is the Director of Community Engagement at Harpeth Conservancy, bringing to that role over 15 years of experience mobilizing communities and building organizations that practice economic, racial, and environmental justice. Marie earned a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt University where she focused on culture, ecology, and social movements, and has completed coursework toward a Masters of Conservation Biology from Miami University focusing on grassroots conservation, specifically environmental justice issues related to land, water, and food. She served on the board of Brooklyn Heights Community Garden for four years and continues to grow food and build people power.

Caroline Hutchins

Caroline is the Working Lands Division Manager at the Cumberland River Compact, a Nashville-based non-profit advancing clean and abundant water in the Cumberland River basin. In her role, she has the privilege of accompanying farmers on their journeys to become excellent soil and water stewards. Knowing that "how we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used," Caroline works daily to advance the health of land, water, and people through her work with the Compact and board position with Tennessee Local Food. 

Prior to her current role with the Compact, Caroline ran Sounding Stone Farm, a mixed vegetable market garden in Joelton, TN. She has shepherded Sounding Stone into its next iteration as a farmstead focused on community connection through food and gardening. With a decade of experience working on farms across the country from Whidbey Island, Washington, to her home in Tennessee, Caroline brings unbridled passion to the movement for a food system that is local, just, and nourishing. 

Dr. Eleanor Lopez

Eleanor Lopez was born and raised in Nashville, TN, and went on to study Spanish and Environmental Studies at the University of San Diego. She then returned to Nashville and completed a Master’s degree at Lipscomb University in Sustainable Food Systems. Next, she attended the University of Florida where she earned a Master’s degree in Entomology and Nematology, and a Doctorate in Plant Medicine. She enjoys using her technical writing skills in seeking charitable grants for NAIA, and in raising awareness at local and institutional levels about the many wonderful services and events that NAIA provides for Native Americans in Tennessee.

Kendra Abkowitz (panel moderator)

Senior Director, Sustainability and Resilience for the Nashville Mayor’s Office

Bio coming soon!

This event is in collaboration with:

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First Taste: An Introduction to The Nashville Food Project
Aug
27
12:00 PM12:00

First Taste: An Introduction to The Nashville Food Project

Join The Nashville Food Project to learn more about the work we do in our community. Whether you're new to our organization, a more seasoned volunteer, or a program participant, there's something for you to learn about the big picture of our vision and how we work towards it each day. We’ll offer a short presentation and plenty of time for Q&A.

Our Headquarters hosts a ramp on the west side of the building as well as accessible, All-Gender restrooms available for visitor use. Currently, First Taste sessions are facilitated in English. If you require accommodations to participate, please let us know in the comment section below as part of your RSVP so arrangements can be made!

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Simmer: Vegan Edition
Aug
23
6:00 PM18:00

Simmer: Vegan Edition

The next installment of our Simmer dinner is here! This chef pop-up series brings chefs, writers and educators together for interactive experiences that take us a bit deeper — to tell the stories behind the food and the people who grow, cook and share it.

This summer, the spotlight is on one of our favorite things: plants! There are lots of reasons people go vegan — for the diet’s health benefits, to care for the environment, or in support of animal welfare, to name a few — but whether you typically eat this way or not, we know you’ll enjoy this meal. Join us and a few of our favorite vegan chefs around the city as they transform your favorite plants into innovative, delicious meals that hit all the food groups. Tickets include dinner and drink pairings, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, and are available for $85 each. This is a 21 and up event.

Funds raised from this dinner help support The Nashville Food Project’s mission of bringing people together to grow, cook and share nourishing food, with the goals of cultivating community and alleviating hunger in our city. A portion of all ticket sales are tax deductible.

ABOUT SEASON

Season Nashville is a plant based prepared meal + catering service from Ryan Toll, chef + owner from The Wild Cow. Season offers meals that are ready to eat or easy to prepare, nutritious, plant based, seasonal + locally focused, with a range of breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner + dessert options and eco friendly packaging. New menus are released every week, plus goods offered at the East Nashville Farmer's Market.

