Tennessee Local Food Summit

Feeding ourselves... well

August 31, 2024

(Matt Matheson)

Farming is a hard row to hoe, so to speak. Actually, it requires tending multiple, diverse rows all at once. In addition to planting and harvesting crops, farmers must navigate real estate, marketing, finance and logistics, with a little engineering and entomology thrown in.

So, when the 14th annual Tennessee Local Food Summit gathers at Austin Peay University in Clarksville, Dec. 6–8, there will be multiple “tracks” of conversation, covering topics as far-flung as insect identification and sales software selection.

“Our mission is to provide education, resources and connections for small farmers and other stakeholders in our community food system,” says Natalie Ashker Seevers, executive director of nonprofit Tennessee Local Food, which organizes the summit. Tennessee Local Food Summit is open to the public, welcoming stakeholders in the food system beyond working farmers.

With approximately 30 educational workshops and lectures, the weekend will include farm-to-table meals, a vendor trade show, farm tours, seed swap and the Phila Awards. Topics include biodynamics, prairie restoration, storytelling, advocacy, market farming and the future of farmland in Tennessee.

After humble beginnings as a hyper-local, all-volunteer Middle Tennessee organization, Tennessee Local Food has grown into a multipronged nonprofit with statewide and regional reach to connect, educate and support farmers, consumers and stakeholders in a sustainable food system.

In addition to building networking opportunities and education resources, Tennessee Local Food has raised a relief fund to assist farmers harmed by weather events. “As we see more extreme weather, farmers are bearing the brunt,” Ashker Seevers says.

The summit will also include workshops on strengthening supply chains in the region. “While our mission is to serve Middle Tennessee, we understand that, to build a sustainable food system for Nashville, we have to have connections across the region—Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga, even Kentucky and Alabama. That’s the point of the summit, to bring people together to have these conversations.”