Kick off 2026 with the Southeast TN Young Farmers! This year we are taking part in a strategic planning exercise that will guide our work for the next 5 years, and we want to hear from our members and network! Join us for a strategic planning session/annual meeting and a fruit crops workshop on January 25th from 12-4 p.m. Central at Wheeler’s Orchard in Dunlap! This event will begin with a potluck and annual meeting/strategic planning. Then we will learn about timing and strategies for pruning blueberries and grape vines, and take a tour of Wheelers Orchard to learn about their orchard/vineyard operation, value-added products and on-farm market. You are welcome to come only for the workshop if you do not wish to participate in the strategic planning session. Here is the timing for each of the sections: 12-2 p.m. Potluck and Strategic Planning 2-4 p.m. Fruit crop pruning and farm tour Please reach out to SeTNYF chapter coordinator Emily Dudley at setnyfcoordinator@gmail.com with any questions. Leading up to the event, you will receive an email with the address and last minute info! Sign up at the link in our bio. If you aren’t able to make it to the meeting, keep an eye out for more info on how you can be involved in the planning process!!

On November 15, we had a Farm to Food Bank event with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. We had a tour of the food bank, learned more about their mission, engaged in a presentation about how local farmers can support the food banks, volunteered in the garden, and had our annual quarterly meeting over lunch. It was a super fruitful action packed day. #farmers #producersandconsumers #foodjustice #foodaccess

Did you know that two of our leadership members are pirates? They’re also full-time farmers, and they will be presenting at @tnlocalfood summit! Jess Wilson is presenting in the Community & Culture section on “Building a Statewide Policy Coalition” on Friday at 10:15 AM. Kelsey Keener is presenting in the Livestock & Agroforestry section entitled “Scaling Pasture-Raised Egg Production on a Regenerative Farm” at 10:15 on Saturday. Go ahead and sign up for the summit so you can attend their amazing talks. #localfood #farming #tnlocalfood #regenerativeagriculture #policy #foodjustice

Registration is open for the 15th Annual TN Local Food Summit from December 5-7, 2025 at Trevecca Community Church in Nashville, TN! This year’s theme is Healing Land, Healing Communities. Farmers, ranchers, food system advocates, and professionals will come together to cultivate a resilient and equitable food system. The topics will focus on the intersection of healthy land, food, and communities. Lectures will discuss seed keeping, soil and ecosystem health, community and culture, business and markets. The keynote speakers include Bonnetta Adeeb, Founder and President of STEAM ONWARD, Rev. Jen Bailey, Founder of Faith Matters Network and Executive Director of The Dan and Margaret Maddox Fund, and Dr. Ashley Brailsford, founder of Unearthing Joy. Registration options range from $20 to $175 depending on the day and section of the conference or you can sign up to volunteer for 6 hours for a free conference ticket or volunteer for 3 hours and get a 50% discount on your ticket. You may also want to consider becoming a vendor or a sponsor! Head over to @tnlocalfood and click the link in their bio to register, volunteer, or sign up to be a sponsor or vendor. We hope to see you there! #tnlocalfood #sustainableandresillientfoodsystems #agriculture #localfoodsystem #healinglandhealingcommunities

We’ve got another great event planned for November! Join us at Feathers & Fruit on November 21 to learn about on-farm chicken processing! You’ll learn how to harvest a live chicken and then take it home right off of the farm. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, bring a cooler for your chicken and any other farm goodies. After we thoroughly wash our hands, we’ll connect over a light dinner. Registered on our website! We look forward to seeing you there! #freshfood #chickenprocessing #foodconnection #farmtotable #setnyf #youngfarmerscoalition

In this time of uncertainty regarding food assistance programs, it is especially pressing to invest in our local food system and partner with our neighbors. Join us Saturday, November 15 at the Chattanooga Area Food bank to hear how farmers can support their neighbors, help with the on-site garden project, tour the food bank, and have our quarterly meeting over a potluck. Go ahead and sign up and bring a side dish if you’re able! As always, reach out to Emily Dudley at setnyfcoordinator@gmail.com if you have any questions. #localfoodsystem #foodaccess #snap #chattanoogaareafoodbank

On October 21, we gathered alongside the Chattanooga Food Coalition, the Chattanooga Food Forest Coalition, Wild Violet Permaculture, and Southeast Tennessee CRAFT at Crabtree Farms for the second Urban Ag Roundtable. We shared a meal and expanded on June’s roundtable identified issues related to policy, resource sharing, education, and land access. Between now and our next roundtable in February, small groups will work to address these issues. #urbanagriculture #resilientfoodsystems #sustainability #chattanooga #southeasttennessee #setnyf #youngfarmerscoalition

NEW EVENT DROPPED ‼️‼️‼️ Join us to learn about local market opportunities and how you as a grower can optimize your sales through better planning with your buyers. Holly Martin and Callie Bennett of Gaining Ground will share about how the grocery sources from local farmers and plans to grow their farmer network. You’ll also hear from Laura Damron of The Food Hub about what she has learned through many years of building relationships with local farmers and buyers. We will begin the event with a talk from our presenters, and then move into some social and networking time. A light dinner will be provided, so please let us know through this form if you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions.  Questions? Please reach out to Emily Dudley with the Southeast TN Young Farmers at setnyfcoordinator@gmail.com This event is being offered through support from TN Local Food and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture #setnyf #farmers #localfood #chattanoogafoodsystem

If you are a resident of Hamilton County, there is still time to provide feedback about Plan Hamilton! Check out Madison Baldwin’s article, On Behalf of Agriculture: Critique of Plan Hamilton, to learn more about how the current iteration fails young, beginning, current, and future farmers at the link in our bio or at https://open.substack.com/pub/southeasttnyoungfarmers/p/on-behalf-of-agriculture-a-critique?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Key points to discuss with your neighbors, county commissioner or city council representative: 🐓 Plan Hamilton DOES NOT align with Statewide Farmland Protection goals 🐐Regional food security is ESSENTIAL 🐖 Farmland is a nonrenewable resource 🌾 Experienced ag voices MUST be included in the discussion Whether you live in an urban, suburban, or rural area of Hamilton County, we encourage you to speak up about the future of farming as it relates to Plan Hamilton.

#repost from @tnlocalfood: We are committed to building an equitable and just food system! That’s why we’re offering full scholarships to the TN Local Food Summit. Priority will be given to applicants who are new and beginning farmers, those who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latino/a, and People of Color, veterans, women, and agricultural students. 📅 Apply by October 14, 2025! 📢 Scholarship recipients will be notified by October 22, 2025. 🔗 Learn more & apply: https://www.tnlocalfood.org/scholarships *Unfortunately, we are unable to offer travel or lodging stipends at this time. Interested in helping make the TN Local Food Summit accessible to everyone? 💚 Donate or sponsor, today: https://www.tnlocalfood.org/scholarship-fund #FoodJustice #EquityInFood #Scholarships #TNLocalFoodSummit #SustainableFood