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Local nonprofit All Sorts Lobby outlines warming-shelter "lobby" model after serving thousands of meals
Summary
Sarah Champion, founder of All Sorts Lobby, described a community-run warming shelter and weekly Saturday dinners in Madison that grew from a one-night effort to serving thousands of meals; she invited members to visit the Saturday dinner service.
Sarah Champion told the HPC about All Sorts Lobby, a community-run project that began after she left the music business and started informal outreach near Gallatin Pike. She described a warming-shelter pilot at Madison's Amquee Station in December 2024 that quickly expanded: "We were open for 250 hours and served over 2,500 meals with just community and volunteer support," she said.
Champion said the project evolved into regular Saturday dinners and at one point served 5,300 guests in a larger co-op space. The model emphasizes low barriers: guests are welcomed without requiring proof of housing status or sobriety and volunteers learned to prioritize dignity and relationship-building. "What we can all do to help is be present and listen," she told members, and she invited the body to visit the Saturday dinner (start time typically between 5:30 and 6 p.m.).
Council members and staff praised the work and invited the presenter to the shelter committee to share more about partnerships and space options. The presentation underscored the role small, "scrappy" community efforts play in supplementing formal shelter capacity in Nashville.
What happens next: The shelter committee and other members were invited to meet the presenter and explore partnerships or space leads for future winter operations.
