Obituary

Tallu Schuyler Quinn, founder of the Nashville Food Project, died Thursday (2/17/2022) after a hard-fought battle with cancer.

She was 42.

A Nashville native, Quinn was an alumna of Tennessee Tech's fibers program.

"She built an impressive and impactful program that addresses food insecurity and food sovereignty problems in the greater Nashville area," her alma mater posted online. "To know her, was to love her. She was an incredible beam of light and love."

Tallu grew up in an artistic family with a songwriting father, Thom Schuyler, and artist mother, Sarah, whose painting of Tallu’s brain inspired the cover of her book.

“People have often complimented Sarah and me for the manner in which we raised Tallu," her father told The Tennessean Friday. "The fact is that she arrived with these remarkable gifts of kindness and generosity.  We simply walked alongside her.  It was a privilege and oh how we loved her.” 

Tallu attended Harpeth Hall School and later earned a B.F.A in Papermaking and Bookbinding from the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tennessee.  She received a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University in New York, where she focused her studies on art.  Tallu founded The Nashville Food Project in 2011 at age 31.

What began from a modest church kitchen and a handful of volunteers delivering sandwiches to homeless camps morphed into multi-pronged, interrelated initiatives for food justice, the non-profit wrote in an online blog post Friday. Under Tallu’s guidance, hundreds of thousands of scratch-made, nourishing meals have been shared across the city.

"A robust food waste recovery program has diverted hundreds of thousands of pounds of food away from landfills to be stewarded instead for highest best use," the blog post reads. "And an agriculture program for farmers and community gardens sprang up in green spaces across the city empowering Nashvillians from a myriad of backgrounds to grow for themselves and their communities."

In July 2020, Tallu was diagnosed with glioblastoma. After her diagnosis, she continued writing on her CaringBridge website even as her vision began to fail. In addition to touching on the issues of her life’s work, she also dove deeper into matters of love, family, grief, the body and death. "She eloquently and honestly shared her thoughts in stories that are at once humorous and heartbreaking, clinging to life while also showing us how to let go," the blog post continues. "She taught those around her with her presence to the very end." At the one year anniversary of her diagnosis, she wrote a reflection that included this ending: “I understand that whatever pain our family is facing is only the flipped side of what holds us together in love.”

Scores of friends and loved ones went on social media Friday to express their grief following her death as well as gratitude for her life. "I mourn the loss of this extraordinary woman, I can’t help but think of the thousands of Nashvillians that won’t go to bed hungry tonight because of Tallu, "Ellen Musick posted on Facebook. "And they won’t be hungry tomorrow, either. Or the next day. Although her candle burned out tonight, she will remain a light in this world forever."

In addition to her parents, Quinn is survived by her husband Robbie Quinn, children Tallulah and Thomas Quinn, brothers Roy and Luke Schuyler and a slew of other relatives.

“Tallu was always busy: busy making stock in the kitchen, busy being with the people she loved, busy canning tomatoes, busy working toward a vision of what she believed is possible, and busy being an amazing mother and spouse," her husband said. "Her voice, her laugh, her warmth - they are all one of a kind, and all helped anyone she encountered feel truly seen. She didn’t shy away from hard topics and hard problems, instead hoping fiercely toward what is right. And when she got diagnosed, she kept on seeking, and sharing, and loving. She has left us all memories of how we can daily walk paths of compassion and unbounded love.”

A private natural burial ritual was held at Larkspur Conservation at Taylor Hollow on Sunday February 20th followed by a public memorial on Tuesday, February 22nd at Woodmont Christian Church.