
City Cast Nashville
🍦 Is this our best new ice cream shop?
June 17, 2026 · 💌 Margaret Kingsbury
Happy Wednesday! We may have been shut out of a James Beard award, but Food & Wine has declared East Nashville’s Cone-cept one of the best new ice cream shops in the U.S. Here are some of our favorite sweet frozen treats!

Today’s Top Story
Tennesseans did not suddenly stop needing help putting food on the table.
🛒 The Nashvillians Losing Food Aid
About 100,000 Tennesseans have lost their SNAP benefits in the last year due to the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut $186 billion from the program. The bill eliminated exceptions to the program’s work requirement for veterans, people over 55, and those experiencing homelessness. Nashvillian Cassandra Doyle lost her SNAP benefits because she’s unable to work while undergoing cancer treatments. [Tennessee Lookout]
- Last month, Tennessee adopted a new SNAP category that increases income and asset limits for applicants, allowing more folks to qualify. [Tennessee Lookout]
- Other changes to SNAP include a ban on some processed foods and drinks. [TN Dept. of Human Services]
- Tennessee recently sent out a one-time, $120 summer food benefit to kids who qualify for reduced lunches in 13 counties, excluding Davidson County. However, state lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year that will allow the state to rejoin a federal program next summer, enabling all 700,000 Tennessee kids who qualify to receive summer food aid in 2027. [WKRN]
- To make up for the coverage gap, Metro Nashville Public Schools is handing out meal kits at Hunters Lane High School on select dates. [WSMV]
- If you need food aid, or you’re able to donate, here’s a list of food banks in Nashville. [📰 City Cast Nashville]

What's CITY Talking About
👋 Nashville’s Sober Hangout Spots
Nashville has a reputation as a party town, but it's also home to one of the largest recovery communities in the country. So where do sober Nashvillians go to find community, have fun, and connect without drugs and alcohol being the center of everything? On today’s podcast, Casey Hyatt of the Cumberland Heights Foundation joins us to share sober events, recovery resources, and some of the best substance-free spaces around town. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]
👩🏽🏫 DACA Renewal Delays
For the last 14 years, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has allowed folks brought to the U.S. as children to legally live and work here, including this local Spanish teacher who came here when she was 13. Delays in DACA renewals put her and the other 7,000 Tennesseans who are recipients at risk of being detained. [NewsChannel 5]
💬 Nashvillians Tell Their Stories of Climate Change
“Voices of Resilience” is a new mixed-media oral history exhibit at Vanderbilt University’s Curb Center that explores the ways Nashvillians have been affected by climate change. One such story included in the exhibit is that of Eleanor “Ellie” Kane, whose family struggled to recover after January’s ice storm. The exhibit is a collaboration between the Urban Green Lab and Tennessee State University. [Nashville Banner]
- The exhibit runs until Aug. 4. You can also listen to the storymap online. [Urban Green Lab]
🏠 Our Houses Aren’t Selling
Nashville is the fifth slowest-selling real estate market in the nation, with homes on the market for a median of 97 days. According to an analysis published by the National Association of Realtors, the housing market could be sluggish because people don’t make enough money to buy the available homes. [🔐 The Tennessean]

What To Do
Wednesday, June 17
- 🚂 America the Beautiful: National Parks & Landmarks by Rail (through Sept. 6) | Cheekwood | 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
- 🐈 Kitten Reading Club | Metro Animal Care and Control | 10 a.m.-Noon
- 🥕 Abunduncia CSA Preparation Volunteer | Cosecha Community Development | 12:30-2 p.m.
- 📙 Book Launch for “The Come Apart” by Susannah Felts | Vinyl Tap | 5-7 p.m.
- 📕 An Evening with Mary Frances Berry | Main Library Branch | 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- 🍽️ The Farm Supper | Southall Farm | 6:30 p.m.
- 😆 House of Holiday 4: Pride | Zanies | 7 p.m.
- 🎶 Nate Smith | Ryman Auditorium | 7:30 p.m.
- 🎥 Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair (through June 23) | The Belcourt Theatre | 7:30 p.m.
- 💫 Fireflies at Lytle Bend | Shelby Bottoms Nature Center | 7:45-9 p.m.
Thursday, June 18
- 🍻 Frontline Tastings: Nashville | 1010 4th Ave. N. | 1:30-4 p.m.
- 🛍️ Gulch Summer Market | Noble Park | 3-6 p.m.
- 🤣 Dave Attell | Zanies | 7 p.m.
- 🎵 The Women of Country Presents GIRLS NIGHT OUT | 3rd and Lindsley | 7 p.m.
- 🎷 Live Jazz | Vinyl Tap | 7-10 p.m.
- 🎶 Nate Smith | Ryman Auditorium | 7:30 p.m.
- 🎤 Kittie with Special Guests Kingdom of Giants and Gore | Brooklyn Bowl | 7:30 p.m.
- 🎥 Movies in the Park: Zootopia 2 | Elmington Park | 8 p.m.
- 🍒 Cherry Bomb | Cannery Hall | 8 p.m.
Another one gone: 12 South’s Burger Up is closing. It’s been a neighborhood staple since 2010. Get there for one last meal before its final day of service on Aug. 1.
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