The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and partner agencies will host the third annual Food Waste Prevention Week April 1-7.

TDEC will partner with the University of Tennessee Extension; Clean Memphis; New Terra Compost; Zero Waste Nashville; Urban Green Lab; Tennessee State University; the Network for Sustainable Solutions; the Society of St. Andrew; and other organizations for a week of virtual and in-person education and outreach.

A statewide food drive, in partnership with the University of Tennessee Extension, runs through April 14 and is aimed at improving food security. Donations for the food drive can be made at this link.

Food Waste Prevention Week will begin with an event in Nashville at Tennessee State University, featuring a panel discussion of local experts (streamed also as a webinar) and chef demonstration to follow.

The week will culminate with events in Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga at local breweries April 6. Several brewers are partnering with local bakeries to take unsold bread and turn it into a brew to raise awareness about the issue.

The events will inform Tennesseans about the importance of reducing food waste, increasing food recovery and other strategies. All events for the week, both virtual and in-person, are free, open to the public and family-friendly.

Information/events

State unemployment falls to 3.3% in February

After a slight increase at the start of 2024, Tennessee’s unemployment rate dropped to near record-low levels in February.

Department of Labor and Workforce Development data showed the new seasonally adjusted statewide rate for the month at 3.3%, a decrease of 0.2% from January’s revised rate.

The state’s all-time low seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3.1%, which was recorded during April, May and June in 2023.

The latest jobless number for February mirrors the state’s statistics from the same month last year.

Total nonfarm employment in Tennessee increased by 10,100 jobs between January and February. The education and health services sector saw the biggest gain during the month. The professional and business services sector added the next largest number of jobs, followed by the government sector.

When looking back over the year, Tennessee employers added 6,700 new nonfarm jobs to their payrolls. The education and health services sector led the year-to-year job growth, followed by the other services sector and then the leisure and hospitality sector.

Nationally, seasonally adjusted unemployment increased in February to 3.9%, which is a 0.2% jump from January’s rate of 3.7%. One year ago, the national jobless rate was 3.6%.

Opioid council grants total $81M

Tennessee’s Opioid Abatement Council is releasing its first ever community grants totaling $80,936,057. Programs funded through the grants will support work in response to opioid addiction throughout Tennessee for up to three years.

Organizations from across the state designed programs and submitted 396 proposals during the OAC’s application period last fall. Council staff and members processed, evaluated and scored the proposals. The Opioid Abatement Council debated and approved 116 grants during a meeting in Farragut March 18.

In meetings leading up to the grant application period, the Council decided percentages of funding to dedicate to each of six approved strategies. Final totals of programs funded in each of the areas are as follows:

• Treatment – $32,775,972

• Recovery Support – $18,970,500

• Primary Prevention – $12,201,837

• Education and Training – $8,173,701

• Harm Reduction – $8,061,539

• Research and Evaluation – $752,508

Funding for the community grants comes from settlements with opioid producers, distributors, pharmacies, and marketers litigated by the Tennessee Attorney General. The settlement proceeds are first split with 15% going to local governments and 15% going to state government and 70% going to the Opioid Abatement Trust Fund.

Yoshi acquires West Coast-based MACi

Yoshi Mobility, the leading tech-enabled mobile car care company, today announced that it has acquired Mobile Auto Concepts Inc., a full suite mobile automotive services company that specializes in tire care and replacement, preventive maintenance, multipoint inspections, eco-friendly washes and more.

MACi is headquartered in San Francisco with operations up and down the West Coast in major metropolitan areas including San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Seattle and Los Angeles.

MACi’s suite of mobile automotive services will be integrated into the company’s service offerings and rebranded as part of Yoshi Mobility. Notably, MACi’s eco-conscious car washes and on-site tire services will complement Yoshi Mobility’s mobility platform, bolstering its network of certified mobile technicians who provide both on-site and virtual services.

Notable MACi customers include Zipcar, UpShift Inc., University of San Francisco, Getaround, and the City of San Francisco.

