Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Nashville Community Food Hub Network (NCFHN) connects community gardens, food securitynon-profits, farmers' markets, and public institutions to meet the food needs of low-incomeindividuals in North and South Nashville, Tennessee by strengthening the existing capacity of threeorganizations with community farms and gardens to serve as community food hubs in low-income,food insecure communities. NCFHN increases food security and food access and fosters communityself-reliance through education and community leadership networks. To achieve this, NCFHNaggregates and distributes fresh fruits and vegetables grown in North and South Nashville tolow-income and/or food insecure residents through pay-what-you-can markets, on-site producepickup days, and door-to-door delivery to residents. NCFHN also increases community self-reliancethrough gardening and nutrition education workshops. Garden workshops teach community memberssustainable agricultural practices they may use to grow and prepare their own food. Nutritionworkshops teach individuals to prepare fresh fruits and vegetables, highlighting connections betweendiet and health. NCFHN also establishes community leadership over project activities through thecreation of Community Advisory Councils and community ambassador networks who oversee thedesign, implementation, and evaluation of project activities to ensure they respond to communityneeds. The project is implemented by three 501c3 non-profits: The Nashville Food Project (TNFP),Brooklyn Heights Community Garden (BHCG), and Cosecha Community Development (CCD). Theproject is designed, implemented, and evaluated with community guidance from two multilingualCommunity Advisory Councils composed of members who live and work in the project's beneficiarycommunities.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The major goals of the Nashville Community Food Hub Network (NCFHN) project are to reduce food insecurity in neighborhoods of North and South Nashville (zip codes 37211, 37013, 37207, and 37208) through the establishment of community food hubs. These hubs, led by organizational partners including The Nashville Food Project, Cosecha Community Development, and Brooklyn Heights Community Garden, will enhance access to fresh, locally grown produce via pay-what-you-can markets and weekly produce pick-up days. Additionally, the project aims to foster community self-reliance by providing educational workshops on sustainable agriculture, food production, and nutrition, while also empowering residents through engagement in project oversight and evaluation via Community Advisory Councils.To meet the food needs of individuals living in low-income and food insecure communities in North and South Nashville, NCFHN will achieve the following objectives:Food access constraints will be alleviated for residents living in the project's priority zip codes by coordinating and facilitating 144 weekly produce distribution events across all NCFHN sites during the grant period.An estimated 15,000 pounds of produce will be grown and shared at NCFHN sites annually. Produce distribution events will reach at least 1,000 individuals and include, weekly produce deliveries; biweekly SNAP-eligible produce markets; and weekly on-site produce pick-up events.A network of at least 250 volunteers will be leveraged to support distribution events and produce aggregation and innovative grassroots marketing and outreach strategies will be utilized to raise beneficiary community awareness about activities.To increase the self-reliance of 350 community members' in providing for their own food needs in North and South Nashville, NCFHN will achieve the following objectives:Facilitate 36 monthly gardening and nutrition education workshops and 250 community work days at community food hub locations to enhance community members' knowledge of fruit and vegetable production, processing, and preparation skills and to heighten awareness of the connection between diet and health.To increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for their own food needs and developing long-term solutions by establishing community leadership over NCFHN activities, NCFHN will achieve the following objective:Facilitate 12 multilingual quarterly Community Advisory Council meetings-including 20 individuals- and train a network of at least 10 Community Ambassadors to help implement and monitor NCFHN activities for their responsiveness to community needs and opportunities.
Project Methods
The Nashville Community Food Hub Network's (NCFHN) organizational partners-The Nashville Food Project (TNFP), Cosecha Community Development (CCD), and Brooklyn Heights Community Garden (BHCG)-will act as community food hubs in the project's priority geographic areas and enact a comprehensive approach to increase food and nutrition security in the project's beneficiary communities living in North and South Nashville.. Project activities will:Decrease food insecurity in North and South Nashville by increasing community members' access to fresh, locally grown produce within their own communities through a coordinated produce access network including biweekly pay-what-you-can, SNAP-eligible farmers' markets and weekly produce pick-up days in low-income neighborhoodsIncrease community self-reliance in providing for their own food needs by connecting low-income and food insecure individuals with access to educational workshops and community work days focused on sustainable agriculture, food production and preparation, and nutritionIncrease community self-reliance in providing for their own food needs by engaging a network of community ambassadors and Community Advisory Councils (CACs) to oversee project implementation and evaluation to ensure project activities respond to community-defined needs and opportunities.TNFP and its partner organizations will collaborate with a third-party impact evaluation firm, Elevate Consulting, to implement an innovative evaluation strategy for the NCFHN. This strategy prioritizes both process and outcome evaluations, utilizing Whole Measures for Community Food Systems - an innovative evaluation approach for evaluating community food systems (Abi-Nader, et.al, 2009) - to assess progress towards project objectives. Elevate Consulting will lead data collection and analysis efforts, ensuring unbiased evaluation through pre- and post-participation surveys, interviews, and other methods.This project will drive lasting change in knowledge, actions, and conditions of North and South Nashville residents through the following efforts:Creating multilingual outreach materials (flyers, banners, posters, and social media content) to raise community awareness about upcoming educational workshops.Facilitating monthly nutrition workshops to include cooking and food preservation classes using fresh produce.Facilitating monthly garden workshops at each site, to include topics on sustainable agricultural methods.Training a network of community ambassadors at each site to lead community outreach, educational activities and garden workdays and produce distribution events.Soliciting community input on nutrition and garden education offerings by collaborating with TNFP Community Advisory Councils (CACs) and NCFHN community ambassadorsHosting weekly community garden workdays at each site, engaging a network of volunteers, community members, and community ambassadors in learning to grow fruits and vegetables for themselves.Community ambassadors leading community outreach and produce distribution activities with project staff to ensure project activities meet community needsHosting quarterly retreat with CACs, community ambassadors, and project staff to evaluate project activities against milestones and adapt activities for upcoming year based upon feedback and progressCreating and implementing crop management plans, across all program sites.Building capacity through three part-time garden managers between Cosecha and Brooklyn Heights Community Garden, and by training community ambassadors.To ensure the project is meeting project milestones and intended outcomes, TNFP will work with a third-party evaluator to establish an evaluation schedule and protocol, which will entail monthly, quarterly, and annual evaluations, enabling timely adjustments to activities as needed to ensure effectiveness. Reports summarizing progress will be produced regularly, with annual reports publicly available from the first year of the grant, leading to a comprehensive final project evaluation by March 2027.TNFP will disseminate insights and lessons learned through various platforms, including the Tennessee Local Food Summit (TLFS) and its own communication channels. TLFS presentations will highlight NCFHN progress and key learnings, showcasing how systems change approaches supported by the Community Food Project's CFPCGP can enhance food and nutrition security for low-income residents. Additionally, TNFP will share project insights through social media, newsletters, blog posts, magazine stories, public radio coverage, and local news outlets, collaborating with partner organizations like Brooklyn Heights Community Garden and Cosecha Community Development to amplify the project's impact.