Food Waste Prevention

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Meat of the Matter: A Visit with Trusted Protein Partners

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Today on the blog, we visit with two of our trusted protein partners—Porter Road Butcher and Tennessee Grass Fed. The level of commitment and generosity from these folks with their sharing of high-quality goods is an extraordinary gift.

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Kale Yeah!

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A recent donation from Harpeth Moon Farms of 150 pounds of kale really had the meals team busy brainstorming all the ways to prepare and share these greens— stewarding a precious, nutritious gift to its highest best use. We share some uses for kale in this post along with a recipe.

Week Two: Earth Month Challenge!

For Week 2 of Earth Month Challenge, we’re taking a look at food waste.In the U.S. alone, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of all food produced. Wasted food is the largest contributor of material placed in landfills, which produces approximately 15% of all methane emissions. The water, energy, and labor used to produce wasted food could have been directed for other purposes. Not to mention the nourishment that is wasted that could have gone to feed families in need.

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Goodbye (and Thank You), Winter: A Reflection on Finding Beauty Even in the Toughest Seasons

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Winter holds space for all of us to deal with the hard truths of the year that has just passed. And through the sharp lens of winter’s harsh reality, it gives us something else too: the prospect of new beginnings, and with it, the arrival of spring.

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State of the Plate: A Meal Study for Better Nutrition and Less Waste

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers studied our meals for children this summer to help us learn more about how meals are consumed—and to help us maximize economically sustainable nutrition for better child health. While we always try to include as many fresh vegetables from our gardens and local farms as possible, researchers formally measured the nutritional value of our meals. Then they looked at the parts of the meals children wanted to eat, and which parts were left on the plate.

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Recommended Reads: Thanksgiving Edition

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For the Thanksgiving weekend, we pulled together a few recent, thought-provoking articles, podcasts and threads, from how to reduce waste to the story of Thanksgiving from the Indigenous perspective as well as an immigrant story of the holiday, and a Twitter thread that lifts up farm workers who help bring us the dishes that grace our tables on this day.

A Food Waste Challenge Friendsgiving

For November’s Simmer series dinner, the fabulous Chef Maneet Chauhan had the idea to host a Friendsgiving in our Community Dining Room. But rather than bring in the typical Thanksgiving turkey and sides, she wanted to see what she could whip up with just the ingredients we had on hand in our kitchen — a special Food Waste Challenge Friendsgiving to celebrate abundance.

Extending Hospitality: From Restaurant Tables To Our Neighbors

So many Nashville restaurants have offered vital support to our work over the years, extending hospitality through generous donations of food, purchasing from Growing Together farmers, and more. As Nashville continues to change and grow, we’ve sadly seen some beloved restaurants make the decision -- for various reasons -- to close…

Making Gold: Composting In Nashville

Did you know 28% of all waste in Nashville is compostable material? Here at TNFP, the idea and act of composting is a value: taking our forgotten bits, our discarded carrot ends, broken eggshells and spent coffee grounds and diverting them to be used as rich inputs for the earth which we've too often abused and abandoned. Learn how YOU can make gold out of your own leftovers, including FREE compost drop-off at select Metro convenience centers.

Wasted Food = Wasted Nutrition

We’ve all been there before - the broccoli stems left over after a dinner party, strawberries that you meant to eat but didn’t get to - all thrown out and wasted. 40-percent of all food produced is wasted while at the same time 1 in 7 children are struggling with hunger according to Feeding America. Believe it or not, there are some staggering nutritional benefits to lowering your food waste…

Best If Used: SAVE THE FOOD

Earlier this month, The Nashville Food Project was invited to participate in an exciting event with state and local partners, including the Nashville Farmers’ Market, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and Metro Nashville Public Works, among others.

Waste Not, Want Not

Putting a dent in those numbers could feel daunting, but it’s an issue that we hope to continue working on in 2016. In addition to gleaning from farms, restaurants and grocery stores each week for meals, we’ll be partnering with Zero Percent, a Chicago-based organization that has developed a mobile app and online platform to maximize our food recovery efforts…