RaganSmith acquired by Pape-Dawson

Pape-Dawson Engineers, LLC has acquired engineering firm RaganSmith as part of its strategy to expand its industry-leading civil engineering, surveying, and land planning practice across the United States.

Established in 1933, RaganSmith’s 170 team members offer professional civil engineering, surveying, land planning, landscape architecture, transportation and environmental services. The firm is headquartered in Nashville with additional locations in Chattanooga and Murfreesboro. RaganSmith is Pape-Dawson’s first acquisition in Tennessee.

Musicians On Call looking for volunteers

With millions of people experiencing the stress of the hospital environment, along with their concerned loved ones and dedicated health care workers, Musicians On Call’s mission to bring live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients, families and caregivers in health care environments is more critical than ever.

As Musicians On Call continues to expand its bedside program in cities like Houston, Portland, Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Washington D.C., San Jose and Las Vegas, the organization is also looking for musicians and music lovers to help share the joys of live music as certified MOC Volunteers.

Volunteer Musicians are local, professional-caliber musicians who perform hopeful songs at the bedside or live during virtual programs. Volunteer Guides act as the “eyes and ears” of MOC, leading the musician through the experience of playing for patients and liaising between families and staff, both at the bedside and virtually.

Through Musicians On Call’s bedside and virtual programs, patients experience the physical, mental and emotional benefits of live music in the hospital setting. It has been demonstrated that music has a direct effect on people and can manage stress, alleviate pain and improve blood pressure, outlook and overall mood.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering can learn more at www.musiciansoncall.org/volunteer.

Bridgetown Natural Foods adds Tennessee plant

Bridgetown Natural Foods officials announced the company will invest $78.3 million to expand its Oregon-based operations by locating a manufacturing and distribution facility in Lebanon.

Bridgetown Natural Foods, LLC is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The company specializes in manufacturing and distributing its innovative and sustainable food products to customers across the U.S.

The Wilson County facility will be Bridgetown’s second location outside of its west coast headquarters and 219 new jobs will be created as a result of the project.

Bridgetown’s new facility will house multiple manufacturing lines, which will produce nearly 100 million pounds of the company’s all-natural, organic and gluten-free snack brands annually and optimize distribution to the East Coast by shortening delivery times and decreasing shipping costs.

Upon completion, Bridgetown will employ more than 600 people across its Oregon and Tennessee plants.

Landmark Ceramics to expand Maury plant

Landmark Ceramics UST, Inc. officials announced the company is investing $71.9 million to expand its tile production in Mount Pleasant.

A subsidiary of Italian-based Gruppo Concorde, Landmark Ceramics UST, Inc. is a 100-percent American ceramic tile company that specializes in the production and marketing of high-quality porcelain tile.

The expansion in Maury County increases Landmark Ceramics’ footprint by more than 400,000 square feet and increases its installed production capacity to 80 million square feet a year. The company plans to create an additional 78 new jobs at its North Main Street location.

In addition, the project includes the creation of a new logistics hub, which will be modern, highly automated and equipped with state-of-the-art technology to enhance quality, efficiency, accuracy and precision for all Landmark Ceramics’ logistics services.

VW workers to vote on union

Workers at Volkswagen’s factory in Chattanooga will vote next month on whether they want to be represented by the United Auto Workers union.

The National Labor Relations Board said Monday the election will take place from April 17 to 19 at the plant, in the first test of the union’s effort to organize nonunion automobile factories across the nation.

Workers at the 3.8 million square foot factory with more than 4,000 production workers filed paperwork March 18 seeking the election.

Both sides reached agreement to have the election in April, the NLRB said.

The UAW announced its organizing campaign last fall after it won strong contracts with Detroit automakers. The UAW said it would simultaneously target more than a dozen nonunion auto plants including those run by Tesla, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Honda and others.

Volkswagen has said it respects the workers’ right “to a democratic process and to determine who should represent their interests. “We will fully support an NLRB vote so every team member has a chance to vote in privacy in this important decision.”