Planning for Food Action in St. John’s

Food First NL’s ongoing food systems work in St. John’s hit two big milestones in 2022. First, we wrapped up the St. John’s Food Assessment — a community-led process that started back in 2020. Second, we launched the city’s first-ever food action plan, “Food Action in St. John’s: A Plan to 2025 and Beyond,” along with our partners at the St. John’s Food Policy Council. In 2023 we will move into a new phase of our work, which will be directed by the goals and actions identified in the Plan.

St. John's Food Assessment

The St. John’s Food Assessment began in 2020 as a community process to look at issues, inform strategies, and guide actions that improve food security for all.  We called it “Eat the City” to capture the potential for civic action and municipal policies to support a sustainable food system. Throughout the assessment process, we saw a real interest in advancing food security in the City of St. John’s and increased engagement, collaboration, and coordination from community members and organizations.

In 2022 we wrapped up the St. John’s Food Assessment process. Our work focused on refining and sharing what we heard from the community about their priorities. This work resulted in the city’s first-ever food action plan — Food Action in St. John’s: A Plan to 2025 and Beyond. Food Action in St. John’s is a solid plan to work together, by meeting people’s needs and sharing our skills and knowledge.

A yard with a green-trimmed white historic house. A twisted tree fills the frame at right, with people seated in its shade. At left, younger audience members sit at a picnic table. A woman with dark hair addresses the crowd from the house steps.

St. John’s Deputy Mayor, Sheilagh O’Leary, speaks to the crowd at O’Brien’s Farm at the launch of the St. John’s Food Action Plan.

2022 Project Highlights

  • Launching the City’s first food action plan —Food Action in St. John’s — at O’Brien Farm with our partners and supporters

  • Working with our second Food Animator Cohort. Thank you Andi, Becky, Justin, Kassie, and Molly!

  • Presenting at the Atlantic Food System Summit about our process and outcomes in November 2022.

A white red-haired woman with glasses addresses a seated audience on the steps of a green-trimmed white historic house via microphone. At left is a tall banner which reads, "Food First NL. Healthy Food for All".

Sarah Crocker, Program Coordinator at Food First NL, addresses the community at O’Brien’s Farm during the launch of the St. John’s Food Action Plan.

The Shoulders We Stand On

  • Food Animators past and present, who worked with us to develop their skills and knowledge to take action on addressing food issues in St. John’s

  • Everyone who participated in, supported, and partnered with us for the St. John’s Food Assessment

  • This process drew heavily on everything we learned from participants and staff at our previous Community-Led Food Assessments

Learn More

Icon of a folded over newspaper.

VOCM’s article on the Food Action Plan Launch.

CBC St. John’s Morning Show segment about the Food Action Plan.

Food Animator Spotlight: Jennifer Collins

Jennifer Collins, holding a microphone to her mouth, looking above the camera and smiling slightly. She's seated in front of a Christmas tree and wearing a dark green sweater.

Jennifer spoke on a panel at the Rethinking Food Charity Gathering about her work with the Local Wellness Collective.

Through the assessment, we’ve put down deep roots in the community and seen each other grow. Jennifer Collins is a wonderful example of this.

Jennifer joined our first cohort of food animators back in 2020/21. Her passion for community care was threaded throughout her term as an animator. For example, one of her projects explored connecting microgreen producers with food banks to improve access to fresh, local produce.

In 2020, Jennifer also co-founded the Local Wellness Collective. The Collective is a key partner for the Community Food Helpline and provides all of the Helpline’s delivery services (more than 3,753 deliveries in 2022!).

On top of her work, Jennifer also joined the 2022 New Found Farmer program at O’Brien Farm! Thanks for everything you do, Jennifer! You inspire us daily.

The action plan’s goals and actions are organized into four themes.

  1. Good Food Policy and Planning: Increasing community members’ ability to engage with food policy in government

  2. Growing Variety of Local and Accessible Food: Increasing community members’ access to local and affordable food

  3. Connections through Food Programs: Increasing community members’ connection to food and each other through community food resources

  4. Youth Raising Awareness: Supporting youth-led food security and food systems initiative

Visit the Food Action in St. John’s: A Plan to 2025 and Beyond webpage to learn more.

Food Action in St. John’s: A Plan to 2025 and Beyond

Project Spotlights

Food, Fishing, Friends

This project was developed by Food Animator, Kassie Drodge, to share cultural knowledge among newcomer youth through hands-on food skills. People came together at Fishing for Success in Petty Harbour to try handline fishing, filleting, and creative painting. They discussed food access over a boil up and built relationships and connections together. Thanks to the Anti-Racism Coalition of NL and the Social Justice Cooperative NL for supporting this event.

Several people wearing life jackets at the front of a boat out in the ocean. One person is standing with their arms wide open and smiling.
A person on a boat in the ocean, wearing a life jacket and enthusiastically holding a hand-caught fish.

Participants got to try handline fishing, to much success! Photo credit: Kassie Drodge

Memorial University’s Geography Capstone Class

Thanks to Dr. Arn Keeling for reaching out with ‘food security’ as the capstone project for his fourth-year geography class. Through the fall 2021 and winter 2022 semesters, students developed research proposals and presented to Food First NL on their topics. Topics included grocery store access, mobile markets, urban forests, food waste, and food literacy in K-12 schools. Congratulations to the students on the depth and range of food systems issues explored!

A screengrab from the story map. One one side is the heading Paradise with a block of small text next to it that describes the area. On the other side is a aerial view of Paradise and surrounding area outlined in yellow.

Screengrab from the interactive story map, “Why is the Grocery Store Closed,” which looked at grocery store walkability and hours of operation to determine how accessible grocery stores are.