Since 1978, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee has been an invaluable asset in the efforts to fight food insecurity. Roughly 1 in 8 people in the region faces issues of hunger on a daily basis.

In 2021, by collecting and distributing donated food through partner agencies in 46 counties in Middle and West Tennessee, Second Harvest rescued 7 million pounds of food from area grocery stores and used it to deliver more than 42.5 million meals. These meals were distributed through after-school programs, soup kitchens, mobile pantries, senior meal delivery programs and other nonprofit organizations that focus on feeding the hungry.

As one of the largest food bank programs in the country, Second Harvest is an acknowledged leader in the logistics of collecting and distributing food — but their efforts go even further. While much of the produce and meat products the organization purchases or accepts as donations from grocery stores and distributors is turned around quickly and delivered to client agencies while still usable, Second Harvest saw the need to find a way to preserve and prolong the life of these valuable commodities so they could serve the community throughout the year.

As part of a building expansion in 2003, Second Harvest installed a production kitchen, known in the industry as a “cook/chill facility,” that would allow them to convert donated meats and vegetables into a menu of meal kits that could be frozen and distributed to partner agencies.

“We had a member of our board back then who was involved in cook/chill, and he convinced us that it was the future,” recalls Second Harvest COO Kim Molnar. “It was very cutting-edge at the time, and we’re still the only food bank in the country with a USDA-certified production plant.”

The operation is run by Dr. NK Kim, a food service industry veteran with decades of experience as a food scientist working for companies like Burger King in research and development. Members of Kim’s Nashville church approached Second Harvest to consider a partnership at just about the same time they were planning to enter the world of production. When Kim heard what they were planning, he came out of retirement to join the operation.

Kim helped plan the specs of the new cook/chill facility, purchase the equipment and develop the recipes that are still being produced today, including boil-in-bag meals portioned into 4-pound packages that are ideal for soup kitchens without extensive cooking facilities to feed large groups of people. These meals are fully cooked and then frozen (hence “cook/chill”), and are available for partner agencies to order from a menu of 20 beef and 20 pork options; agencies can also request complete meals in compartmentalized plastic trays that can be reheated like a TV dinner.

Most importantly, Kim has developed recipes that are usable by a wide variety of clients. “To get reimbursement credit from the federal government, nutritional programs require specific menu plans,” he explains. “The meal patterns call for a specific weight of protein plus a vegetable, whole grain and milk to qualify for school programs, for example.”

In addition to satisfying federal requirements, Kim has developed menu items that cater to the specific needs of some of Second Harvest’s clients.

“Because we control the production and the ingredients, we can use low-sodium salt solutions or lower-calorie fat options,” says Kim. “Some programs request menus designed for diabetic patients or low-sodium/low-calorie options for nursing homes. We can also provide gluten-free and paleo alternatives on request.”

All of this happens in basically a single room at Second Harvest with four full-time staff members (including production manager and certified chef Stephen Belin), plus a small group of part-timers that can range from two to 15, depending on the season. The team runs a tight ship, which is particularly important, as the operation is subject to daily inspection by the USDA when in production. Kim’s food-science background makes him a stickler for food safety, and he constantly tests his products to ensure the shelf stability of everything Second Harvest distributes.

The hero of the cook/chill program is undoubtedly Second Harvest’s spaghetti sauce initiative, and the entire facility was designed around two steam-jacketed cooking kettles that allow the operation to produce 9,000 pounds of vegetarian marinara sauce in a single day. Packed in 13-ounce pouches under the Project Preserve brand, the spaghetti sauce finds its way into just about every food box distributed by Second Harvest, and the one-year shelf life extends the usefulness of the donated produce.

Extending the life of tomatoes was the impetus behind the entire program. FreshPoint is a Nashville-based produce distributor and a division of food behemoth Sysco. Five years ago, FreshPoint’s regional president and Second Harvest board member Troy Edwards reached out about donating surplus tomatoes. The distributor has a massive facility for tomatoes off of Elm Hill Pike, and keeps an excess inventory of 1 percent of its product in stock to provide for surges in customers’ orders. If that surge never comes, FreshPoint finds itself with inventory that is near expiry.

That’s where Kim and Second Harvest enter the picture. “We were useful because we could process them quickly and put them to good use,” Kim says proudly. He developed a recipe that was vegetarian to eliminate the need for the USDA approval that would have been necessary if he used meat. He took it a step further by creating a delicious sauce that was low in fat, sodium and sugar. “We use applesauce to replace the sugar, and it also adds to the mouth feel without having to use other additives,” he says.

The cook/chill plant receives 20-pound boxes of tomatoes from FreshPoint and then sorts, sanitizes and grinds them into a pulp. The culinary staff adds the apple sauce, black pepper, salt, olive oil and Italian seasoning to the slurry and pumps it into the cooking kettles, which have impellers and scrapers inside to ensure even cooking of the sauce.

After cooking, the sauce can either be pumped into 4-pound bags or into what Kim calls “the spaghetti robot,” a packaging machine that had created pouches filled with daiquiri and margarita mixes during its previous life in California. Kim notes that when a former operator of that machine saw that it had been sold to Second Harvest in an online auction, he flew from California to help with the setup and teach them how to operate it for free.

The efficient operation allows the sauce to go from boiling to chilled below 40 degrees in less than 30 minutes, far exceeding any food safety requirements. Best of all, Second Harvest’s clients love the sauce. They can’t get enough of it.

“It’s cheaper and better than purchased sauce,” says Kim. “We’re keeping food out of the landfill and offering a service to our clients. We could just dump product in a box, but we understand the dignity of our clients.”

Second Harvest COO Molnar sums it up this way: “We’re taking waste and creating highly desirable, healthy food for the people we serve.”

That’s Second Harvest’s secret sauce.

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