CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

WEdNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Harding House Brewing Company | 904 51st Ave N, Nashville, TN 37209

  • Join us as we kick off the 12th annual Tennessee Local Food Summit at Harding House Brewing Company in Nashville, TN. Enjoy Harding House’s seasonal “Farm Hands” collaborative beer with $1 of every beer going towards educating and connecting Middle Tennessee’s local food community, followed by a discussion about local agriculture and beer.

    RSVP HERE.

    6:30 PM - Networking

    7:30 PM - Farm to Tap: A Conversation on Local Agriculture & Beer

    Farm To Tap is a partnership launched by the Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture in 2021 to encourage Tennessee brewers to use Tennessee sourced ingredients in their beer.

    Don’t miss a chance to hear from local brewers, malters, yeast wranglers, and farmers about ways they are collaborating to produce Tennessee beers.

    Panelists include:

    Eric Landis, Tipsy Mule Hop Farm

    Will Atkinson, Riverbend Malthouse

    Emily Stutzman, Lipscomb Institute of Sustainable Practice

    Jeff Mello, Bootleg Biology

    Tera Ashley, Caney Fork Farms

    Nate Underwood, Harding House Brewing Co

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2022

Cumberland University Alumni Hall | 408 S Maple St, Lebanon, TN 37087

  • PRESERVING HERITAGE BREEDS, Cynthia Capers of Heniscity Farms

    THE CARE FARMING NETWORK AND OLD SCHOOL FARM, David Cloniger and Jayme Mangano of Old School Farms

  • SEED SAVING, PRESERSERVING GENETIC DIVERSITY, COMMUNITY CULTURE AND ADDING TO YOUR BOTTOM LINE, Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

    BEYOND FRESH: CREATING VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS, Megan Bruch Leffew of UT Extension and Patricia Szappanos Hart of TN Department of Agriculture

    FARM BILL BASICS, Kevin Hensley of TN Farm Bureau, Olivia Cleveland of National Young Farmers Coalition, and Greer Gill of US Department of Agriculture

  • Enjoy a gourmet dinner sourced from local farmers and artisans and prepared by the chefs at Cumberland University.

  • As we continue to envision and actualize our work of transforming the dominant agri-food system into one that is more sustainable, just and regenerative, we are blessed to have ancestral principles and worldviews, especially of indigenous and African American food ways, that can serve as guiding lights along our pathway.

    Engaging our local communities in food system transformation processes is by no means an easy challenge, but these guiding lights are essential to bringing about a fundamental change in our thinking that can usher in a paradigm shift at all levels. This sacred work "begins anew every single day".

    About Jim Embry:

    Jim Embry, who considers himself stardust condenses in human form, was born in Richmond, Kentucky, a grandson of small farmers who were also social activists. This family legacy of activism was passed down to him as a 10-year-old participant in the Civil Rights Movement. Often times called an “eco-activist” or labelled as Black & Green, Jim has worked to connect social justice, food justice and environmental justice within other social movements for the past 50 years. Jim now serves as director of Sustainable Communities Network and cultivates collaborative efforts at the local, national, and international levels with a focus on food systems. He is at home at every level, whether as a five-time USA delegate to Slow Food’s Terra Madre in Italy, a visitor to Cuba to study organic farming, his extensive work in urban agriculture, or planting on his 30-acre farm, Jim maintains that the local food and sustainable agriculture movement is the foundation of a sustainable community. His belief is that we need some big ideas that connect humans in a sacred relationship with the Earth, which will require us to think not just “out of the box” but “out-of- the-barn”.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2022

Cumberland University Alumni Hall | 408 S Maple St, Lebanon, TN 37087

  • Breakfast sourced by local farmers, artisans and bakers and prepared by the chefs at Cumberland University.

