Titan Equity Nourish Network: TENN - 2022-2023

Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN) at the University of Detroit Mercy seeks to to find solutions to challenges in the Detroit food system by engaging student passion and community wisdom. At TENN, community members and students work together to raise awareness, address immediate needs and engage in critical thinking about the systemic causes of these challenges.

TENN provides students with real opportunities to apply things they learn in the classroom as they design and lead programs that promote equity and sustainability in the food system. As a part of the Institute for Leadership and Service, TENN student leaders coordinate multiple service opportunities each week that reduce the immediate effects and systemic causes of hunger and food waste. 

Ways that you can help include (you can choose from the drop down menu when making your gift):  

• Food Costs 
  • $150 per distribution 
  • $100 per to add protein items to regular deliveries 
• Cooler for Summer deliveries $50-$100 
• Tools for Garden $10-$100 
• On campus composting $60/month
• Community Engagement Events - $125
• Providing Laudato Si' programming - $300 per event
• Garden - Wood Chips, compost, soil, $1500 
• Van Costs (gas, maintenance)- $2000 
• Student Internships - $4000 per semester for an intern 
• Anything you can offer to help defray the cost of the TENN Manager

In the 2021-2022 school year, TENN continued to engage students in impactful food justice work. Through the student-run produce delivery program, TENN volunteers donated over 39,991 lbs of fresh produce, dry goods, and fresh bread to our neighbors on Princeton Street. TENN also launched an on-campus garden to increase production of fresh, sustainable food for our produce deliveries, and recruited a team of architecture students, in collaboration with the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS), to design structural and creative upgrades to the garden. TENN also continued its immersive learning programming by launching a bi-annual immersive learning day with University Ministries that introduced students to in-depth conversations, volunteering and experiential learning around food justice. 

Donations to TENN nurture innovative collaborations between college students and Detroit residents to alleviate hunger, reduce food waste, and support urban agriculture through service, research, and educational initiatives.

Gifts can be made using Venmo, ApplePay, GooglePay, PayPal and all major credit cards.

2021 Annual Report