Mayor Freddie O’Connell is advancing an initiative to improve access to affordable, fresh, healthy foods in more Nashville neighborhoods as part of his administration’s ongoing to work to improve quality of life and address the issue of affordability for Nashville residents.

More than 40,000 Davidson County residents live in food deserts: communities where healthy grocery options are scarce or out of reach. For years, local service providers (including Metro Departments like Metro Social Services, numerous non-profits, urban farmers, and neighborhood grocers) have stepped in to bridge the food access gap and their work has kept many families, seniors, and vulnerable residents nourished.

Recognizing that the challenge of food access is systemic and demands a broad, coordinated response, the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development will release a Request for Information (RFI) in the coming weeks to hear innovative, enduring ideas from Nashvillians about how to bring community-focused grocery stores to areas that currently lack them.

“Access to fresh, affordable, and nutritious food is a fundamental necessity. We want to tap into the expertise of our community leaders, grocery operators, food advocates, developers, farmers, and residents to make meaningful progress on affordability and basic health,” Mayor O’Connell said. “If you have knowledge to share, I invite you to reach out and help us spread the word. Your insights will guide our next steps, inform future partnerships, and ultimately help shape a Nashville where hunger doesn’t know a zip code.”

An average population growth of minus two percent year over year and an increased cost of living over the past decade have exacerbated existing challenges related to food access, creating an unequal landscape of food deserts across the city.

This RFI isn’t a formal proposal request. It’s an open invitation for ideas. The Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development is looking to learn from the experiences of residents, community partners, and industry experts to better understand what’s working, what’s not working, which new approaches might help improve food access in every neighborhood, and how Metro can be a bridge builder to healthier outcomes.