ABOUT RADICAL RABBIT

Radical Rabbit was founded in 2018 by owner Mariah Ragland, a single mom who loves to cook in Nashville, TN, two years after graduating from Fisk University. Mariah started the business humbly by selling plates out of her apartment building in Nashville. Six years later Mariah has seen success on a wider scale and is a client at Citizen Kitchens. The business, Radical Rabbit sells food all around town, has received accolades nationally for working and empowering others in the community, serving delicious progressive meals, and the success of revolutionizing vegan soul food in Nashville. 

presented by

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Volunteer Driver Info Session
Aug
14
4:15 PM16:15

Volunteer Driver Info Session

Interested in becoming a volunteer driver? Join us for a detailed information session where we will share about the driving opportunities available and why volunteer drivers are so important to our mission of building a just food system in Nashville!

RSVP:

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The Future of Food Conversation Series: Innovations in Food Business and the Food Economy
Jul
25
6:00 PM18:00

The Future of Food Conversation Series: Innovations in Food Business and the Food Economy

Join us for The Future of Food Conversation Series!

The Future of Food: Innovations in Food Business and the Food Economy

Part of building a thriving local food system is about equipping food businesses and aspiring food entrepreneurs with the resources and relationships they need to succeed. In this conversation, we’ll hear from local food and farming entrepreneurs–and the institutions that support them–about how they’re using values of sustainability, equity, and justice to build food businesses that help bring forth a healthy, sustainable, and affordable food future for our city.

The moderated panel discussion will be followed by open Q&A and an opportunity for community conversation and networking.

This event is free and open to the public.

EJ Reed

EJ Reed is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Slim + Husky’s. EJ and longtime friends turned business partners – Clint Gray and Derrick Moore – have worked in unison building several successful businesses together over the course of 14 years. The serial entrepreneurs behind the pizzeria also created other ventures including GT Services, a logistics and federal contracting company.

Prior to starting Slim & Husky’s, EJ jumped into entrepreneurship with his fellow partners shortly after graduating college. With just $3000 in startup funds, his first entrepreneurial venture, The Green Truck Moving Company, was established in April 2010. Green Truck provided complete moving solutions while being dedicated to serving the community by using eco-friendly products, offering recycling services and planting trees in underserved communities with each move.

Following a successful 7-year run, the trio sold The Green Truck Moving Co and opened the business they always dreamed of—a hip-hop inspired spot featuring Artisan pizzas in historic North Nashville.

The Slim + Husky’s brand has grown to include 11 Southeast locations with restaurants in Nashville, TN, Atlanta, GA, Memphis, TN, and Murfreesboro, TN as well as locations on the campuses of Belmont University, Morehouse College, Middle Tennessee State University, and the Nashville International Airport.

EJ often uses the mantra, Progress (or in some cases Pizza) Rules Everything Around Me (PREAM), to fuel his passion for using food as a vehicle for social change. This mantra is an ode to the company’s purpose-filled mission, which centers around empowering underserved youth and communities by way of financial literacy, highlighting the arts, and educational and entrepreneurial programs.

EJ is a graduate of Tennessee State University where he received a bachelor’s in economics and finance, and Belmont University where he earned his MBA. He is a member of the 2023-2024 class of Leadership Nashville. He currently sits on several boards including Nashville Business Incubation Center and the Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce. His goal is to grow Slim + Husky’s into a global brand while holding true to its core values and principles of giving back to underserved communities.

Laura Wilson

Laura Wilson was an Executive Chef of 25 years in Nashville, New Orleans, and Chattanooga before working at the Nashville Farmers Market and developing the Grow Local Kitchen. She founded Citizen Incubator Kitchens in 2015.

Tonya Lewis (panel moderator)

Full bio coming soon!

Photo from urbaanite.com

Danny Goldberg

Danny Goldberg is co-founder the Grow2Learn Cooperative, now serving as the co-op’s Board Secretary, Research Director, and design consultant for the GOOD—Grow Our Own Democracy-- Food Ambassadors program at schools, youth programs, recovery centers and community sites throughout Nashville.  The research component of the GOOD Food program resulted in the recent publication of a chapter on Food Sovereignty and the Social Determinant of Health in a medical textbook for a series on Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. His research now focuses on cooperative impact investment models that apply cross-sector strategies to improve health in neighborhoods and communities with poor health outcomes.

Finis Stribling, III

Director of New Farmer Academy and Small Farms at Tennessee State University.

Full bio coming soon!

This event is in collaboration with:

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Volunteer Driver Info Session
Jul
10
4:15 PM16:15

Volunteer Driver Info Session

Interested in becoming a volunteer driver? Join us for a detailed Zoom session where we will share about the driving opportunities available and why volunteer drivers are so important to our mission of building a just food system in Nashville!

