Foodies of TN is a license plate fund for independently owned restaurants across the state. Every plate sold goes directly into grants for the people keeping those spots alive.
Concept design. Final plate to be created by a Tennessee artist.
Every dollar from plate sales goes toward grants for independently owned Tennessee restaurants. Our board is all-volunteer, so there's no admin layer eating the money before it reaches someone who needs it.
This is a Nashville-based 501(c)(3), founded by a Tennessee foodie who wanted to do something real for the restaurants he loves. Local from the start.
We publish an annual summary of funds received, grants awarded, and the regions served. You'll always know where the money went.
James, the founder of Foodies of TN, had a burger-themed specialty plate when he lived in Texas. Strangers waved at him in traffic. People stopped him in parking lots just to talk about it. A piece of metal on the back of a car, and it actually made people's days a little better.
When he and his wife moved back to Tennessee, he started thinking. He's a foodie. The independently owned restaurants he loves here are the kind of places that hold a neighborhood together, and some of them are one rough month away from closing for good.
He wanted to do both things at once: build something that brought that same kind of joy on the road, and put real money into the hands of the people keeping those restaurants open. That's what this is.
"I wanted to create a plate that made people smile, and use it to actually help the restaurants I love."
James, Founder of Foodies of TNTennessee requires 1,000 sign-ups before a specialty plate goes into production. Every reservation brings us one step closer to putting money into local restaurants.
Pre-orders are handled through Zeffy, a free platform for nonprofits. Your full payment goes to the fund.
Reserve your plate now