Thanks to our friends at Tito’s Vodka, we now have a greenhouse on the Growing Together farm!
Love, Tito’s, the philanthropic heart of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, supported this project as part of their Block to Block initiative. The program seeks to provide fresh and healthy food to communities by working alongside local nonprofit organizations to create green spaces, including community gardens and farms, that nurture neighborhoods and make fresh food more accessible and bring the community together, one block at a time.
At the Growing Together farm, a community of Nepalese and Burmese farmers grow over 30,000 pounds of produce annually on about an acre of land. The Food Project then works with the farmers to sell and distribute that produce to Nashville residents, restaurants, and other market outlets. The majority of the produce is distributed through our Community Supported Agriculture program, which pairs customers with a farmer who grows their vegetables for an entire 20-week season. The weekly boxes include local favorites, like tomatoes and squash, alongside veggies native to the farmers’ home countries, like long beans and daikon radish.
Before the project last October, Growing Together was near its production capacity due to limitations in the site’s agricultural infrastructure. Farmers weren’t getting much exposure to starting plants from seed — the greenhouse available to them was a shared space over 10 miles away from the farm. So when Tito’s reached out about an impact project, we immediately identified the installation of an on-site greenhouse as a way they could make a tangible difference on the farm for years to come.
The Love, Tito’s Block to Block program prioritizes volunteerism, making time for Tito’s staff to spend a day at the site they are supporting. On a sunny day last October, a group of about 50 volunteers helped us clear the installation site, which was overgrown with brush and weeds, to prepare for the greenhouse’s construction in January. The group also worked to upgrade the farm's washing and packing station, move compost, remove weeds and invasive plants, clean up fence lines, and plant pollinator plants and berry bushes. They even painted colorful murals on the farm’s new water catchment stations.
These hands, alongside so many others, have made the much-anticipated greenhouse installation possible over the last several months. In January, a team from Scenic Acres built the 20’ x 48’ greenhouse.
After spending February sorting out plumbing and electrical and building tables to go inside the structure, the farmers finally got into the greenhouse in early March. As you might imagine, they were so excited! They started with spring crops like broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower, and kale.
The addition of a greenhouse to the farm is a major step for our farmers as it gives them agency over the growing process from seeding to harvest. Their plant starts look great so far — we already can’t wait to get them into the ground and learn more about the early stages of plant production together!
The greenhouse became operational just in time for our CSA, which begins May 14. It’s not too late to reserve your spot! Our model gives the Growing Together farmers the resources to grow food and generate income for their families while providing you with an incredibly diverse range of fresh, local produce. By becoming a customer, you’re truly investing in these farmers’ lives.