RSVP:

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The Future of Food Conversation Series: Reimagining Urban and Peri-urban Land Use for a Just and Regenerative Food Future
Jun
27
6:00 PM18:00

The Future of Food Conversation Series: Reimagining Urban and Peri-urban Land Use for a Just and Regenerative Food Future

Join us for The Future of Food Conversation Series!

The Future of Food: Reimagining Urban and Peri-urban Land Use for a Just and Regenerative Food Future

Nashville is one of our country’s fastest growing cities and yet significant tracts of agricultural land exist both within, and just beyond, our city’s limits. In this conversation, we are hearing from community members who are reimagining and rethinking our relationships with land and how we may connect growers–from hobby gardeners to farmers–with the land and resources they need to grow food for themselves and their communities.

The moderated panel discussion will be followed by open Q&A and an opportunity for community conversation and networking.

This event is free and open to the public.

About our panelists:

Bridget Bryant

I grew up in Mississippi with my parents and brother. I had the privilege of knowing one set of my great grandparents and both set of my grandparents. My father was a preacher and one of his sermons that I was reminded of was The Rabbit and The Turtle which I think of when things don’t go as planned because they always work out for my greater good. My mother was multitalented. She knew how to sew, crochet, and make ceramics. I remember watching and then eventually helping my great grandmother in her garden and to this day there are fig trees that grow there. My grandfather grew black eyed peas and other veggies in a garden in the neighborhood of Savannah Grove. I wanted to help him so bad but I was too small to do so but that put in motion me wanting to farm along with gardens of my other grandparents and my grandmothers flower garden that I helped her with. I lost my Mom at 15 and that was devastating for a teenage girl, even though I didn’t realize it until later. I lost my father at 20. At 22 I moved to Tennessee with my brother and have been here since.  In 2014 I had my beautiful daughter Isis who was stillborn, later that same year a miscarriage (Phoenix) and in 2016 I was gifted Zyon. 

Later I grew a porch full of plants and they all died from the cold. A year or so later I started a home garden and a garden at the Nashville Food Project and Zysis Garden was created. Each year I wanted more land to see if my childhood dream of being a farmer was something that I still wanted and I whole heartedly do. Farming has been my pharmacy and my healer. I was able to relive so much grief working with the land, it has truly been my salvation.

Tyler Skelton

Co-owner of Bells Bend Farms, Tyler Skelton has been farming for 12 years growing vegetables, cut flowers, and managing a small herd of cattle. In addition to farming her work has centered around agricultural land conservation through working with The Bells Bend Conservation Corridor, a small non-profit whose mission is to preserve the rural character of the Bells Bend Community. 

Nia Smith

Nia is the Community Design Coordinator at the Civic Design Center. She is a designer, crafter, gardener, permanent pedestrian, and community member. She got her start with community organizing as a child, when her dad ran for school board and showed her the importance in participating in your community to affect change. Over the years, Nia has lived and organized all over the country, blending her passion for quality design and advocacy together, to make every place she lives just a little bit better than when she arrived. Her advocacy covers innumerable topics, including, housing, transit, expungement, and abolition. Nia’s design focus is on the built environment, but her background is in handmade fashion. Her eye for detail and dedication to the people around her help her find the sweet spot for neighborhood needs, community dreams, and what is truly possible.

At the Design Center, Nia engages with people from all over Nashville about what they would want in their neighborhood to make their lives easier and more enjoyable. She works to make sure people are educated in design language and are given the power to manage and make decisions for themselves. No one knows what a space needs more than the people who live there. Her work attempts to deepen our relationship to the areas around us and believe that we can make the changes we want to see.

When she’s not at work, she’s biking across the city, knitting too hard, or feeding her friends at her cottage.

Kristina Villa

Kristina Villa is the Co-Executive Director of The Farmers Land Trust. She is a farmer, communicator, and community coordinator who believes that our connection to the soil is directly related to the health of our bodies, economy, and society.

With over a decade of farming, communication, and fundraising experience, Kristina enjoys using her skill sets to share photos, stories, and information in engaging ways which help to inspire change in human habits and mindsets, causing the food system, climate, and overall well-being of the world to improve.

Kristina has spent the last several years of her professional career saving farmland from development and securing it in nonprofit land holding structures that give farmers, stewards and ranchers long-term and affordable access and tenure to it. Most of her work in the land access space has focused on equitable land security for BIPOC growers, addressing the inequities and disparities in how land is owned and accessed in this country. 

