Special Thanks to:

• sloco
• Michelle Stone Photography
• Dozen Bakery
• Buffalo Valley Farm

Interested in having a booth at Family Farm Day or being an event sponsor?! Email linnet@communityfoodadvocates.org.

Use promocode FarmFUN25 this week for 25% OFF your Family Farm Day tickets!

The Senate is working on the Farm Bill right now. Please take 5 minutes to call your Senator to support the 2013 Farm Bill maintaining SNAP benefits and programs supporting healthy farms and families!

Here’s the contact info for TN Senators:

Sen. Lamar Alexander
(202) 224-4944
Sen. Bob Corker
(202) 224-3344

Calling is easy – just dial the numbers above and leave a message like this one below with the person who answers the phone:

“Hello, my name is ___ and I’m a constituent and a voter (and tell ‘em if you’re a market organizer, advocate, or farmer!). I would like to leave a message for Senator ___’s staffer. Can you take a message for me, please? The message is: I urge the Senator to vote NO on Farm Bill amendments that weaken SNAP benefits and YES to amendments that support healthy families and farms, such as support Senator Brown’s local food and market development amendment. Thank you.”

Call today!

Join us May 21st at Hattie B’s Hot Chicken for at 10% day that supports Community Food Advocates!

Growing community through service and learning.

Connect your passion and skills with community and school gardens in need of a little extra elbow grease. Volunteer Gardener Brigade (VGB) is a project of Community Food Advocates, meant to bring communities together to support healthy foods and community garden sustainability. Come learn new skills, share your enthusiasm and help make community and school gardens grow.

Help maintain gardens, strengthen community, and increase food access throughout Nashville. No experience necessary, just a willingness to have fun and get dirty! Monthly events at school and community gardens will connect volunteers with meaningful service opportunities that keep Nashville gardens growing. Come help out for a day, or become a long term volunteer with a garden near you.

Sign up to volunteer HERE!

Many community and school gardens in Nashville don’t have the resources or ability to recruit these much needed volunteers on their own, so Volunteer Gardener Brigade is here to answer the need. Community and School Gardens will have the opportunity to request VGB support through Community Food Advocates. These can include regular work sessions, or one time projects. Brigade volunteers will have access to a list of available events, and will sign up with Community Food Advocates.

Sign up to get Volunteer Garden Brigade Help HERE!

Benefits for Volunteer Gardener Brigade members:

-          Educational opportunities with local experts, learning experiences and more!

-          Listserve and Facebook group to help connect with other Volunteer Gardener Brigade members

-          Connect with your neighbors and other community members

-          Share your knowledge about gardening and build gardening skills

-          Annual Volunteer Gardener Brigade Potluck Picnic

-          VGB T-shirt or Hat and a copy of Passport to Gardening, a guide to community and school garden volunteering

Joining is free!

Donations to cover the annual $75 cost per volunteer are welcome. To become a corporate sponsor, or help cover the cost of other volunteers, please contact Linnet Overton, 615-385-2286 ext 225, linnet@communityfoodadvocates.org

For more information about the program, how to sign up to be a member of Volunteer Gardener Brigade or how to request volunteers, contact Megan Morton, 615-385-2286 ext 224 or megan@communityfoodadvocates.org

Community Food Advocates works for whole food system change that will make long-term impacts on the roots of hunger. To do this our programs focus on both temporary relief, through programs like SNAP Outreach, and long-term change through our advocacy work, and programs such as Growing Healthy Kids and SNAP Fresh.

CFA sees benefits like SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamps) as one piece of the puzzle. Because the Federal Farm Bill, which controls funding for SNAP and local sustainable agriculture, is at risk in 2013, we ask concerned citizens today to contact their political leaders to make their voices heard.

For more information check out the following links:

• National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
• Food Research and Action Center

We are proud to have contributed to the NashvilleNext Poverty White Paper!

Click Here to Read the Full Content!

Thanks for coming out to support us!

Community Food Advocates has been selected by Whole Foods Market Greenhills as the beneficiary of its 5% Day.

Four times a year, Whole Foods of Greenhills donates 5% of the day’s net sales to a selected local charity, and on Tuesday, April 9th, Community Food Advocates will be the featured non-profit organization.

Community Food Advocates will staff an information table inside the store from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. and will display information about programs and upcoming events.

Community Food Advocates supporters and  local food celebrities like Farmer Jason, Chef Laura Wilson, Amy Delvin from Delvin farms, Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Co., and many more will be one hand to greet shoppers and talk about the food system.

Why not spend your summer making a difference? Community Food Advocates is currently seeking to fill two (2) AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate positions. Summer Associates will work in the Nashville community to fight hunger and ensure that all Nashvillians have access to healthy, fresh, nutritious foods. Summer Associates will conduct outreach at Summer Lunch sites and other community organizations to educate low-income families about nutritional supports and good nutrition on a budget. Summer Associates will also assist in creating materials, activities, and promotions to support these educational efforts.

This opportunity is for a 10-week term and is 40 hours per week. The positions will start on May 29th, 2013 and end August 5th, 2013.

AmeriCorps is a national volunteer program that supports thousands of service members across the country every year giving back to their communities.

Member Duties :

Help create educational materials and activities about SNAP redemption at farmers markets, gardening on a budget, good nutrition on a budget

Conduct outreach in the community and work with community partners to educate about SNAP program, SNAP redemption at farmers markets, gardening on a budget, and good nutrition on a budget

Terms :
10-week commitment, Permits attendance at school during off hours, Cannot hold outside employment

Qualifications:

Must be 18

A minimum of high school diploma

Applicants must hold U.S. citizenship or other lawful authorization to work in the U.S.

Applicants must have no criminal record or prove that existing records will not interfere with job duties.

Must have reliable transportation.

Additional Desirable Qualifications:

Team oriented

Program Benefits :

An outstanding summer experience

Professional development and training

Living allowance paid biweekly

Mileage reimbursement/Bus Pass

Choice of end of service education award ($1175.60) OR stipend (accrues at $125/month)

What is the Anti-Hunger and Opportunity Corps Program?

The Anti-Hunger and Opportunity Corps (AHOC) is a nationwide AmeriCorps VISTA program, funded by the USDA with matching support from the Wal-Mart Foundation, sponsored by the New York City Coalition Against Hunger

(NYCCAH). The AHOC program partners with some of the nation’s most innovative anti-hunger nonprofit organizations which support NYCCAH’s mission of “moving families beyond the soup kitchen.” AHOC engages those who commit a year of their life as community change agents in this best practices originating and highly commended program by way of new project implementation, capacity building, volunteer management and community support building while simultaneously breaking down barriers and providing improved access to nutritious foods via nutrition education and benefits utilization, including SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) and the Summer Food Service Program.

Applicants may either complete the form available at this link: http://tinyurl.com/d44lmad

OR complete the application available at Community Food Advocates offices: 604 Gallatin Rd, Ste 211, Nashville, TN 37206 (parking available at the Rite Aid across the street).

Before any applicant may be hired they must also complete the AmeriCorps application so serious applicants should complete this step as soon as possible. Complete the AmeriCorps application by clicking “Apply Now” on this link:

For assistance with the AmeriCorps application, please contact Keith Barnes – 615-385-2286×227 or keith@communityfoodadvocates.org