Stand Up Nashville unequivocally believes and promotes the principle that public funds should be used for public goods. When it comes to the third aspect of the SHIFT Nashville platform – Everyone Eats, we’ll walk through the connection between public funds and everyone eating, figuratively and literally. Don’t worry about spilling anything on this ride, there are plenty of napkins in the glove compartment.

Reverse  

Let’s flashback to childhood. You’re riding in the backseat of the family vehicle and you see that world renowned symbol – the golden arches that cue your tastebuds to water. Your feet shake in excitement as you recall the rush of careening through a plastic slide that drops you into a colorful ball pit. It’s impossible to resist the urge to reminisce over the freshly cooked and salted french fries in your Happy Meal. Before you realize it, your eagerness takes over and you ask your parent, “Can we pleeaaasseeee get McDonald’s?” 

Without even glancing at you in the rearview mirror, they flippantly respond in one of two ways: “We have food at home.” or “Do you have McDonald’s money?” Either way, the answer is a dream dashing, “No.”

While this is a highly recognizable and relatable memory, the reality is that it is becoming increasingly harder for families to enjoy simple pleasures like these due to low wage jobs and rising childcare costs. The other side of it is, the families who struggle to rely on these high priced, low nutrition meals because they live in a food desert. Food deserts are low-income areas where residents have difficulty accessing and buying affordable, good-quality fresh food within a reasonable distance. Imagine if every family in the city had access to affordable and nutritious groceries in their own neighborhood? This can be reality – if we choose to invest in our community.

Park

Everyone Eats is a mantra that represents communal support and economic equity. Neighbors should look out for one another. And individuals should be able to have safe and secure jobs that enable them to care for themselves and their families. For SHIFT Nashville, this principle prioritizes justice over charity. The just thing is for city officials to align policy with the calls for good jobs, responsible contracting, protections for small businesses, and enhance community benefits such as access to affordable groceries.

Metro has the power to set a new precedent through policy for contracts and development agreements on public land that prioritize workers. It can affect the change that we champion. We need leaders who won’t continue the draining cycle of disastrous corporate deals and tax breaks that only hurt the people of Nashville.

Drive

When we polled the SHIFT Nashville kickoff event attendees, 123 people shared the issues that concern them. They expressed housing, groceries, and low wages were at the forefront of their minds. If wages are low and the cost of living is high, it directly impacts the ability to eat decently. 

As we journey through this transit series, it is essential that we help you understand that the transit plan means more than buses, sidewalks, and traffic lights. Our city has the opportunity to do more – but will it? We can’t afford not to do more. 

Here’s a good list to start with:

• Waive zoning permits for new daycares in existing office buildings and homes
• Fund union workforce training with high wages and childcare
• Support federally registered clean energy apprenticeship programs
• Ensure fair wages, safety, and career opportunities for construction workers on transit projects
• Invest in high road minority contractors who take care of their workers
• Combat commercial gentrification by supporting local small businesses
• End the state sales tax on groceries by closing corporate tax loopholes to pay for it

Thanks for riding with us. Let’s keep honking the horn for progress!