Natalie Ashker Seevers (panel moderator)

Natalie Ashker Seevers is the Executive Director of Tennessee Local Food, a nonprofit organization that provides education, resources and connections to farmers and local food system advocates. Natalie has seven years of experience working for small farms in Middle Tennessee. She managed The Barefoot Farmer's Community Supported Agriculture program for five seasons and worked as Marketing Manager for Caney Fork Farms for two seasons. Natalie has a background in media production and is the host/co-producer of Commons Groundswell, an Agrarian Trust podcast that examines human relationship with land.

Join us June 27!

This event is in collaboration with:

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First Taste: An Introduction to The Nashville Food Project
Jun
13
12:00 PM12:00

First Taste: An Introduction to The Nashville Food Project

Join The Nashville Food Project to learn more about the work we do in our community. Whether you're new to our organization, a more seasoned volunteer, or a program participant, there's something for you to learn about the big picture of our vision and how we work towards it each day. We’ll offer a short presentation and plenty of time for Q&A.

Our Headquarters hosts a ramp on the west side of the building as well as accessible, All-Gender restrooms available for visitor use. Currently, First Taste sessions are facilitated in English. If you require accommodations to participate, please let us know in the comment section below as part of your RSVP so arrangements can be made!

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Jun
8
11:30 AM11:30

McGruder Community Garden Grill & Chill

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May
31
2:00 PM14:00

12 Moons Sound Blessing: A Meditation on "What We Wish Were True"

Join Scott Owings and Ann Sensing of 12 Moons, a sound-based nonprofit supporting holistic health, for a full body listening experience designed to regulate the nervous system and bring you peace and calm. This session, we’ll also be honoring Tallu Schuyler Quinn, founder of The Nashville Food Project and close friend of Scott’s, by meditating on a passage from her book, “What We Wish Were True: Reflections on Nurturing Life and Facing Death.”

Wear something cozy and come prepared to find stillness for an hour as we connect to our bodies and to one another.

RSVP required as space is limited.

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The Future of Food Conversation Series: Moving from Food Apartheid to a Future of Food Justice
May
30
6:00 PM18:00

The Future of Food Conversation Series: Moving from Food Apartheid to a Future of Food Justice

Join us for The Future of Food Conversation Series!

The Future of Food: Moving from Food Apartheid to a Future of Food Justice

“To free ourselves, we must feed ourselves,” says Leah Penniman, a widely recognized leader in the food and racial justice movement. Her words are inspired by the reality that racial injustice and inequity is embedded in the very foundation of our current food system.

If we’re going to build a just and regenerative food future for Nashville, we cannot do so without imagining how the future centers the needs and desires of people and communities of color. In this conversation, we’ll hear from community members about models of work and action they see unfolding in our community that are beginning to transform our food system into one that creates and nurtures racial justice.

The moderated panel discussion will be followed by open Q&A and an opportunity for community conversation and networking.

This event is free and open to the public.

About our panelists:

Rev. Jen Bailey

Rev. Jen Bailey is a community cartographer, public theologian, and strategist committed to nurturing new pathways for spiritual expression and cultivating communities of belonging grounded in justice, equity, and compassion for all. She is an ordained minister, public theologian, and national leader in the multi-faith movement for justice.

Rev. Jen is the Founder of Faith Matters Network and Co-Founder of the People’s Supper, in addition to being an Ashoka Fellow, Aspen Ideas Scholar and Truman Scholar, among many other honors. Her work has been featured on OnBeing with Krista Tippett, CBS This Morning, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and beyond. She was ordained an itinerant elder in the Africa Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in 2013 and serves on the staff of Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church in Nashville.

You can learn more about Rev. Jen here.

Photo and bio excerpt courtesy of reverendjen.com

Rasheedat Fetuga

Rasheedat, a dedicated mother, former Metro Nashville Public School teacher, and beloved community leader, is a visionary known for her communal leadership style that unites youth in vulnerable communities to promote peace.

As the Founder and CEO of Gideon’s Army, a Nashville-based grassroots organization led by youth and families impacted by the school-to-prison pipeline and street violence, Rasheedat's work is driven by her heartache and unwavering commitment to justice. No matter the obstacle she continues boldly in her mission to bring about a just peace alongside Nashville's youth. Under her leadership, Gideon’s Army has achieved numerous milestones, including the widespread adoption of Restorative Practices in schools, transformative changes in policing, and innovative violence interruption programs. 

