Elizabeth Franklin

As the primary caregiver for her four grandchildren, Mrs. Elizabeth Franklin knows the importance of the federal nutrition programs for Tennessee families. Elizabeth found TJC when she was faced with complicated bureaucracy requirements to keep her family’s SNAP benefits during the pandemic. The Franklin family has participated in SNAP since their grandchildren were babies, but Elizabeth feared their benefits would be terminated when she was sent a notice and paperwork that was complicated and difficult to complete. TJC helped Elizabeth complete her paperwork requirements, which ensured that Elizabeth and her family will have uninterrupted SNAP benefits for the next 2 years. Since then, Elizabeth has worked with TJC’s nutrition team to advocate for strengthening the SNAP, Pandemic-EBT and school meals programs, and so we honor Mrs. Elizabeth Franklin as a 2022 Mother of the Year. 

A longtime resident of Middle Tennessee, Elizbeth, her husband Anthony, and their grandchildren, have called Nashville home for many years. Before moving to Nashville, Elizabeth grew up on her family farm in rural South Carolina. When she moved to Middle Tennessee, her family began to grow and she now cares for her four grandchildren, who range in age from 7 to 16 and all attend Metro Nashville Public Schools. Elizabeth is very involved in her South Nashville neighborhood, working with her local traffic monitors and school bus drivers to assist kids to load the bus and cross the streets safely before school each morning.  

Mr. And Mrs. Franklin’s primary income are their social security benefits, which can be difficult to stretch to care for a family of six. This is where programs like SNAP, P-EBT and Families First come into play, helping to extend Elizabeth’s monthly budget so that she can ensure her grandchildren have everything they need. Elizabeth’s support of the federal nutrition programs is shown through her willingness to help her neighbors and other families to better understand how they work and how beneficial they can be. As Elizbeth explains, “these benefits programs are essential for the health of so many families and children across the state of Tennessee.”  

Photographs by Lisa Link