Nashville nonprofit turns unused church land into ministry opportunity

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - As part of the Bible Belt, Tennessee is known for its legacy of faith and legendary mega-churches, some of which sit on acres of unused land.

Joey Lankford of Nashville saw these empty fields as an opportunity to help feed the hungry in his own community.

“You’ll see a lot of squash, edible pumpkins, still got peppers, okra growing,” said Lankford, while walking through his newest garden behind Brentwood Baptist Church.

For five years as a missionary to Cape Town, South Africa, the husband and father learned such concepts as food plotting, timing, and crop rotation for soil health, in order to train people in various communities how to grow their own food.

When he and his family returned to Tennessee, he launched the nonprofit, Cul2vate, and essentially marched up to the Governor’s office to ask for land.

“Pretty soon we had a land lease at the Department of Agriculture with Crieve Hall,” Lankford explained. “We became the only AG department in the US with a working farm on it. It’s an 8-acre field down there.”

Lankford has since opened three farms in Middle Tennessee to grow food for local communities, helping feed hungry souls at the same time.

“I just started farming and addicts and people coming out of prison showed up and started farming with me,” he added. “I always say the soil is good for the soul.”

“We realized hunger and problems with alcohol and drugs and things are world problems,” said Cul2vate Board Chair David Ward. “You’re not gonna solve them, but you can certainly make a dent in them, and if you do your best and attack them in your area and see how it can grow.”

Half of what’s grown on Cul2vate farms is given away; the other half is sold to pay worker wages.

But perhaps the biggest haul of this now $1.7 million dollar nonprofit is its harvest of hope.

“Drugs and alcohol are definitely a big part of my story,” said 21-year-old Nate Guiness, who tried for years to get sober.

“My drug of choice was cocaine,” Guiness admitted. “Before here, in the interview process, I told him I wasn’t able to hold a job. I’m undisciplined. I’ve been in and out of sobriety. This place has really given me a community.”

“It wouldn’t be possible if Mr. Joey wouldn’t have taken a chance on me,” Guiness said.

In March, the garden behind Brentwood Baptist Church hit a major milestone in Cul2vate’s goal to fight food insecurity -- harvesting 100,000 pounds of food in its first year.

The nonprofit is currently looking for other area churches with unused land to partner with them.

“With churches being one of the largest landowners in the country, there‘s more of an opportunity with them,” Ward explained. “And also with people who are willing to come alongside of us and say ’we want to provide you with land'.”

Guiness says it’s not lost on him how the lessons in farming mirror the lessons he’s learning in life.

“I remember the first few months, these plants are growing, and they take time to grow,” Guiness said. “There’s a sign in the break room ‘Allow yourself the time to grow.’

“It’s possible to turn your life around. I didn’t think it was.”

To reach Cul2vate, contact Jenn Diehl at info@cul2vate.org or call 615.454.7431. If you’re interested in building a community garden on the grounds of your organization, complete an online form here.

The retail farm store where produce is sold to the public is open Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. - noon at the Department of Agriculture Crieve Hall, located at 440 Hogan Road.

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