Rasheedat's journey is deeply rooted in her royal heritage as an Ijebu princess, reflecting her family's legacy of love and care for their communities. Her dedication to liberation and peace shines through in her speaking, training, and coaching efforts, making her a formidable force for positive change.

Jerome Moore (panel moderator)

Jerome is a Nashville native and explorer of social change. He is a bestselling author, captivating speaker, and the dynamic force behind the thought-provoking podcast series Deep Dish Conversations, which focused on exploring the perspectives of social change through solution-based conversations.

Jerome is also the visionary producer and host of the popular TV Show, A Slice of the Community, airing exclusively on Nashville Public Television PBS Station. He also hosts the monthly radio segment, Diversely Segregated, on Nashville's local news and NPR station WPLN. Recently, Jerome has embarked on a new venture as the co-host and producer of The Nashville Scene Podcast.

You can learn more about Jerome here.

Photo and bio excerpt courtesy of jeromelmoore.com

Patricia Tarquino

Patricia Tarquino is the Director of Community Agriculture at the Nashville Food Project and an immigrant from Cali, Colombia, South America. She has experience as a Community Organizer in the coalfields of Central Appalachia defending water, land, and community rights. Patricia now serves as a Board Member of Cosecha Community Development and member President of Grow 2 Learn Cooperative. Patricia is also a 2023 Community Food Systems Fellow through the Vital Village Network and Boston Medical Center, and is a Master Gardener. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Sociology from Berea College.

Join us May 30!

This event is in collaboration with:

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The Future of Food Conversation Series Kickoff: Futurist Mindsets and the Pursuit of a Just & Regenerative Food Future
May
2
6:00 PM18:00

The Future of Food Conversation Series Kickoff: Futurist Mindsets and the Pursuit of a Just & Regenerative Food Future

Join us for the kickoff our The Future of Food Conversation Series!

The Future of Food: Futurist Mindsets and the Pursuit of a Just & Regenerative Food Future

Inevitably, the future is an uncertain place. We can’t predict exactly what the future will look like, nor can we prepare ourselves perfectly for it. This is true of everything and especially for our future experiences with food. As Forum for the Future notes, “we can shape the future, and the best way to start is by imagining the future we want to see.”

In this kick-off event of the Future of Food Conversation Series, we will hear from people working within and beyond Nashville’s food system about how they adopt and employ a futurist mindset in their pursuits of social, economic and/or environmental change and why this is important for the creation of a just and regenerative food future for our city. 

The moderated panel discussion will be followed by open Q&A and an opportunity for community conversation and networking.

This event is free and open to the public.


About our panelists:

Kia Jarmon

Kia Jarmon works at the intersections of community, culture, crisis, and communication, guiding leaders, organizations, and systems on a pathway of improvement. Over the past 16 years, central to Jarmon’s work is studying and sharing how people are impacted by leadership decisions. In her everyday role Jarmon wears many hats: she leads boutique communications and community engagement consultancy, MEPR Agency; she is also founder and visionary for the Nonprofit Equity Collaborative; and she serves as philanthropy advisor of Give Black, Give Back the first effort from the Black Philanthropy Initiative in Middle Tennessee.

You can learn more about her here.

Photo and bio excerpt courtesy of kiajarmon.com

Amanda Little

Amanda Little is a professor of journalism and science writing at Vanderbilt University and a columnist for Bloomberg, where she writes about the environment, agriculture and innovation. Amanda has a particular fondness for far-flung and hard-to-stomach reporting that takes her to ultradeep oil rigs, down manholes, into sewage plants, and inside monsoon clouds.

She is the author of The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World, which explores how to feed humanity sustainably and equitably in the climate change era.

You can learn more about her here.

Photo and bio excerpt courtesy of amandalittle.com

Samantha Veide

Samantha is the Managing Director for Americas and Transformation at Forum For The Future, the organization providing convening support for the FeedBack Nashville initiative.

The current questions that guide her work are: How might we build organizations that embody and mirror the just and regenerative future we want to see? What does it mean to adopt decision-making, governance, and ways of working that model just and regenerative principles? And, how do you build future-fit organizational strategies that have structure and “teeth” and yet are adaptable enough to work in these times of increasing discontinuity? 

You can learn more about her here.

