Great Things in Store: A Retail-Based Project
Great Things in Store is a multi-year project focused on partnering with local retailers to improve food access and affordability in their communities.
Phase Two (2026 - 2029)
Phase 2 of Great Things in Store launched this past summer with a call for applications. Stay tuned for the official announcement of our Phase 2 retail partners!
In the meantime, you can read all about our Phase 1 retail partners here.
Why Retail Partnerships?
Small food retailers across the province are a core part of how people access food. Convenience stores, small grocery stores, farm stands, and gas stations all play a role in our food system. Small retailers also care about their communities. They know their customers, their community members, and their neighbours. When we work to improve food access, we need to include retailers in that work.
Newfoundland and Labrador faces a number of challenges to food security, including our long and complex supply chain. Combine that with rising food insecurity due to low incomes and the availability of nutritious food in rural communities, and you start to see the cracks more clearly. Data has shown that only increasing incomes will fix this issue, but making food more affordable and easier to physically access will go a long way to help.
Together, we can work toward a Newfoundland and Labrador where everyone has economic and physical access to adequate amounts of nutritious, safe, and culturally appropriate food.
Phase One (2022 - 2024)
Between 2022 and 2024, Food First NL partnered with food retailers and communities across the province. Our goal was to explore retail options that improve food access for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Together, we met with community members and asked them what retailers could do to make a difference.
Our Phase One Retail Partners
We co-created six pilot projects based on what we heard from community members. These projects included delivery services, offering smaller portion sizes, food distribution, ready-to-eat meals, and more.
We worked with:
Flynn’s Clover Farm and Liquor Express (Avondale)
Oceanview Convenience Ltd. (Southern Harbour)
Ray’s by K & D Grocery Ltd. (Paradise)
Spruce Meadow Farms (Happy Valley-Goose Bay)
St. Barbe Consumer’s Co-Operative Society (Flowers Cove)
Three Mile Ridge (Lethbridge)
Learn more about each of our Phase One partners and their projects below.
Questions about the project? Contact us at gtis@foodfirstnl.ca call and leave a message at (709) 237-4026