Six restaurants helping Chattanooga Eat Green for Tennessee on Wednesday

There’s no need to hit up all six places — there’s no virtue in gluttony, after all — but Chattanoogans who eat all their meals out on Wednesday, Sept. 14, have multiple chances to support a worthy cause.

A half-dozen Chattanooga restaurants — and several more in Nashville, if you’re traveling — will take part in the Land Trust for Tennessee’s annual Eat Green for Tennessee fundraiser. Locally, diners can support the cause at 1885 Grill, Alleia, Lupi’s Pizza Pies, Niedlov’s, Puckett’s and Slick’s Burgers.

On that day, 10 percent or more of the day’s sales will be donated to the Land Trust for Tennessee in support of the nonprofit organization’s work to protect Tennessee’s natural landscapes and the local farms that figure into farm-to-table cuisine. The state’s protected greenspace includes the farmland that provides seasonal fresh produce grown only miles away.

In a news release, the nonprofit organization says agriculture contributes $20 billion to the state economy and supports 200,000 jobs each year.

“We are the only statewide organization actively focused on conserving farmland, and our restaurant partners understand the importance of that on a local and global scale,” explains Land Trust President and CEO Liz Edsall McLaurin.

Daniel Lindley, chef/ proprietor at Alleia, an upscale Italian restaurant, calls the Land Trust “an integral part of the farmto-restaurant cycle.”

“Alleia’s strong commitment to our community allows us to depend on local farms and farmers for the freshest, most seasonally relevant ingredients,” he says. Support of the Land Trust helps “to ensure quality of life through seasonal food and beautiful surroundings for generations to come.”

The Land Trust has protected more than 100,000 acres of green space in Tennessee, including public

parks, viewsheds on the Natchez Trace Parkway and more than 90 private family farms. Such efforts in permanent land conservation support not only local food production but tourism, recreation and cultural heritage.

Nearly 40,000 of the protected acres are in the Southeast and South Cumberland Region surrounding Chattanooga, including Fiery Gizzard, portions of Lost Cove, parts of the Mountain Goat Trail and Blythe Ferry on the Hiwassee Refuge. To date, the Land Trust has completed 329 projects in 61 counties and is working on 50 projects in 25 counties.

For more information, visit www.eatgreenfortn. org, or call the Land Trust’s Chattanooga office at 423-305-1783.