The Turnip Truck grocery store in West Nashville donated a van full of fresh produce to The Nashville Food Project on June 1. (Photo: Z Nelson)
To celebrate opening its third location in West Nashville, the Turnip Truck donated a van of fresh local produce to The Nashville Food Project on June 1.
Founded in 2001 by John Dyke, the Turnip Truck is a Nashville grocery store which sources its products from local producers. Turnip Truck COO Kim Totzke said due to the pandemic, they decided to donate to The Nashville Food Project in lieu of a grand opening for their new Charlotte Avenue location, which opened in March.
“The spirit of the Turnip Truck has always been about the community and with such crazy times and there being a real problem with folks having access to quality, healthy food, we felt it was really important to donate at this time,” Totzke said.
The Turnip Truck grocery store in West Nashville donated a van full of fresh produce to The Nashville Food Project on June 1. (Photo: Z Nelson)
Totzke said the van was “packed full of food” — entirely fresh produce — when they sent it to The Nashville Food Project from the Turnip Truck’s nearby Charlotte Avenue location.
“When there’s a food donation, typically it’s a lot of dry products,” Totzke said. “But the ability to get fresh produce is real important, especially with the pandemic. Fresh produce is a big part of making sure you’re healthy and taking care of yourself.”
The Nashville Food Project, is a non-profit that grows, cooks and donates food to the impoverished community in Nashville. The nonprofit has provided more than 35,000 meals in the wake of COVID-19 and the March tornadoes.
It would be easy for The Turnip Truck to hunker down in the midst of these difficult times. The Nashville chainlet of grocery stores that sources locally produced products, many of them organic, has had quite a year so far. First, their East Nashville location was right in the path of the storm of the early-March tornado, and then they opened their third and latest location in West Nashville in the middle of the pandemic-mandated lockdown. Under these regulations, they were not able to operate their popular prepared food bars, a favorite amenity of their legions of fans.
But instead of licking their wounds, the management of The Turnip Truck has maintained their dedication to helping out the community, including food donations that directly benefit Nashville’s most at-risk residents. Earlier this month the grocery donated enough seasonal produce to The Nashville Food Project to prepare more than 35,000 meals that will be distributed to those in need.
“As Nashville’s local grocer, we are honored to support The Nashville Food Project’s work to nourish our community with wholesome food,” Turnip Truck’s chief operating officer Kim Totzke says. “This has been a challenging year for Nashville, with COVID-19 and the tornadoes. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we support our neighbors’ health and well-being.”
The Nashville Food Project will use the donations as part of its Community Meals Program, in addition to the novel urban agriculture program that supports neighborhood gardens to allow families to grow food for themselves and to sell. “As an organization, we’re committed to featuring fresh produce in our meals for kids, seniors and all the communities we serve as often as possible, so of course we’ve been longtime fans of the Turnip Truck’s work to keep our neighbors nourished with healthful choices,” says Tallu Schuyler Quinn, CEO of The Nashville Food Project. “We’re thrilled to accept this generous gift and steward it to its highest, best use in meals for the community.”
As Nashville’s truly local grocer, The Turnip Truck never fails to rise to the occasion when the community has needs, even in the face of their own business difficulties. They deserve our attention and support!
