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)

Starting June 1, 2026, Food First NL will be accepting applications from retailers for Phase Two of this project. Up to 16 retailers will be selected to pursue pilot programs which improve food access. Check out our Phase One retailers below for inspiration!

Applications close July 31, 2026.

Benefits of participation include:

  • Hands-on support from Food First NL staff from planning through to implementation

  • The opportunity to co-design a food retail pilot project alongside Food First NL and members of your community

  • Funding to launch your retail food project

  • Mentorship from leaders in the public, private, and community sectors, as well as feedback from people with lived experience of food insecurity

  • Stronger ties to and knowledge of your community and its needs

  • Promotion of your project through our social media platforms, with potential local media coverage

Apply Online Now!

OR

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Printable PDF (fill by hand and letter mail)

For additional information or application support, please reach out to Program Coordinator Alison at gtis@foodfirstnl.ca.

 

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.

 
 

Common Questions

  • Yes, we promise!

  • The only things we ask for are your time and a commitment to your community.

  • No. If you have one already, great! If not, the consultation process will help identify your community’s needs, and ideas can be generated at that stage.

  • Yes! Please complete a separate application form for each business.

  • Anything that has a lasting impact on your business and that can continue to be part of your retail setup once the project ends. In the past, this has looked like equipment for portioning, storing, or repackaging food, minor renovations to the retail space, and new signage.

  • No. This project is open to already established retailers only.

  • Thanks, but no. Great Things in Store is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. If you want to lend your support, please encourage your local retailers to apply!

 

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