These are our Programs and Services offered in the Community

The Eden Project

Those supple tomatoes with the shine of a marble and deep red of ripe cherries; those tomatoes that are stacked symmetrically with the small yellow “organic” sticker hand-placed on its cylindrical skin; those tomatoes are healthy, taste almost as delicious grandma’s homegrown Betterboys, and sit under a sign that reads “$5/lb.” Those tomatoes and the other countless fresh organic (and conventional) vegetables are simply out of the price range for a family-on-a-strict-budget.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were no encumbered by the cost of the earth’s splendor. Instead, access to fresh fruits and vegetables was part of the order God instituted in creation. In Nashville, this is simply not the case. At the Co-op we are working against this burden.

We’re doing this through The Eden Project. Fundamentally, The Eden Project is an opportunity for home gardeners and local farmers to share their surplus. As participants donate fresh, home-grown or farm-grown produce, it is given directly to families in need. A simple concept with tremendous effect, ENCM will be able to provide both non-perishable food and fresh veggies in each emergency food box. In a small way through The Eden Project, we’re reinstituting God’s desire for access to healthy, whole food.

Here are some of our Eden Project programming efforts:

Glean Team – The Glean Team is exactly that: a team of volunteers that gleans produce from farmers, material for gardening, and breads and pastries from bakeries. Glean teams are being formed at Belmont University, Trevecca University, and local churches.

Reclamation and Compost – We partner with Good Food for Good People and Second Harvest Food Bank to reclaim local produce, otherwise headed for the dump.  We also have a regular scheduled pickup of three local café coffee grounds. This “waste” fuels our composting operation at our gardens, which helps us grow fresh produce organically.

Garden Consultation and Installation – Encouraging gardening and enabling garden installation is a priority to ENCM because gardens provide the most secure source of whole foods. As such, we are committed to providing consultation and installation services as often as we can. Contact us to discuss your situation.

Education – Our gardens and composting projects are set up for educational purposes.  We welcome groups—both local and regional—to help work in the garden and to learn how growing food is integral to healthy bodies and healthy communities.  All that we do in these times is educationally based, with an emphasis on experiential learning.  In the near future we will offer topical seminars.

The Elizabeth Project

The Elizabeth Project has three things at its core: healthy bodies, healthy babies, healthy relationships.  Pregnant woman or new mothers will be empowered to learn how to treat their own bodies well while providing good nutrition for their children.  We are conceiving of this program as a relationship-based educational opportunity where mothers and mothers-to-be are taught through a variety of mediums (e.g. massages, gardening, cooking, meal planning, youth cooking) that they have the assets to live healthfully.  Kids will be invited to join moms in the garden, in the kitchen, and elsewhere.  Free childcare will be provided (and educational activities, including music lessons, will be the focus for childcare while mom’s are busy).

Emmaus Fellowship

At Emmaus Fellowship is a collaborative effort between Nashville First Church of the Nazarene and ENCM.  We worship together, but we do it around tables.  In other words, we gather for dinner at 5:30 pm on sunday eveneingsand eat dinner, which serves as the first movement of our liturgy.  As we move together through worship, Christ becomes the host and is revealed to us, much like the passage in Luke 24:28-31.

“As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. “