  • COMMUNITY GARDENS AND COALITION BUILDING, Members of the Nashville Community Garden Coalition

    FARM STRESS AND MENTAL HEALTH , Tesha Humphrey, BSSW, MS, UT Extension

    DECENTRALIZING THE FOOD SYSTEM, Irucka Embry and Obiora Embry of Getting Back to Nature, and Jeremy Lekich of Nashville Foodscapes

    TOUR OF CUMBERLAND CULINARY CENTER, Led by Director Sue Sykes

  • FAITH LEADERS AND FOOD JUSTICE PANEL- Kate Fields of Belmonth Methodist Church, Mark Lancaster of Agrarian Trust Faithlands, Rev. Robin Lovett-Owen of Christ ELCA, and Tally May of The Nashville Food Project,

    THE GLOBAL TERRA MADRE NETWORK CONNECTS IN TENNESSEE - Jim Embry of Sustainable Communities Network

    SPRING AND SUMMER HIGH TUNNELS - Pam Dawling of Sustainable Market Farming

    COOKING DEMO - Chef Charlotte Miller of Mama Blanche Catering and Yay Yay’s Nashville

  • Locally sourced lunch prepared by chefs at Cumberland University.

  • Black and Brown people are integral as workers in food and agriculture but are largely missing from the stories of cooperative organizing in agriculture, heirloom seeds and seed savers. Be inspired by historic accounts of Black cooperative action and learn how tradition, taste, place and storytelling can work to preserve biodiversity and reclaim the place of Black and Brown people in issues of food sovereignty, farming, heirloom varieties and regional cuisine today.

    ABOUT IRA WALLACE:

    Ira Wallace is a worker/owner of the cooperatively managed Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, which offers over 700 varieties of open-pollinated heirloom and organic seeds selected for flavor and regional adaptability. Wallace serves on the boards of the Organic Seed Alliance, the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association and the Virginia Association for Biological Farming. She is a member of Acorn Community, which farms over 60 acres of certified organic land in Central Virginia. Wallace is an organizer of the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello, a fun, family-friendly event featuring an old-time seed swap, local food, hands-on workshops and demos, and more. She also writes about heirloom vegetables and seed saving for magazines and blogs including Mother Earth News, Fine Gardening and Southern Exposure. Her book, “The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast,” is available online and at booksellers everywhere.

  • INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEMS CHANGE - Hanes Motsinger of The Nashville Food Project

    FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FARMERS - Trevor Hunt of Natural Resources Conservation Services

    FINDING GROWTH AND BALANCE IN FARM TO SCHOOL - Cari Chestnut and Molly Royer of Murfreesboro City Schools Farm2School program

    COOKING DEMO: SAUSAGE MAKING - Karen Overton of Wedge Oak Farm

  • LAND ACCESS FOR TENNESSEE FARMERS - Kristina Villa of Agrarian Trust, Emma Chapman of Southeast TN Young Farmers, and Brooks Lamb of American Farmland Trust

    WEAVING FIBER CONNECTIONS - Cynthia Rice of Sunshine Weaving and Fiber Arts and Lisa Cruz, fiber artisan

    INCREASING REACH AND ACCESS OF LOCAL FOODS - Ellery Richardson of Nashville Food Coop, Holly Martin of Gaining Ground Grocer, Jim Douglas of Porter Road Grocery, Stuart Landis of Hot Poppy, and Steven George of Seven Cedars Butcher Block.

  • Swap seeds and stories at our first ever seed exchange!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2022

Demeter’s Common | 116 N College St, Lebanon, TN 37087

  • Demeter’s Common is a lifestyle grocery store supporting small farmers and makers in the heart of Lebanon, TN. Hear from owner Mallory Jennings about the challenges and rewards of purchasing seasonal products, and the reasons we need more local grocers.

    Afterwards, we’ll hold space to reflect and discuss the weekend’s events and strategize about how we move forward in our efforts to strengthen our local foodshed.

    Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

TN LOCAL FOOD SUMMIT

DECEMBER 2-4, 2022