The Branch of Nashville

The food pantry is open 4 hours per day/5 days per week free of charge to anyone with need. Clients complete registration online and schedule an appointment for drive up service. Seniors do not need an appointment to get food each wednesday. Each household can receive food one time per month. Clients can receive one emergency box of food per month without an appointment. 240 appointments are scheduled per week with slots fully booked three weeks in advance. The Branch is a community partner for second harvest of middle Tennessee, facilitating access to food for those who experience food insecurity. The food distributed is largely donated by second harvest, area retail stores, churches and individuals. The Branch distributed 15,620 carts of food totaling 1,273,007 lbs of food to 15,261 unique people in 2023. The pantry was staffed with one full-time employee, two part-time employees, and approximately 4,750 volunteers donating 21,000 hours.many afghan refugees have been resettled in The Nashville area starting in The fall of 2021. When The Branch discovered in december of 2021 that these refugees were not getting enough food, we started a one-year project to purchase and deliver culturally appropriate food to these people. The afghan welcome project had funds left at The end of 2022 to continue into 2023 as crisis care. Afghan refugees that were still receiving food at The end on 2022 became regular food pantry clients in january 2023. The Branch continued food deliveries to nepali refugees and distributed food to approximately 600 egyptian immigrants new to Nashville through collaboration with Tennessee resettlement aid and local coptic churches. The food for nepali's was purchased, but a portion of The food distributed to egyptians was donated (included in food pantry food poundage) and a portion was purchased. 1,119 deliveries of food was made through crisis care to refugees and immigrants with urgent food needs.

Comprehensive care is available to all clients who want to address The root issues of their insecurity. Clients are connected to community resources and have The option of working monthly with a staff member, intern or volunteer "care partner or coach who helps them define their short term and long term goals. The program launched in may 2023. In 2023, 156 clients signed up for The program, and comprehensive care made more than 120 referrals to 56 referral partners in The areas of workforce development, language acquisition, financial management, healthcare, and immigration services and more. Comprehensive care is staffed by one staff member, two interns and 14 volunteers.

The english language learning program hosted 300 students from around 30 different countries speaking 15 different languages, with 150 students on a waiting list in 2023. Students came mostly from davidson, rutherford, wilson, and williamson counties in middle tn. The 25 classes - led by one full time teacher, 15 part-time teachers, and one assistant - were available day and night by video, in-person or hybrid. Students studied in levels basic-5 plus advanced, meeting 1.5 hours each class twice per week for 40 weeks. Cambridge university's ventures curriculum was utilized. In addition to our traditional classes, we also incorporate conversation partners, themed simulations of life skills events, and career coaching. In The spring and summer semesters, students invested about $4 per hour in their instruction. In The fall, a grant awarded through workforce essentials allowed students to only pay The cost of their workbooks, $43 per year.