By Karen Parr-Moody
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – It has been almost three months since the Tree of Life Center opened at 30 Crossland Avenue to offer a new selection of groceries to Clarksville customers. It has a wide assortment of organic goods, including name brands carried by bigger stores such as Whole Foods. But it also offers locally-sourced foods, including bread, meat, milk, eggs, produce and juice.
Additionally, the center offers many gluten-free baked products, including homemade scones, quick breads, sandwich breads, muffins, brownies and cookies.
Since opening the store, Yvonne Chamberlain said customers repeat a familiar refrain when they discover that she is the owner.
“When someone knows I’m the owner, I’m thanked for bringing this to Clarksville,” she said. “I didn’t expect that.”
The store is also branching out beyond its niche as a health food purveyor. It is working with a variety of groups to educate the public about healthy living.
On June 29 the Tree of Life Center will host the class “Making Ointments and Topical Preparations” from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Then on July 13 it will host the class “Making Your Own Herbal First-Aid Kit” from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Read more about the classes and purchase tickets at naturalchoicesbotanica.com.
The center also produces the “Cooking for Life” series of healthy cooking classes, which Chamberlain posts on YouTube and links to the Tree of Life Facebook page. These classes educate people on how to cook vegan and/or gluten-free foods. The next cooking class will be on July 8 with a topic of how to make sauerkraut with Misti’s Ferments products.
The store will have its Grand Opening event on June 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during which its vendors will offer food samples.
For more information on the store, call 931-919-2836 or visit the website at www.treeoflifeclarksville.com.
The Tree of Life Center offers a variety of organic and locally-grown produce./Karen Parr-Moody
Karen Parr-Moody began a career as a New York journalist, working as a fashion reporter for Women’s Wear Daily, a beauty editor for Young Miss and a beauty and fashion writer for both In Style and People magazines. Regionally, she has been a writer at The Leaf-Chronicle newspaper and currently writes about arts and culture for Nashville Arts magazine each month.