The food system in the Middle Tennessee region is on the verge of dramatic change. Our food system, which is comprised of activities from food production (farm) to food consumption (fork), is being revolutionized by a group of thoughtful and committed people involved with a newly forming coalition called the Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee. The Food Security Partners is the newest food security venture being led by the Center for Child and Family Policy Studies at VIPPS. Under the direction of Darcy Freedman and through financial support from the LifeWorks Foundation, the Food Security Partners aim to bring people together to create and sustain a secure and healthy food system for all people in Middle Tennessee. The first two visioning meetings for the Food Security Partners drew in over fifty attendees representing farmers, community gardeners, food distributors, farmers' markets, nutrition, health, neighborhoods, faith-based institutions, schools, universities, city government, volunteer groups, and funding agencies attended the first visioning meeting for the Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee. The visioning meetings provided the Food Security Partners with an opportunity to generate a collaborative spirit as we move forward to co-create the mission, vision, and plan of action for this group. The energy that emerged from these meetings will be capitalized as members of the Food Security Partners work to develop a synergistic system to eliminate hunger and poor nutrition in our region.
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