A big thanks to The Tennessean for featuring us on the cover of this Sunday’s business section. And an equally big thanks to you, our customers and friends — the secret to our success.ย We are thrilled to be growing to serve you better!
“””With a name like Turnip Truck, there can be no mistaking that the companyโs two โ soon to be three โ stores are focused on produce.
โYou walk into the building, and thereโs no question that this is what we do,โ says Kim Totzke, COO of the independent grocer based in Nashville, Tenn. โProduce is a core value of the company and [owner] John [Dyke] wanted his company, from the very inception, to be about the produce.โ
The department has a mission statement: โEnriching our surrounding community by providing quality and responsibly sourced produce.โ In keeping with that declaration, the company has strictly enforced buying standards, which are posted along with the mission statement in the department. The first option is USDA organic local (defined as within 200 miles), then USDA organic regional (within 400 miles), followed by USDA organic national, and finally, non-GMO.
โOur produce set is usually anywhere from 90 to 95 percent organic,โ Totzke observes. โIn the 18 years this company has been open, thereโs never been a conventional apple sold in the building.โ
Totzke and Skyler Glover, the companyโs produce buyer, evaluate the relationships with farmers on a yearly basis to make sure that the farmers are still supplying the quality of products that the stores require. โ[Skyler] is so nuts about quality,โ Totzke says, noting that he emails vendors after every order is delivered, detailing what was right and what was wrong with the order or the products.
โIโve heard from a lot of people in our community that they know that theyโre coming in here, theyโre buying that produce, and it can [remain] in their refrigerator for several days,โ Totzke observes.”””
_ Kat Martin, Senior editor of Progressive Grocer.
We’re headed your way, West Nashville! Turnip Truck’s third location is bound for Charlotte Ave. in late 2019, conveniently situated between The Nations and Sylvan Park.
Thanks for helping us grow to serve you better!ย ????ย ????
Since 2001 Turnip Truck has striven to enrich the community in meaningful ways. This year, weย are thrilled to partner with Fannie Battle Day Home to further our mission of community outreach and education. By providing affordable childcare and support to families from disadvantaged backgrounds all year-round,ย Fannie Battle Day Home hasย fortifiedย ourย East Nashville community for 127 years.During Fannie Battle’s summer program, the Turnip Truck’s participation includesย providing in-store engagement to Fannie Battleโs 5-12- year-olds. When the kids come to visit our East Nashville store, members of our produce team educate young ones about fruits and vegetables that they may not be familiar with and their benefits, while our juice bar provides samples of delicious fruit smoothies that are low in sugar and highly nutritious. The most excitingย part of the day is the visit to our beehives on the roof. Not onlyย can the kidsย see where theย bees live, but they also begin to understand bee behavior. Throughout theย visit, the importance of bees and their impact on fruits and vegetables is discussed.
In addition to several summer tours, many Turnip Truck staff visit the Fannie Battle campus weekly. Our staff engage the kids by teaching projects that include raised gardens and other environmentalย works to increase perspective on the natural world.
This year we were also thrilled to be a part of YumEast, Fannie Battleโs main fundraiser for the year. It was a wonderful evening of music, delicious food and drinks and fellowship for the neighborhood.
There are many more projects in the works for the Turnip Truckโs mission of community engagement.ย We are incredibly thankful and lucky to have such an incredible platform we can use to to give back toย the community that supports us.
Letโs celebrate National Veggie day on June 16th! Actually, letโs celebrate veggies all the time.
With the help of some of our local farmers, we can do exactly that. We at the Turnip Truck are very proud to prioritize supporting local farms, and happy to tell you why we love buying local. Itโs great that our locally-grown veggies are as fresh as can be, but itโs more than that!
BUYING LOCAL:
Invests in community economy โ sustainable agriculture, healthier communities, and strong local economies are some of the benefits in spending our dollars locally
Builds and scaffolds community โ when small local businesses get together, our community thrives!
Creates the system we want โ buying local is a reflection of our values to be transparent, support our farms and workers, and be kind to the planet
In honor of National Veggie Day, here are some of the local offerings in our produce section and the local farms they come from:
Fresh herbs, sprouts, wheatgrass, and kale from Bloomsbury Farm
