The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission.
The mission of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee (SHFB) is to nourish and empower people so they can thrive. Approximately 450,000 people in 46 Tennessee counties receive food from SHFB each year. We collaborate with our community to develop sustainable solutions that ensure everyone has access to nutritious food while minimizing waste. We partner with over 600 Strategic Partners—including homeless shelters, faith-based groups, soup kitchens, hospitals, clinics, senior centers, and schools—to distribute food equitably and meet the nutritional needs of our neighbors. SHFB operates a Neighbor Cares Pantry Program in Davidson County that helps individuals and families with emergency food needs. SHFB's Children's Feeding Programs provide low-income children with a nutritious evening meal or a Backpack bag of food for the weekend when school meals are not available. As the state's largest hunger relief organization and top food rescue operation, we tackle food waste through collaboration with businesses, farms, and volunteers. In FY25, we distributed 50.8 million pounds of food, including 16.4 million pounds of fresh produce, and we diverted 30.1 million pounds of food from landfills.
The Tennessee Department of Health identified "food" as the most searched-for term in its Find Help Now Tool pilot program. Food is often the first resource to be sacrificed when a financial crisis strikes. When individuals face food insecurity, they often experience gaps in other social determinants of health, including medical, housing, and transportation needs. By pairing food access with immediate access to deep, quality care from our Strategic Partners, our holistic model provides upstream solutions to ensure long-term success for our neighbors when they need it most.
In FY25, Second Harvest distributed 42.3 million meals. The impact is real and personal: a seven-year-old boy finds food in his backpack on Friday, knowing he won’t go hungry over the weekend. An elderly neighbor breathes easier after a food box delivery that frees up money for essential medicine. A single mother working two jobs picks up a week’s worth of groceries from a Mobile Pantry. A New American prepares a family meal for Ramadan. A veteran leaves a medical appointment with a food box in hand. An unhoused neighbor ends a difficult day with a ready-to-eat meal.
These are more than meals—they are moments of dignity, stability, and hope. And together, we are creating them every single day.
