People said they looked forward to receiving the Toolkits. They told us they enjoyed making the meals and sharing them with their families. The Food Toolkits offered a positive, low-stress experience with food and cooking — an experience where food could be a source of joy and connection.

The Government of Canada recently released a new Food Security Strategy. There’s a lot to digest in there, with some interesting implications for Newfoundland and Labrador. We break down what it is, what it might do, and what it could mean for our province.

Recommendation 1: Enhance existing income supports
Recommendation 2: Strengthen Investments in School Food
Recommendation 3: Resource and engage with the movement to create a basic income in Canada
Recommendation 4: Set targets for food insecurity reduction
Recommendation 5: Support and strengthen Indigenous food sovereignty

The 2025 Statistics Canada data marks the first decrease in food insecurity rates since 2022. While we can be cautiously optimistic about this, 25% of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are still experiencing food insecurity. That number is far too high.

The Provincial Government recently released the cost of a 2024 Newfoundland and Labrador Nutritious Food Basket. The Nutritious Food Basket is a standardized tool used to calculate the weekly cost of meeting the nutrient requirements for a family of four.

In October 2024, it cost an average of $336 for a family of four in N.L. to purchase enough nutritious food for a week. That's $1,344 per month.

At Food First NL, our mission is to advance everyone’s right to food in Newfoundland and Labrador. As your new government works to develop its first budget since taking office, we are happy to offer suggestions on how that budget could help Newfoundlanders and Labradorians access the food they need.

Our Annual Community Update is our chance to tell you about everything we’ve been working on over the past year. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on that work together as we begin a new year and move forward as an organization.

Everyone is welcome. Registration is required.

In fall 2024, Food First NL joined our project partners, the Campus Food Bank and the Hub for the Study of Local Governance in N.L., to understand food insecurity on campus. We wanted to learn who uses the Campus Food Bank, who doesn’t, and to hear their stories.

Food First NL's work is taken on by a dedicated staff team (20 and growing!) and guided by an engaged, policy-focused Board of Directors. That Board has a small number of open seats and is now seeking new members.

The Board of Directors meets quarterly with secretarial support from Food First NL staff. The Executive Committee meets at least quarterly as well. Terms are two years long and directors may serve up to three terms. Board members may be located anywhere in the province.

Back in August, Food First NL submitted 16 recommendations to the federal government during their Pre-Budget Consultations. We joined food security leaders across the country to call for: increased incomes, targets to reduce food insecurity, advancements in Indigenous-led food sovereignty initiatives, and a permanent school food program.

Of those sixteen recommendations, Budget 2025 delivers only one.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a new government. Under the Liberals we saw important strides forward in addressing poverty and food insecurity across the province. However, there’s a long way to go before we have a province where everyone can eat with joy and dignity. We look forward to seeing this important work continued under the Progressive Conservatives (PCs).

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians go to the polls on October 14th, 2025 to elect a new provincial government. Use this fact sheet to understand the issue and to ask some questions of your local candidates and the parties they represent.

Food is a basic human right – but many people don’t have access to the food they need. Every town and city in Newfoundland and Labrador will elect a new council on October 8, 2025. The people we choose to represent us on these councils will have a big impact on the right to food in Newfoundland and Labrador. Use this fact sheet to help talk to your municipal candidates.

Our submission to the fall 2025 Federal Pre-Budget Consultations. We provide five recommendations to advance the right to food through federal roles and responsibilities.

Beginning this fall, the Avalon Food Hub will connect local food producers and vendors with customers around the region through an online store and a logistics operation. It will be based in the new community food space at 77 Charter Avenue in the Pleasantville Neighbourhood of St. John’s. This new program is supported by an investment from the Northpine Foundation.

The latest data from Statistics Canada confirms what we already knew — food insecurity continues to get worse.

In 2024, 25.5% of people in the ten provinces lived in a food-insecure household in the past 12 months. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 30.1% of people lived in a food-insecure household. That’s 158,000 of our neighbours and community members.

Canada is facing some huge challenges to the right to food. We’re in the middle of a food price and food insecurity crisis, a climate crisis, and a trade war, to name a few.

With the Canadian federal election campaign well underway, we’re eager to hear new policy ideas that address these challenges. Advancing the right to food will require decisive action by the federal government. While provinces and cities have important roles to play, we need federal leadership.

The threat has now become reality. As of March 4th, the United States imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian imports and Canada launched retaliatory tariffs on a range of American goods.  To wrap your head around the details, the CBC has a good tariff explainer of some main points.

Canada is now in a trade war with our largest trading partner, and we’re likely to see serious and wide-ranging impacts on our food systems. However, the scope and scale of those impacts depend on what kinds of policy responses roll out and how fast.

January 31, 2025 - A coalition of four community food organizations across Atlantic Canada will soon launch a grant program to support nonprofit school food organizations in the region to acquire the infrastructure needed to strengthen and expand their work. A total of $1,000,000 will be distributed through this fund in 2025.  Food First NL will serve as the lead partner, responsible for receiving and distributing the funds and reporting on how they’re used.

For the second year in a row, the Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security contracted the Gandalf Group to research public attitudes about the policies needed to reduce food insecurity in Canada.

This year, the poll over-sampled here in Newfoundland and Labrador. This gives us a rare look at more reliable provincial-level data.