Mayor John Cooper’s office announced the creation of a Food Security working group. Nancy Keil, President and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, will chair the working group, which includes representatives from Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), the Red Cross, Kroger, Amazon, Lyft and restaurant industry leaders such as Sean Brock.
“The vital work of Second Harvest and its hundreds of community partners is more important now than it has ever been,” said Mayor John Cooper. “We need to take care of families in need, ensure that children who are out of school have access to healthy and nutritious meals, and find creative ways to put restaurant and hospitality workers back to work. Nashville is fortunate to be able to call on such a distinguished group during this challenging time.”
Food Security working group members:
- David Alperson, Director of Logistics, Amazon
- Sean Brock, Author, Chef and Owner of Audrey/Joyland
- Melissa Eads, Corporate Affairs Manager, Kroger
- Brenda Haywood, Deputy Mayor, Metro Nashville
- Nancy Keil, President and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee
- Alison McArthur, Director of Community Achieves, MNPS
- Sam Nadler, Regional Director, Lyft
- Joel Sullivan, President, American Red Cross
“I want to thank Mayor Cooper for convening this group and thank our community and corporate partners for coming together to address this urgent need,” said Nancy Keil of Second Harvest. “It’s going to take the collective work of this team and others to ensure our most vulnerable neighbors have access to food.”
“Every day at MNPS we’re committed to doing our part to meet the nutritional needs of students and families through our school nutrition and Community Achieves programs,” said Dr. Adrienne Battle, Director of Schools. “The needs of the community and our MNPS families have never been greater than they are today, and we greatly appreciate the coordinated effort being put in place by Mayor Cooper to ensure that nobody goes without food during this crisis.”
Food Security working group meetings begin later this week.