February Newsletter 

Some of you may have read a story in last month’s paper about a man named Jimmy Fulmer who died from exposure on the doorstep of a church in East Nashville. He was a man with a name and a story and a heart beating in his chest, who was born into this world through the tunnel of his mother’s love, a man with his own unique quirks, humor, talents and trouble.
 
Last week, our Outreach Coordinator Grace was reflecting on our work in a specific Nashville neighborhood and shared a story about a resident of a location where we serve a hot meal each week. She told me his name and said volunteers found him inside his tent without a shirt, under wet blankets in the freezing cold temperatures. All I could think about was holding my own tiny daughter Lulah in my arms. And I thought about this man and his name and imagined his mother cradling his body in her arms. This man—someone’s precious son—someone else’s Lulah.
 
A couple weeks ago, several members of our community marched in a funeral procession downtown to honor the life of Jimmy Fulmer and banded together, with new promises, to address the daily crises of poverty and injustice in our city. Dr. Cornel West said “justice is what love looks like in public.” At The Nashville Food Project, we are trying to address these issues in public, with love and integrity, and our trucks have become a symbol of help and friendship in our city.
 
Whatever this week brings you, I hope you find yourselves open to new opportunities to practice your love in public—to meet the stranger, to go where you do not normally go, to serve up kindness and compassion, to cross boundaries with curiosity, to share your bread and cup and to cradle all of these experiences like they are your own daughter in your arms.
 
Grace and Peace to each of you – tallu