Photo and bio excerpt courtesy of forumforthefuture.org

Maris Masellis (panel moderator)

Maris Masellis, originally a North East native, has been calling Nashville home for the last 11 years. Originally moving to Tennessee to pursue her love for music, she has worked in various service industries that have all concluded that she LOVES people and the environment. She now works full-time for the Tennessee Environmental Council, teaches kickboxing at HOTBOX Fitness, hosts a sustainability podcast called the Critical Root Zone, and DJs ecstatic dances in her "down-time". Maris believes that loving yourself to love others is critical to making a deeper impact on this planet. She is so excited to be hosting the premier event for this series! See you all on May 2nd! 

Join us May 2!

This event is in collaboration with:

 
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Project Grow
Apr
20
10:00 AM10:00

Project Grow

Join us for The Nashville Food Project’s annual plant sale on Saturday, April 20!

At The Nashville Food Project, we believe that creating deeper connections to the food we eat helps ensure a healthier and more food-secure city for all. That’s why it’s important for Nashvillians to have opportunities to grow locally adapted, seasonally appropriate vegetables in their gardens at home!

Project Grow is about bringing that opportunity to life. We grow plants from seed in our own blended potting mix with no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. By the time you get them, they’re ready to thrive in your garden!

Check out the plant varieties we’ll have available here.

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McGruder Community Garden Opening Day
Mar
30
10:30 AM10:30

McGruder Community Garden Opening Day

Join The Nashville Food Project as we celebrate the beginning of the growing season at McGruder Community Garden! Nestled in historic North Nashville, McGruder Community Garden is a shared space where community members work together to grow vegetables for themselves, their friends, and their families.

We’re gathering to get to know one another, learn about the history of the garden from its founders, and work on some tasks to prepare for the season including seeding, sorting, painting and more! It’s a potluck, so bring a dish and a story to share. Plus, just by showing up, you’ll be entered to win a Patagonia gift basket (valued at over $150!), and you’ll receive an additional entry if you bring a friend.

All are welcome, but we hope you’ll sign up to garden with us all year long! Become part of our tight-knit community at the link below.

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Dec
1
6:30 PM18:30

Simmer: Chef Star Maye with Café Momentum

Join us for our final Simmer installment of 2023! This chef pop-up series brings chefs, writers and educators together for interactive experiences that take us a bit deeper — to tell the stories behind the food and the people who grow, cook and share it.

This winter, we’re teaming up Chef Star Maye, who was recently named Chef de Cuisine at Café Momentum Nashville. A team of her students from Café Momentum’s culinary training program will put their skills to the test through the creation of an intimate, multi-course dinner. Chef Star, formerly of Anzie Blue and recent winner of the Food Network’s hit TV show “Chopped,” will lead the team in developing and preparing an innovative meal.

The evening will celebrate the collective work that seeks to transform the food system and the lives of those who participate in it. This Simmer offers an opportunity for two poverty-disrupting organizations to come together for an unforgettable night. Funds raised from this dinner support both The Nashville Food Project and Café Momentum.

 

Learn more about…

 

Café Momentum Nashville’s mission is to transform young lives by equipping justice-involved youth with life skills, education and employment opportunities to help them achieve their full potential. We are working to build clear pathways out of the justice system so that youth have access to resources, opportunity, and trauma-informed support such that they and their future generations can thrive, not just survive.

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Perfecting the Art of Pie with CaityPies
Nov
11
10:00 AM10:00

Perfecting the Art of Pie with CaityPies

Join Caity Guszkowski, the creative force behind CaityPies, as she takes you through each step of her baking process in a memorable hands-on lesson. You’ll be baking like a pro just in time to impress your friends and family this holiday season!

Learn:

  • How to make Caity’s tried-and-true, from-scratch pie dough

  • Baking techniques including rolling pins, crimping, egg washes, and more

  • All the components of a good filling

At the end of the class, you’ll have a ready-to-bake apple pie to take home and share with loved ones.

All proceeds support The Nashville Food Project’s work to cultivate community and alleviate hunger. Spots are very limited, so act fast!

**Students will need to bring their own rolling pins.

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Annual Volunteer Celebration Lunch
Oct
25
11:30 AM11:30

Annual Volunteer Celebration Lunch

UPDATE: THIS FORM IS NOW CLOSED AS WE HAVE MAXED OUT OUR CAPACITY!


