CityTHINK
July: Local Food in Nashville – From Urban to Rural
Tuesday, July 13, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m
Nashville Civic Design Center, 138 Second Avenue North, Suite 106
July’s CityThink will focus on the topic of the local food movement in Nashville – from urban garden plots to rural organic farming. Learn about the numerous types and methods of producing food in the area, from some of the individuals that are contributing to Nashville’s quickly expanding local food movement.
A panel discussion will follow the brief presentations.
Speakers include:
Cindy Delvin, Delvin Farms
Delvin Farms has been growing local produce since 1972. The 94-acre farm located in College Grove along the Harpeth River is home to two generations of family farmers. Delvin Farms grows a large variety of certified organic vegetables ten months out of the year. They practice growing methods that improve the environment by enhancing the quality of the water, building soils for healthy plants and avoid using harmful chemicals in farming.
In 2009 Delvin Farms were voted best CSA program in Nashville by the Nashville Scene. CSA produce is fully ripened on the plants and we harvest the same day that we distribute. Currently, Delvin Farms operates fourteen drop-off locations throughout Nashville and surrounding counties.
Sarah Bellos, Nashville Urban Harvest
Sarah Bellos is co-founder of Nashville Urban Harvest, a non-profit focused on promoting sustainable agriculture and increasing food security in Middle Tennessee. Through creation and stewardship of an urban community farm, NUH seeks to inform and create dialogue and partnerships around economically and environmentally viable farming systems and teach others how to take control of their food source and food system. Along with her sister, Sarah also runs Artisan Natural Dyeworks, an artisanal dyehouse based in Nashville.
Previously, Sarah worked at the Investor Responsibility Research Center as a research analyst on the food and agriculture industries. While an undergraduate in Natural Resources Policy and Management at Cornell University, Sarah managed the student run organic farm and led an elementary school tutoring program through an Americorps grant.
Andrew Park, Vanderbilt University and Nashville Civic Design Center Intern
Andrew is a senior undergraduate at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development where he expects to complete his Bachelor of Science in Human and Organizational Development, focusing on community leadership and development. His coursework has included topics such as art in everyday life, organizational behavior, and the ties between food and social justice.
At present, Andrew lives in an urban gardening community in North Nashville called Nashville Greenlands. The community is comprised of sixteen individuals living in four semi-autonomous houses. Residents pay low rent, but contribute twenty hours of gardening labor per month. The group’s mission is to explore and demonstrate an ecologically sustainable way of life within a city, based on agricultural use of open land, and a simple life to minimize the consumption of world resources.
