2026-2028 Strategic Plan
Our 2026–2028 Strategic Plan charts a bold, community-powered path toward a more resilient and equitable local food system in Tennessee.
Learn how you can support this work as we prepare for an exciting year ahead.
Message From Our Executive Director
Since joining Tennessee Local Food, it has been my privilege to build meaningful relationships with farmers and local food advocates across the state. These conversations, coupled with my own experience working in agriculture, have sharpened my understanding of the unique challenges that underpin our small to midsize farming community. The need for local food has never been more pressing, and I am filled with hope and inspiration knowing how many people want our farmers and local food systems to thrive.
Thanks to the generous support of The Frist Foundation, we had the opportunity to develop this three-year strategic plan that will guide our organization from 2026 to 2028. The Frist Foundation’s investment allowed us to listen to our community partners and the farmers we serve, ensuring that our goals and priorities reflect their needs while leveraging Tennessee Local Food’s unique strengths and position within the state.
Throughout the planning process, the key priorities we heard from stakeholders across Tennessee were clear. Farmers need access to reliable markets, and more time, support, and trusted resources to help them run their businesses. Tennessee Local Food is uniquely positioned to support farm viability, which will improve statewide access to local food, promote regenerative farming practices, and build a robust and resilient food system for Tennessee.
I’m proud of how far we’ve come and am excited about the road ahead as we continue advancing this vital work together.
Natalie Ashker Seevers,
Executive Director
“Tennessee Local Food is uniquely positioned to support farm viability, which will improve statewide access to local food, promote regenerative farming practices, and build a robust and resilient food system for Tennessee.”
WHO WE ARE
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
WE BELIEVE
Locally grown food sustains our health, environment, and economy.
Access to healthy food is a basic human right.
Sustainable agriculture is rooted in Indigenous wisdom and guided by respect for the land, careful observation, and research.
A resilient food system depends on collaboration among producers, distributors, and consumers.
Equity strengthens our food system. Elevating the voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color creates opportunity and access for all.
OUR MISSION
To strengthen local food systems by supporting farmers through education, resources, and connections.
We envision a Tennessee where farmers and land prosper, every community has equitable access to local food, and every connection builds the power of our regional economy.
OUR VISION
Curious
Collaborative
Abundant
Joyful
Adaptable
OUR VALUES
The Landscape: Farmers and the Future of Local Food
Tennessee’s farmers are at the heart of healthy communities. They grow the food that sustains families, food banks, schools, hospitals, and other institutions. Local farmers also strengthen economies, care for the land, and ensure access to food close to home.
Unfortunately, small and mid-sized growers face mounting challenges: limited resources, restricted market access, and barriers to long-term financial security.
FARMER & LAND ACCESS We face a shortage of young farmers trained in regenerative agriculture, and those ready to farm often encounter steep barriers to accessing land and capital.
FOOD ACCESS & SAFETY More than one million Tennesseans experience food insecurity and lack access to affordable, nutritious food.
ECONOMY Vegetables and fruits make up less than 1% of crops grown in Tennessee.
HEALTH Fewer than 7% of Tennesseans eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCE Extreme weather events increasingly threaten food production. Local, regenerative agriculture is better equipped to adapt to these changes.
For references, see the full report below.
Where We Make an Impact
SUPPORT
Increasing Farmer Access to Markets and Resources
We provide financial assistance during times of crisis, support creative land access solutions, and help farmers grow their businesses.
ONGOING PROGRAMS INCLUDE
Farmer Relief Fund: Provides direct financial assistance to farmers impacted by weather-related events.
Growers News: Shares vital resources that help farmers stay connected and informed.
Farmer Advocacy: Tennessee Local Food creates space for farmers to share their stories, stay informed about policies that impact their livelihoods, and build a stronger collective voice across the state.
CONNECT
Building Bridges for
Collective Impact
By leveraging our statewide network, we help farmers access new opportunities, connect partners with shared goals, and create spaces for collaboration. Every connection we foster multiplies the impact of our mission.
OUR CORE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE
Resource Navigation: Serving as a trusted point of contact for the local food movement, we connect individuals and organizations daily to information, partnerships, and opportunities that strengthen Tennessee’s local food system.
EDUCATE
Providing Educational Opportunities for Producers and Consumers
Farmers receive training in sustainable production and business practices, and consumers learn how their food choices support local agriculture and strengthen communities.
