Advocacy and Education
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) – ASAP works to help local farms thrive, link farmers to markets and supporters, and build healthy communities through connections to local food.
Appalachian Resource and Development Council – ARC&D serves the 6 counties of northeast Tennessee with a mission to conserve natural resources and improve rural economies through community leadership and enhanced educational opportunities. ARC&D works to preserve our region’s heritage, promote local growers/producers and protect the lands of past generations so that future generations may be able to enjoy the natural wonders our region has to offer.
Appalachian Sustainable Development – A non-profit working in southwest VA and northeast TN since 1995 to connect farmers, forest landowners, and those who make food and forest products with markets and other resources in our region.
Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee (CAC) Beardsley Community Farm – Beardsley Community Farm is a community horticulture center that has promoted food security and sustainable urban agriculture through practice, education, and community outreach since 1998.
Build It Up East TN – Build It Up East TN works to improve the health of our community and economy and help preserve our region’s cultural heritage through the promotion of local, sustainably grown food. BIU runs a backyard gardening program teaching community members how to grow their own food as well as supporting two food forests, a community garden, and numerous educational workshops.
Center for Urban Agriculture – Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum Center for Urban Agriculture (CUA) was created to equip and educate local communities for cultivating healthy produce and sustainable lifestyles. For local residents, they provide access to fresh and healthy food through land-use, education and on-site produce sales.
Central Appalachian Network (CAN) – CAN is a multistate network of nonprofit agencies working to build a healthy regional economy and promote economic justice in central Appalachia.
Daily Yonder – A voice for rural America with important perspectives on food systems.
Knoxville-Knox County Food Policy Council – The Knoxville-Knox County Food Policy Council monitors and evaluates the performance of Knoxville’s food system, in terms of costs, availability, accessibility and implications for public health/economic efficiency, public awareness of food issues, improvement of food supply and distribution network in Knoxville. Board meets monthly on the third Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at the CAC/MLB Building at 2247 Western Avenue.
Knoxville Permaculture Guild – Knoxville Permaculture Guild seeks to regenerate low and mixed income areas by applying permaculture design to create resilient healthy communities, to spread the principles of permaculture through demonstration and education, and to advocate for the implementation of permaculture in the greater Knoxville region. Their strategy is to implement professional permaculture landscapes in Knoxville’s neediest environments. Recipients grow their own fresh perennial fruits, berries, and herbs providing essential food that is the most expensive to purchase.
Local Harvest – A thorough resource for finding farmers’ markets, CSAs, recipes, products, and other local food connections in your community.
Nourish Knoxville – Nourish Knoxville, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit cultivating healthy communities by supporting relationships between local farmers, producers, and the public. We operate the Market Square Farmers’ Market, Market Square Holiday Market, and Winter Farmers’ Market in Knoxville, Tennessee and produce the East Tennessee Local Food Guide – a free publication connecting the East Tennessee community to local food. For information about each program, visit Nourish Knoxville’s website.
Pick Tennessee Products – A website of directories for all sorts of foods and fun available at Tennessee farms, farmers markets and other retail outlets provided by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.
Slow Food Knoxville – Slow Food Knoxville is part of a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members in over 150 countries, which links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.
UT Organic Crop Production – UT’s Organic Crop Production works to involve more Tennessee farmers in organic production in order to increase farm income and to provide an alternative to keep the family farm in the family.
Rural Resources – Rural Resources is a Greeneville, TN based non-profit that works to connect farms, food, and families by facilitating learning experiences to preserve farmland, natural resources, and sustainable agriculture practices to build a vibrant local food economy.
Wild Fermentation – Fermentation experimentalist, revivalist, enthusiast, and TN resident Sandor Ellix Katz is leading the charge to reintroduce the wonder and tastes of fermented foods and drinks. Three Rivers Market was lucky enough to host Katz as part of our Fermentation Fervor in 2012.
Feel free to send an email to our General Manager if you have suggestions for local organizations to add to our Guide!
