Sustainability

Increasing Food Equity, Minimizing Food Waste

While 1 in 8 people across Middle and West Tennessee experience food insecurity, food accounts for about 24 percent of the waste in Tennessee landfills. We are working to change these staggering statistics, increasing food sustainability in our communities.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee exists to nourish and empower people so they can thrive, and our vision is that everyone would have equitable access to the food and resources they need. Sustainability is essential to making our vision a reality. It is a crucial part of providing not only food for today and tomorrow, but food for a lifetime. We are committed to a future in which everyone is food secure and zero food is wasted. Learn more about how we are working toward this vision by exploring our programs below.

Food Rescue

Food rescue is an important part of our work reducing waste and nourishing neighbors. We receive donations of surplus food from individuals, manufacturers, distributors, and farmers to minimize waste and pass on nutritious food to our community.

We also work with grocery stores to divert food from landfills. There are many reasons a grocery store may have to discard items that are completely safe to eat, like surplus production, seasonality, less than “perfect” produce, or discontinuation of a certain product variety. Through our grocery rescue program, we partner with 350 grocery stores in our 46-county service area to keep quality food items from being wasted. Last year, Second Harvest rescued 13.2 million pounds of food from retailers. To learn more or donate food, contact us below.

Farm to Families

The Farm to Families program engages local producers with our Partner Agencies to supply locally grown, nutrient-dense food to neighbors. Second Harvest is proud to showcase the vibrant landscape of agriculture production in Middle and West Tennessee through collaboration with farmers of many backgrounds and operation types to distribute produce, protein, dairy, eggs, honey, and more. In the first year of the program, 59 producers from 23 counties strengthened the local food system with more than 1.3 million pounds of food going to 46 partner agencies.

Project Grow

Project Grow is a pioneering multi-year agricultural initiative by Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. It’s more than just a farm. It’s a community-centric program with several goals: engaging the agricultural community, increasing volunteer participation, providing educational opportunities, and producing high-quality, nutritious food for our neighbors facing hunger. Covering 19 acres, the project consists of 12-row crop acres of corn and various garden plots of seasonal items such as tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, okra, herbs, and more. Project Grow has already seen impressive results in its second year, and we’re just getting started!

Composting to Fight Hunger

Composting is a key component in the fight against hunger. It cuts back on our emissions, reduces food waste, and keeps our soil healthy so it can grow the foods we need! At Second Harvest, we strive to ensure that no food goes to waste. Unfortunately, not every piece of produce that enters our warehouse is suitable for distribution to our neighbors in need.

That’s why we’re so excited about our new partnership with Compost Company, which has allowed us to start composting food waste from our donated produce and protein! Each month we are able to compost an average of 11,500 pounds of food at our distribution centers that would have otherwise gone to waste, providing nutrition for even more food.

If you’re interested in composting at your home or business, click below to learn more about Compost Company and how you can get started.