ONGOING PROGRAMS INCLUDE:
Tennessee Local Food Summit: Our statewide conference brings together hundreds of farmers, local food advocates, and consumers to advance the local food movement. We’ve awarded 120 scholarships in the last four years to make participation more accessible.
Farmer Field Days and Workshops: Provide farmers with hands-on learning opportunities to improve operations.
Strategic Priorities
Developed in partnership with our Strategic Planning Committee, this process engaged board members, our staff, farmers, community partners, and funders through in-depth discovery, stakeholder interviews, and facilitated planning sessions. By combining community insight with board leadership and staff expertise, the process produced a clear, aligned three-year strategic plan to guide Tennessee Local Food into its next phase of growth.
These priorities represent the most important investments Tennessee Local Food will make over the next three years to deepen impact, expand reach, and strengthen organizational capacity.
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A farmer’s most valuable resource is time. Every hour spent on taxes, legal issues, or grant applications is an hour not spent growing and selling food.
Tennessee Local Food is committed to building a suite of services that reduces unnecessary administrative burdens.
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From our earliest days, farmers have been asking for a space to connect, and consumers have sought a way to engage more deeply with the local food movement. A membership model will create that shared space.
Farmers will gain access to resources, networking opportunities, and collective advocacy, while consumers and partners can support a stronger food system. There is power in organized membership: when food system stakeholders connect, they gain a stronger voice and accelerate solutions that no single farm could tackle alone.
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Farmers, like all businesses, need access to reliable markets to survive. Yet, many small and mid-sized farmers lack the capacity to market their products effectively or identify the sales channels that best fit their operations.
With our statewide network of food system stakeholders, we will support farmers by providing market matchmaking and coordination, relationship building, prospecting, and advocacy to strengthen market access and create equitable growth opportunities.
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To meet the growing need for disaster recovery support, we will expand and diversify the Fund’s donor base, while also increasing awareness among partners and supporters. Strengthening this program ensures a safety net for local food production during times of crisis.
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To achieve these ambitious priorities, Tennessee Local Food will strengthen its internal capacity. With only two part-time staff members, the demand for support currently exceeds our operational bandwidth. Our immediate priority is to focus capacity on measuring and communicating impact to funders and partners, building a compelling case for greater investment.
Turning Vision into Action
Over the last three years, our team has implemented yearly roadmaps with quarterly goals and KPIs to ensure progress toward our mission. This system enables us to remain focused on our highest priorities. With this structure in place, we will turn our vision into a reality by achieving these goals by 2028.
Closing Statements
More than a decade ago, Tennessee Local Food began as a spark of resilience—born from one farmer’s determination to protect the integrity of local, sustainable agriculture. What started as a single summit has grown into a statewide movement that connects farmers, consumers, and partners, all united by a shared belief: Tennessee once fed itself, and it can do so again.
Today, Tennessee Local Food continues to build on that vision by supporting, educating, and connecting the people who make our local food system thrive. With your partnership, we can continue to grow this movement—building a resilient, equitable food system that nourishes every community across our state.
Acknowledgements
This strategic plan reflects the input and effort of the many people who believe in the power of local food. We extend our gratitude to the representatives from the following organizations and farms who shared their time and insight through interviews and surveys:
The Nashville Food Project
Farmer’s Friend
The Welcome Garden
Bells Bend Farm
Sweeter Days Farm
Rooted East Knoxville
Athena’s Harvest Farm
Southeast Tennessee Young
Farmers Coalition
Tennessee State University
Tennessee Department of Agriculture
The United Way Knoxville
Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network
Smokin’ Oaks Organic Farms & Market
Ursula King
Vuck Farm
Una Acre Farm
Jeff Poppen
Zysis Garden
To our Board of Directors: We thank you for your time, guidance, wisdom, and expertise throughout the planning process.
Brenda Butka, Board Chair
Dolapo Moloye, Treasurer
Kristina Villa, Secretary
John Patrick
Keith Loiseau
Lynn Maddox
Dan Fernandez
Maxwell Patterson
Rev. Kate Fields
To our staff and volunteers: We thank you for your passion and commitment to bring this mission to life every day.
Special thanks to the Frist Foundation for supporting this strategic planning process, which allowed us to hire Brittany Jewett, LMSW, from b.Renovo Consulting to facilitate interviews, focus groups, coaching, and our board retreat.
We are grateful to the Frist Foundation for acknowledging the importance of this vision and investing in a future where Tennessee’s local food system is resilient, equitable, and thriving.
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2026-2028 Strategic Plan
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