Join us as we gather to share a meal and celebrate the many hands and hearts that sustain this collective work of community food security!

A delicious lunch will be provided by TNFP’s kitchens with a short program to follow!

This event will take place at our HQ in the Nations. There is street parking along the front and side of the building with limited parking in the small parking lot behind our space. Our Headquarters hosts a ramp on the west side of the building as well as accessible, All-Gender restrooms available for visitor use. A lactation room is available upon request. The program will be in English. If you require accommodations to participate, please let us know in the comment section below as part of your RSVP so arrangements can be made!

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Simmer: Tastes of Bhutan and Burma
Oct
6
6:30 PM18:30

Simmer: Tastes of Bhutan and Burma

The next installment of our Simmer dinner is here! This chef pop-up series brings chefs, writers and educators together for interactive experiences that take us a bit deeper — to tell the stories behind the food and the people who grow, cook and share it.

This fall, the spotlight is on our Growing Together farm. Sitting on just an acre of land stewarded by farmers from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, the farm provides a space for the farmers and their families to maintain cultural community and grow produce to share across Nashville. October’s Simmer will feature an adventurous multi-course meal from Ryan Bernhardt, chef-owner of local Asian-adjacent eatery TKO and a regular Growing Together customer. Tickets are limited and available for $150 each. This is a 21 and up event.

Funds raised from this dinner help support The Nashville Food Project’s mission of bringing people together to grow, cook and share nourishing food, with the goals of cultivating community and alleviating hunger in our city. A portion of all ticket sales are tax deductible.

ABOUT RYAN BERNHARDT

After a 10 year stint at Margot working his way up from line cook to Sous Chef, Ryan set out to open a restaurant of his own. Spending a lifetime eating at Shing-Li’s, a local Chinese food restaurant in Evansville, IN, and seeing the need for accessible, quality Chinese food in his community, he opened TKO in Fall 2016. A restaurant rooted in community, farm partnership, and creativity, TKO offers fine-dining quality food in a casual atmosphere for the average family. When Ryan’s not at TKO, you can find him reading, playing old-lady card games, and perfecting his at-home microwave cooking technique. He loves to explore everything Nashville, as long as it’s on the east side of the river.

presented by

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Growing Community Resilience with Ira Wallace & Pam Dawling
Oct
1
1:00 PM13:00

Growing Community Resilience with Ira Wallace & Pam Dawling

Join experienced vegetable, herb, and seed growers Ira Wallace and Pam Dawling for an afternoon of workshops and a book signing. Pam Dawling will present on Year Round Vegetable Production and Ira Wallace will present on Seedkeeping, Cooperation and Community Building: Everyday Acts of Resistance in Agriculture.

There will be opportunity for Q&A, snacks and refreshments provided by The Nashville Food Project, and a book signing to follow.

Learn more: https://www.tnlocalfood.org/calendar/growing-community-resilience

Workshops:

Seedkeeping, Cooperation and Community Building: Everyday Acts of Resistance in Agriculture by Ira Wallace

Black and brown people are integral as workers in food and agriculture but are largely missing from the stories of cooperative organizing in agriculture, heirloom seeds and seed savers. Be inspired by historic accounts of black cooperative action and learn how tradition, taste, place and storytelling can work to preserve biodiversity and reclaim the place of black and brown people in issues of food sovereignty, farming, heirloom varieties and regional cuisine today.

Year Round Vegetable Production by Pam Dawling

An introduction to strategies and techniques for making year round vegetable production possible. This workshop starts with caring for the soil, which is vital in intensive cropping. Crop rotations, cover crops, compost making and organic mulches are introduced. Direct sowing, transplanting, succession planting and inter-planting are explained. Season Extension in hot weather and cold weather is covered, with various options for crop protection. A cold-hardiness table of winter vegetables is provided to help growers decide which crops to grow.

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The Work of Welcoming: A Community Conversation
Sep
15
6:00 PM18:00

The Work of Welcoming: A Community Conversation

A growing number of cities are striving to become spaces of welcoming for immigrant and refugee communities, but what is the work of welcoming? What could it looks like for our city’s infrastructure to reflect and cultivate a tangible spirit of belonging for new neighbors? Join us for a facilitated panel discussion.

Featuring local leaders:

Magut Kipkosgei, Community Health Coordinator at Nashville International Center for Empowerment

Katherine Dennis, Ph. D, Community Engagement Manager at Friends of Mill Ridge Park

& Brenda Perez, Community Organizer

Somali chai and light refreshments from The Horn will be provided.

