Jul 11, 2025 - News

Nashville wants ideas for how to address food deserts

Nate Rau

Illustration of a grocery bag speeding into the frame. — Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios

Mayor Freddie O'Connell wants Nashvillians to offer up their ideas for how to address the city's food desert problem.

Why it matters: More than 40,000 Nashville residents live in food deserts, which means they have limited access to healthy and affordable groceries in their neighborhoods.

Driving the news: In the coming weeks, the city will release an open call out for "innovative ideas" for how to bring community-focused grocery stores to areas that lack them.

State of play: The combination of population growth and rising cost of living have "exacerbated existing challenges related to food access," the mayor's office says.

The city's Economic Development office wants to hear from residents, businesses and industry experts to better understand what's working and not working when it comes to food access.

Zoom out: Addressing food insecurity has been an issue in the New York mayor's race, where Democratic primary winner Zohran Mamdani has proposed city-run supermarkets.

Keep us in the loop: If you have thoughts on this effort, please share them with the Axios Nashville team by emailing [email protected].

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Nashville wants ideas for how to address food deserts

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