The Tennessee Organic Growers Association (TOGA) is holding its 4th annual conference on Saturday, March 15, 2008 on the campus if Tennessee State University.

Eliot Coleman, an expert organic grower, author, and advocate for organic and sustainable farming practices, is the day’s featured speaker. In addition to Mr. Coleman’s keynote address, a complete lineup of workshops and presentations round out the event.

TOGA’s mission is to provide research and support for organic farmers and gardeners and to nurture relationships among local producers and consumers. The goal is to educate the public regarding the connection between healthy food, organic farming, and the economic, social, and ecological benefits of supporting local growers.

More info here

Explore issues and answers related to the Middle Tennessee food system, our community, and our health by joining together with community members, farmers, national experts, and local leaders.

This free community event, the first of its kind in Tennessee, will be held from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Feb. 16, 2008, at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville. It is hosted by the Food Security Partners of Tennessee, a project of the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies. More info here

A Biodynamic Celebration in Red Boiling Springs, TN.

Downloadable (PDF) flyer.

Recent article in The Tennessean.

Tuesday afternoons from 4 to 7PM, Wild Oats of Green Hills (3909 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville) and Good Food for Good People host a producers-only farmers’ market. Delvin Farms (organic produce), Gardener Grove (organic produce, eggs and honey), and West Wind Farms (organic beef, chicken and pork) are among the regular producers that offer their farm fresh products directly to the customer.

A portion of the sales at this market are used to fund the operating expenses of Good Food for Good People’s Food Recovery Program, that distributes fresh produce for free, to Nashville households in need.

The Whites Creek Farmers’ Market is a newly created weekly market that offers Fresh, Locally-Grown, Organic Produce, along with herbs, eggs, cheese, honey and flowers, music and local crafts.

Participating farms include:

Eaton’s Creek Organics - Joelton, TN
Hungry Gnome Farm - Whites Creek, TN
Sonfarm - Joelton & Whites Creek, TN
Bramble Hill Farm - Goodlettsville, TN

The market is located next to Earthman’s General Store, 4409 Whites Creek Pike, and takes place every Saturday, from 8am until 12 noon, through October.

Whites Creek is 15 minutes north of Nashville: from downtown Nashville, take I-24 West to exit 40, Old Hickory Blvd. Go West to the intersection of Whites Creek Pike and Old Hickory Blvd., and then turn Left onto Whites Creek Pike. The market will be in the yard of the second building on your left.

For more information, contact Nancy VanWinkle at nanwinkle76@yahoo.com or 615-876-3947.

Printable flyer, here.

Enjoy a weekend of camping, fun, music and meandering through the beauty of Long Hungry Creek Farm, Tennessee’s largest and oldest organic farm, located in Red Boiling Springs.

This year’s event is the 31st annual celebration of the Summer Solstice at the farm.

Middle Tennessee residents can learn great reasons to buy fresh, locally-grown foods by visiting the Local Food and Farming section at the sixth annual Nashville Earth Day Festival. The free event takes place Saturday, April 21, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Centennial Park.

Sponsored by Friends of the Nashville Farmers’ Market, the Local Food and Farming section will feature nearly 20 booths and two workshop tents where participants can attend short seminars on community gardening, farmers’ markets, raw foods, community supported agriculture and much more.

Festival-goers will also have the opportunity to meet local farmers who are growing and selling healthy, fresh food directly to the public. In addition, kids can get their hands dirty in a kids’ activity area, sponsored by the Franklin Farmers’ Market.

The day will be highlighted by the unveiling of the newly-formed Middle Tennessee “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” chapter. In partnership with FoodRoutes Network, local farmers, businesses, markets and advocates intend to bring a fun and recognizable local food marketing campaign to residents of Middle Tennessee, prompting each of us to ask “Where does my food come from?”

Organizers are also excited to partner with Grammy Award nominated Nashville musician and FoodRoutes Network partner Adrienne Young for the event. Adrienne is scheduled to perform at 3 p.m. on the main Earth Day stage, and as an Earth Day special festival-goers will be able to reserve a copy of her upcoming CD Room to Grow, which goes on sale to the public May 23, 2007. A portion of the proceeds of Room to Grow will be donated to the American Community Gardening Association.

Click here to download a full listing of the workshops schedule.

Other participants in the Local Food and Farming section include:

Avalon Acres Farm
Bugtussle Farm
Delvin Farms
Doe Run Farm
DW Farms
Eaton’s Creek Organics
ECO-Gardens Organics
Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee
Fresh Harvest Cooperative
Gardens of Babylon
GROW Nashville – Community Gardens
Hill and Hollow Farm
Journey to Bliss Raw Foods
Land Trust for Tennessee
Long Hungry Creek Farm
Mamushi Nature Farm
Nashville Urban Harvest
Plumgood Food
Tennessee Organic Growers Association
The Franklin Farmer’s Market
The Nashville Farmers’ Market
The Produce Place
The Turnip Truck
Wild Oats Marketplace

Thursday evening (4/12/07) at the Radnor Lake Visitor Center, The Middle Tennessee Group of the Sierra Club presents a free screening of the film “The Future of Food,” by Deborah Koons Garcia. The event is open to the public.

The film will begin at 7P, and last until about 8:30P. Afterwards, there will be a brief discussion and question and answer period, including information about local farming and food choices, Community Supported Agriculture, and what we might be able to do about the issues of Genetically Modified Foods being grown in our communities and state.

Radnor Lake Park is located on Otter Creek Rd., just off of Granny White Pike. Otter Creek is about halfway between Old Hickory Blvd. and Battery Lane (Harding Place). The visitor center is located next to the parking area just inside the park entrance.

For more info, contact Martha Wilson at 615-376-2535.

From the Nashville’s Agenda 2007 Website:

A non-partisan group of Nashville volunteers has launched a follow-up to the 1993 citywide goal-setting project known as Nashville’s Agenda to gauge again what Nashvillians think is needed to “make Nashville the best it can be.

The original Nashville’s Agenda was successful in identifying what people thought was most important for our city. This new initiative is to update what the city’s goals ought to be now, for the next decade.

Something needs to change.

In the results of the original 1993 survey, food was conspicuously absent from each and every one of the “21 goals for the 21st century.”

If you think that healthy, locally grown, “clean” food – produced by family farms – is important to the city of Nashville and surrounding communities, then visit the site, participate in the survey, and have your opinion be a part of this year’s results.