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.
This year was also a big one for the Board as we worked through the development of a new Strategic Framework that will guide Food First NL through the next three years. For the first time in many, many years we also revisited our organizational Mission, Vision, and Values. The world that Food First NL is working in has changed immensely - not just over the past three years of the pandemic, but also over the more than twenty years since the organization was founded.
The Board greatly valued the opportunity this process provided to think long-term about where the organization is going, and to reflect on the thoughtful and candid feedback that we were able to gather from so many people. We were reminded once more just how vital the work of Food First NL is, and of the huge diversity of work that gets gathered together when we talk about the food system. We were also reminded that one of the most important things that a Strategic Framework can do is help the team prioritize where, in that huge system, to apply themselves. We’re very confident that our new framework will do that.
As we head into the next year, we know that the work of Food First NL and its many, many partners has never been more important, and we see just how much potential there is for big shifts in our province’s food systems. Thank you for taking this journey with us.
Carolann Harding
Chair, Board of Directors
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.
Looking through the lens of this crisis, the food system’s contrasts really are stark. In the medium term, it’s easy to see how this province could emerge as a national or even a global leader in food security. The building blocks are there in the conversations we’re having about a basic income, about the social determinants of health, and about the infrastructure we need for our local food systems to thrive. This potential leadership is in stark contrast with the short term, where a food security crisis continues at the ground level and responses still seem uncertain.
Contrasts were a theme elsewhere in our food systems too. Headlines with dire-seeming statistics about farming were featured alongside many stories of innovation and growth in how we produce, distribute, and access food in Newfoundland and Labrador. Provincial, regional, and national networks are also getting stronger. At every turn, there seems to be a group of people creatively working to address the issues. There is momentum building in so many places right now. We’re very excited to be a part of it.
Looking inside Food First NL, we see contrasts again. It was a year spent reacting quickly to a changing world and also a year spent thinking years down the road during our strategic planning process. It was a year when we felt the weight of pushing through the pandemic and also a year when we felt the excitement of launching some long-held dreams out into the world.
Amidst these contrasts, one constant has been teamwork and partnership. I’m so proud of our wonderful staff, who are guided and supported by a great board. Beyond our organization, we also have a great network of partners across the province and the country who really stepped up this year to help shape the work. Our organization and our network have laid strong foundations for a transformative 2023. I’m looking forward to it.
Joshua Smee
CEO