Parking at TNFP’s HQ is available along the street and in select spots in the parking area behind the building. Please enter through the front double doors. Visitors to TNFP’s headquarters have access to private, all-gender restrooms and a lactation room is available upon request. A ramp is available for use on the West side of the building for anyone using mobility aids. If you need accommodations to participate, please reach out to elizabeth@thenashvillefoodproject.org prior to the day of the event and we can assist in making arrangements! The panel will be facilitated in English.



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(Virtual) First Taste: An Introduction to TNFP
Sep
12
11:00 AM11:00

(Virtual) First Taste: An Introduction to TNFP

Looking to learn a little more about the mission, vision, and programs of The Nashville Food Project? Join us for a (Virtual) First Taste overview with TNFP’s Director of Community Engagement, Elizabeth Langgle-Martin!

This month we are making it extra easy to tune in by going virtual! At the office? Grab your team and learn more about community food security work happening in Nashville together!

Register below to receive an email reminder and Zoom prior to the event! Don’t forget to add a question(s) you have about TNFP!

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Community Farm at Mill Ridge FREE Family Festival
Sep
9
11:00 AM11:00

Community Farm at Mill Ridge FREE Family Festival

  • The Community Farm at Mill Ridge (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Join us for a free family festival at The Community Farm at Mill Ridge in Antioch THIS SATURDAY! The Community Farm is stewarded by The Nashville Food Project and is the site of around 80 families from the Antioch community accessing public land and growing food organically in both individual and communal plots. The Community Farm is part of Metro's Mill Ridge Park. The Community Farm is best found by utilizing the following address and looking for a blue welcome flag: 12944 Old Hickory Blvd, Antioch, 37013.


On September 9th (from 11 AM-2 PM), we are coming together to celebrate Welcoming Week and the rich community fostered through shared spaces. Through Welcoming Week, organizations and communities (across the world) bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity.

Time Specific Offerings:

11:00 AM: Farm Opens and Guided Hike Departure with Friends of Mill Ridge

11:15 AM: NPL's Puppet Truck Performance of Thomas and the Library Lady

12:00 PM: Wunpawng Sumpyi Musical Performance

12:30 PM: Gathering To Eat*

Other happenings:

Community Mural Installation with Sarah Byrd Humphreys

Lino-print Art Creation via Turnip Green Creative Reuse

Bounce House & Kids' Activities

Land History Engagements with Stories of the Land

Pollinator Exploration with The Honey Collective


*Bring a dish to share (if you are able) and come join us!

No RSVP is necessary, but we hope you bring a friend or two!

This event is sponsored through the generous support of Transcore.

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Charcuterie and Community Conversation
Aug
11
6:00 PM18:00

Charcuterie and Community Conversation

Join us for a facilitated conversation showcasing the varied ways folks in Middle TN are reimagining our relationship with the earth and the land we steward.

Panelists will include: Reginald Marshall of Reggie’s Veggies, Ms. Pearl of Brooklyn Heights Community Garden, Kristina Villa of The Farmers Land Trust, and R’Yana Michele of Water Bear Cooperative Land Project!

We will have some charcuterie/grazing boards to share!

Parking at TNFP’s HQ is available along the street and in select spots in the parking area behind the building. Please enter through the front double doors. Visitors to TNFP’s headquarters have access to private, all-gender restrooms and a lactation room is available upon request. A ramp is available for use on the West side of the building for anyone using mobility aids. If you need accommodations to participate, please reach out to elizabeth@thenashvillefoodproject.org prior to the day of the event and we can assist in making arrangements! The panel will be facilitated in English.

Please RSVP below to let us know you’re coming! We’ll email out a reminder the week of!

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(Virtual) August First Taste: An Introduction to TNFP
Aug
8
11:00 AM11:00

(Virtual) August First Taste: An Introduction to TNFP

Looking to learn a little more about the mission, vision, and programs of The Nashville Food Project? Join us for a (Virtual) First Taste overview with TNFP’s Director of Community Engagement, Elizabeth Langgle-Martin!

This month we are making it extra easy to tune in by going virtual! At the office? Grab your team and learn more about community food security work happening in Nashville together!

Register below to receive an email reminder and Zoom prior to the event! Don’t forget to add a question(s) you have about TNFP!

View Event →