Tennessee Nonprofit Supports Growth of Thriving Local Food System

In partnership with: Tennessee Department of Agriculture

For a community to really flourish, it needs access to quality, locally grown foods. “A sustainable, regional food system utilizing locally grown and produced food, made accessible for all, helps develop healthy individuals who are then able to contribute more to the workforce and to their communities,” says Samantha Goyret, executive director of the Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network (NWTNLFN). A nonprofit organization based in Martin, NWTNLFN serves as a catalyst for a thriving and equitable local food system accessible to everyone living in the nine counties the program serves.

NWTNLFN traces its origins to the development of a simple list of area growers and producers. “We started a local food guide in 2015 as a one-page, trifold brochure with only 33 listings,” Goyret recalls. “Local food systems in East and Middle Tennessee were advancing, but there hadn’t been an organized way to support the local food system here. By talking with growers, we realized there was a lot of need in our region to get up to speed with the rest of Tennessee.”

The local food guide has grown to a 26-page magazine that now includes farmers markets, a listing of individual farmers and producers, and inspiring stories from Benton, Carroll, Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Henry, Lake, Obion and Weakley counties. The guide is produced in cooperation with the Weakley County Press. “It’s an excellent way to educate the public on the benefits of local food, and it’s the only guide that features farmers and groups of people who are actively trying to make our region a better place for local food,” Goyret says. “We distribute the guide at food pantries, through student backpack programs and throughout the community.”

Teaching the Children

NWTNLFN has also worked to implement Farm to School, the national program seeking to increase the purchase of local foods for use in schools, encourage hands-on learning through school gardens and increase educational activities related to agriculture and nutrition. “We’re currently working with six school districts in two counties to implement Farm to School planning,” Goyret says.

For the youngest students, NWTNLFN initiated a farm-to-early-child-care program called Nourishing Connection. Twelve child care centers in Weakley County have a hanging garden provided by NWTNLFN, with program funding from Ag in the Classroom. Children plant, water and care for the plants as they learn about the source of their food. “We’ve grown strawberries, kale, lettuce and herbs,” Goyret shares. “It provides children with outdoor, hands-on learning in growing and experiencing their food sources.”

See more: Tennessee Community Gardens Plant Seeds of Change

Helping the Hungry

NWTNLFN also encourages people to try growing their own food. The organization partnered with Northwest Tennessee Essential Gardens (NWTNEG), an initiative that sprouted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. NWTNEG is a partnership with the University of Tennessee at Martin, the Weakley Farmers Co-op and the Rural King farm supply company. Working together, NWTNLFN and NWTNEG distributed more than 3,000 seed packets and 100 plants to area families in spring 2020. “It was amazing to see the number of people who wanted to grow their own food,” Goyret says. “We try to reach our most vulnerable youth through our Farm to School programs, but we also want to reach seniors and the working poor. Because of COVID-19, there are more people now than ever who are really hungry. Our communities have the ability to help by planting a Row for the Hungry and donating their extra produce.”

A cadre of staffers, interns and volunteers help NWTNLFN carry out its mission, but Goyret is especially motivated by community members’ support. “It only takes a couple of people to plant the seeds of a local food movement to get it growing,” she says.

Plant a Row for the Hungry

A joint initiative of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee and Garden Writers Association Foundation, the Plant a Row for the Hungry program encourages gardeners to grow extra produce, or “plant an extra row” in their gardens. Participants then donate the extra food to soup kitchens and food pantries that use it to feed hungry members of the community. For more information, visit gardencomm.org/PAR.