Annual Report 2022
Reflections on 2022
A Message From Our Chair
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Food First NL, thank you for your interest in and support of our work in 2022. It was a big and challenging year as our team managed significant growth, worked within a cost-of-living crisis that is drastically affecting food access in the province, and stepped back into some areas of work that had been quiet during these past few years of lockdown. The Board is very proud of our staff team as they managed this complex interplay and took some big steps forward.
A Message From Our CEO
Our food system has always been full of contrasts. Never has this been more true than it was in 2022.
For so many people, 2022 was a year of hard times. We saw a cost-of-living crisis unfold that’s had huge impacts on household food insecurity. Many people who were just keeping their heads above water and food on the table can no longer afford to do so. That reality shaped a lot of our work this year at Food First NL, both on the ground and in the policy and advocacy space.
In This Report
2022 was a year of growth and change for Food First NL. Our staff grew, many of our programs moved into their next phases, and we launched three new programs. We thought critically about our work and created a new Strategic Framework. We worked alongside countless inspiring and dedicated community members and partners.
Our 2022 Annual Report captures some of this growth and change while providing an overview of our work. We've also commented on the State of Food Security to list some of the things that shaped our work in 2022.
Contents
Funders
Canadian Cancer Society (via Memorial University research partners)
Catherine Donnelly Foundation
Chevron Canada
City of St. John’s
Community Food Centres Canada
Community Sector Council NL
End Homelessness St. John’s
Farm to Cafeteria Canada
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Children, Seniors and Social Development
Health and Community Services
Immigration, Population Growth and Skills
John and Judy Bragg Family Foundation Applied Research Fund
Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security
Medavie Foundation
Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador (Public Engagement Accelerator Grant)
Northpine Foundation
Nourish Leadership
Private Donors
Public Health Agency of Canada
Sunlife St. John’s Employees
Staff
Current
Joshua Smee, Chief Executive Officer
Ashton Lane, Finance and Administration Manager
Sarah Ferber, Program Manager
Heather Reid, Communications Coordinator
Kim Budgell, Finance and Administration Coordinator
Alison Bennett-James, Program Coordinator
Carla Saunders, Program Coordinator
Laurel Huget, Program Coordinator
Sarah Crocker, Program Coordinator
Les Perry, Regional Food Animator
Kerrin Rafuse, Communications Assistant
Emily Alexander, Program Assistant
Madison Gregory, Program Assistant
Pam Anstey, Program Assistant
Sierra MacNeil, Program Assistant
Outgoing
Suzanne Hawkins, Program Coordinator
Katie Oldford, Program Assistant
Punit Choubey, Finance and Administration Assistant
Board of Directors
Current
Carolann Harding | Chair
Andre Myers | Vice Chair
Greg Noseworthy | Secretary
Brian Butt | Treasurer
Jamie Jackman
Janine Woodrow
Prem Nijhawan
Melissa Caravan
Darryl Legge
Florence Gushue
Ivan White
Deborah Coombs
Outgoing
Krista Burton | Treasurer