Our mission is to increase access to locally grown foods, provide nutrition education, and inspire engagement in regional agriculture.
A vibrant, well nourished Chattanooga.
We believe in creating a food system in Chattanooga that allows easy access to affordable, healthy food while connecting closely to the producers that grow it. Our agricultural region offers a long growing season with an abundance of fresh food and talented, hardworking farmers. This organization intends to act as a resource center where obtaining affordable fresh food, learning the benefits of cooking it, and heightening our understanding of the foodscape will make for a healthier community.
Holly has been working in the field of food and nutrition her entire career. Directly after college, she worked in a hospital counseling patients on the benefits of healthy eating and preventative dietary changes. Later while working with food insecure clients at the Chattanooga Area Food Bank for almost ten years, she observed the way the food system affects the health of low income populations. This complex and challenging work allowed her to see the true need for empowerment through food; though it was clear the lack of knowledge and familiarity with fresh foods transcended economic boundaries. The real need was to bring the entire community back to understanding their connections to food. Most recently, Holly worked as a farmers market manager for the Main St Farmers Market which is a producer-direct, sustainably focused market allowing customers to buy from local farmers and producers on a weekly basis. The culmination of a career spent in the field of food and nutrition, along with the people in and around it, prompted Holly to begin this nonprofit organization.
The Chattanooga Food Center seeks to tie all the pieces of our food system together for a greater appreciation of the food grown around us, the ability of our neighbors to obtain and afford it, and the knowledge to prepare and enjoy it.
reach out to Holly:
Board President- Laura Robinson
Treasurer- Murphy Sauceman
Secretary- Melanie Mayo
Amir Alakaam
Lori Bell
Kelley Ferguson
Nathan Hertzog
Andrew Snead
Ross Dillard
Kayleigh Reeves
Stephanie Lamar
Kelley Cureton
Elizabeth Bounds