Month: April 2023

Celebrate Earth Day with the #GrowFoodChallenge

Invest in our planet, your community and your family by celebrating Earth Day this Saturday, April 22, 2023 by joining this year’s #GrowFoodChallenge. 

The #GrowFoodChallenge is a call to action for individuals, families, schools, & community groups in Northwest Tennessee to grow food & build soil.

From Saturday, April 22 – July 1, 2023, registered participants in the #GrowFoodChallenge will receive free seeds at a Seed Distribution Site within the 9-county region of Northwest Tennessee. During the challenge, participants may earn up to 6 prize entries by submitting online  photos of your growing food AND building compost projects. In addition to monthly prize drawings, participants are eligible to win the grand prize =>

A Rural King Chest Freezer full of a locally raised quarter processed NB Company Beef!

Join us at the Martin Farmers Market in Martin, TN to kick-off this year’s #Grow Food Challenge at the first annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 22nd from 9am – 12 noon in downtown Martin, TN. 

Activities include:
~ Plant seeds with the Martin Public Library
~ Learn about composting and reduction of food waste with Girl Scout Troop 40139
~ Join the TN Environmental Council’s #ComePostYourCompost program
~ Participate in a community-wide trash pick-up
~ Pick-up trash supplies from the Weakley County Litter Grant to support the Martin Beautiful Committee’s city-wide trash pick up
~ Learn from the UT Martin Ecology Club
~ Learn about and purchase hydroponically grown products from Blackberry Pond Farm
~ Pick up FREE seeds from the Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network and register for this year’s #GrowFoodChallenge
~ Participate in a plant and pots swap from 11am-12 noon.

The #GrowFoodChallenge Plant and Pots Swap will begin at 11am – the idea is to bring some plants and pots from your house to swap them out with others. If you don’t have any of that, it’s ok – you can still participate after the second round of swapping. 

The Martin Beautiful Committee is encouraging all to participate in the GREAT GLOBAL CLEANUP® – a worldwide campaign to remove billions of pieces of trash from neighborhoods, beaches, rivers, lakes, trails, and parks — reducing waste and plastic pollution, improving habitats, and preventing harm to wildlife and humans. 

Join us at the Earth Day Celebration on 4/22 from 9am -12pm at the Martin Farmers Market, 101 Main Street, Martin, TN 38237. For more information visit: https://nwtnlfn.org/grow-food-challenge/

Share the Earth Day Celebration event on facebook at: https://fb.me/e/2DD812Hg4.

Northwest Tennessee residents can pick up FREE #GrowFoodChallenge seed packets at the following locations:
~ BENTON COUNTY – Second Harvest Food Bank;
~ CARROLL COUNTY – Carroll County Library/ Seed Bank and McKenzie Senior Citizens Center;
~ CROCKETT COUNTY – Crockett County Library;
~ DYER COUNTY – Dyer County Master Gardeners Plant Sale and McIver’s Grant Public Library & Seed Bank;
~ GIBSON COUNTY – Humboldt Public Library;
~ HENRY COUNTY – Henry County Extension Offices and W.G. Rhea Public Library;
~ LAKE COUNTY – Lake County Extension Office;
~ OBION COUNTY – Obion County Public Library;
~ WEAKLEY COUNTY – Martin Public Library and the Weakley County Extension. 

Pick Up Your Seeds during the following events throughout Northwest Tennessee

The Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based out of Martin, TN with a mission to serve as a catalyst for a thriving and equitable local food system that is accessible to ALL in Northwest Tennessee. The #GrowFoodChallenge is paid for through a #SeedMoney Grant with the following generous seed donors; Society of St. Andrews, Sow True Seed, Ferry Morse Company, Cooperative Gardens Commission; and the following prize donors: Discovery Park of America, Greenway Nursery, Tractor Supply Company, Walmart, Bamboozle, the TN Environmental Council, Rural King and NB Beef Company.

Are you ready for the #GrowFoodChallenge? REGISTER HERE

Fore more information, visit our Grow Food Challenge webpage.

Thanks for growing with us!

Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network Team