Tennessee Pasture to Plate

Yes. We encourage everyone to buy a 1-time trial box to sample the food and experience the process. There is no commitment to purchase a subscription when you purchase a trial box. It is just an easy way to see the quality and quantity of food you will receive if you later choose to subscribe.

Most people aren't aware of the difficulties involved in raising our food. That's because most of the food found in the grocery store is from other countries. Farmers plan months or years in advance of customers buying their products. The farmer that raised the ground beef in last night's hamburger has 2 years invested in the end product. For our local farmers to consistently provide their high-quality products, they need to know there is a consumer ready to buy it. Because farmers make a commitment to us, we also need to make a commitment to them. By subscribing, you are saying that you will buy local weekly, not just occasionally.

We have a limited number of spots for each type of subscription. Once those spots are filled, you can ask to be put on the waitlist. When a current subscriber cancels their subscription, the next name on the list for that particular subscription type will be emailed and offered the spot. Priority is given to current customers that wish to change their subscription, and their name goes to the top of the list. All other names are contacted in the order that they are placed on the waiting list. Example 1: Someone cancels their Large Family Food Box subscription. A current subscriber with a Pantry Staples subscription is at the top of the waiting list for the next Large Family Food Box spot. They are contacted first and offer the subscription. Examples 2: Someone cancels their Large Family Food Box subscription. There are no current subscribers on the waiting list. The first name on the Large Family Food Box waiting list is emailed and offered the subscription.

Both Franklin Juice Cafe and Village Tea & Treats are open to anyone. These businesses are very involved in the community and want to provide a convenient location for pick up because they want to help support local farms and businesses. Home deliveries in The Grove, Kings Chapel, Hardeman Springs, Black Hawk, and High Park Hill neighborhoods are only open to residents of those neighborhoods.

The weekly subscription boxes use ACH transfers. They are debited on Monday each week. The additional items from our online store and trial boxes are paid for through the Square secure payment system.

There is no long term commitment. You are able to stop your food box subscription with 14 days notice. When you notify us in writing (via email) that you would like to stop your subscription, we will let you know within 3-4 days the date of your last food box pickup. Please keep in mind that spots for each location are limited. If you end your subscription, your spot may be taken by someone on the waiting list and you may not be able to resume your subscription in the future.

This is one of the best parts of our system! Each week, subscribers to the Family Food, Pantry Staples and Protein Pantry boxes receive a 'free mystery item' so that they can experience something new. These items vary and have included sauces, coffee, flowering bulbs, chicken broth kits, and desserts. It is simply an easy way to try some of the things our farms offer before you buy them.

No problem - we can create a box that you will love. Just email your list of items that you would like to receive each week and we can give you a quote for the cost of your unique box. You subscribe to your custom box and can still add items from the online market each week like the other subscribers. There is a minimum of $100 for a custom weekly box subscription.

Yes. We know that from time to time you may need to skip a food box (vacation!) and we want you to have the ability to do that. So, we allow our subscribers to skip 3 times per year, no questions asked. Each skipped period can be up to 2 weeks for a total of 6 skipped weeks per year. Simply email us at least 14 days before the box you want to skip and that's all you have to do. When these 6 weeks are added to the weeks skipped for holidays, it totals 9 weeks of skipped boxes. This is 17% of the year which is the maximum we can allow and still support the farms that have committed to providing food for our community. If you know that your schedule would not allow you to commit to the other weeks of the year, this system may not be the best fit for your lifestyle.

Our system is designed to help provide some stability with your weekly grocery costs. So, the price of your subscription will be stable for most of the year. However, inflation causes the cost of producing food to go up. So, each year in September the pricing is re-evaluated, and you will be notified if the subscription prices will increase. You'll be given at least 14 day's notice to give you time to decide if you would like to continue with your subscription at the new price. If you make changes to your subscription throughout the year, your new weekly grocery box will reflect any pricing increases that happen during the year.

If you have an unexpected emergency and cannot make it to the pickup location, you can have someone else pick up your food box. Simply send us an email to let us know their name and we will happily let someone else take your box.

As part of our local stewardship, we try to reduce the amount of waste we generate. Our subscribers receive their weekly food in a collapsable plastic crate that they can store in their car after they unload their groceries. The empty plastic crate is returned the following week when the next food box is picked up. We use plastic bags for our trial boxes or when it makes sense for a product (no one wants cherry tomatoes rolling around in the bottom of their crate).

We have begun to expand our delivery option. We currently deliver to The Grove neighborhood (College Grove) on Wednesdays and Kings Chapel, Hardeman Springs, Black Hawk, and High Park Hill neighborhoods (Arrington) on Thursdays. Do you want to nominate your neighborhood for our next delivery expansion? Fill out our contact form with the details of the neighborhood and city that you'd like to be considered, and we will add it to our list. If we have enough interest in an area, we will be sure to make it our next home delivery area.

Yes! In our newsletter, we post a list of items that you can expect in your box if you subscribe to the Family Food Box or the Pantry Staples Box. It gives a sneak peek at the upcoming 'Free Mystery Items' as well.

Yes! Transitioning from eating processed grocery store food to eating seasonal farm-fresh food is a process. We try to help our new Local Foodies in that process by offering tips, recipes, resources, and other information in our newsletter and in our private Subscriber Facebook page. Please join the community as we support each other's food journey!

Yes, upon request. The number of farmers that use soy-free feed for their animals is limited so we can offer these options upon request.

Yes! We have a plans for annual farm events that will only be open to our subscribers. We can't let the cat out of the bag yet but stay tuned for more details in the future.

Yes! The interest in Tennessee Pasture to Plate has been amazing and we are working tirelessly to add additional convenient pick up locations. If you know of a neighborhood or local business that might want to partner with us as a pick up location, we'd love to chat with them.

They say that 'variety is the spice of life' and we agree. We love adding new farmers and producers to our Local Foodie family and that process is ongoing. When we find new local products that align with our mission and values, we work fast to make them available to our subscribers and sometimes several new items are added each week. If you know of someone producing a high-quality local product, please have them email us - we'd love to have a chat with them.

Your first two crates or bags (the ones that your switch out each week) are provided at no cost. But, if you need to replace one of your them due to damage or loss, you can order a new one on the website.