Community Food Program Support Fund

The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency is seriously impacting food security in Newfoundland and Labrador, both through its economic impacts on people and through its logistical impacts on community food programs.

With that in mind, Food First NL partnered with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to establish a COVID-19 Community Food Program Support Fund to provide immediate resources to community food programs in the province. A initial contribution of $500,000 to support this effort was provided by the Departments of Children, Seniors and Social Development, Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, and Municipal Affairs and Environment. This includes $275,000 from the Labour Market Partnerships program, funded under the Canada-NL Labour Market Development Agreement, to support community food providers in addressing staffing issues. Food First NL has agreed to administer and disburse these funds.

When the fund launched, Food First NL received more than $1.2 Million in requests for support.

Seeing the high level of need, Food First NL has been actively seeking further partnerships to add to the fund and provide larger allocations to applicants. The fund has already had several new partners come on board:

  • The International Grenfell Association has contributed $13,000, allocated to communities in their mandate area on the Northern Peninsula and in Labrador

  • A further $100,000 will come from Community Food Centres Canada’s Good Food Access Fund, itself provided in part by the Government of Canada’s Local Food Infrastructure Fund.

  • $25,000 from the McConnell Foundation

  • A further $200,000 from Community Food Centres Canada’s Good Food Access Fund, supported by a contribution from the Sprott Foundation and earmarked for rural and remote Indigenous communities in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Food First NL continues to seek additional partnerships that would allow us to more fully resource the requests made to this fund. If your organization is interested in contributing, reach out to us at fund@foodfirstnl.ca

In late summer 2020, we were able to redirect resources from several of our ongoing funders to create the Food Systems Recovery Fund, which allowed many of the programs who had been supported with emergency aid to receive additional resources for training, equipment, and certifications.

What we supported

  • Human resources: salaries, honoraria, contractor fees, and mandatory employment-related costs (MERCs)

  • Food supplies

  • Personal protective equipment and serving supplies necessary for safe food programming during COVID-19

  • Hunter’s support expenses (fuel and ammunition)

  • Transportation and storage costs related to food distribution or acquisition

  • Equipment needed for safe and sustainable program delivery (Recovery Fund)

  • Staff and volunteer training (Recovery Fund)

A Few Examples:

  • A food bank uses the Fund to purchase additional stock in preparation for increased demand during COVID-19

  • A meal program hires recently unemployed young people from the community to replace volunteers who have had to step away from their duties. These new staff can still safely operate with COVID-19 precautions including social distancing.

  • A community freezer covers a hunter’s expenses to restock the freezer with wild game

  • A group of neighbours partners with a local church to assemble and distribute food hampers

Eligible Recipients:

This fund was open to registered nonprofit organizations, charities, religious organizations, municipal governments, Indigenous governments, and Indigenous organizations, who are providing community food supports. These programs include:

  • Food banks and hamper programs

  • Programs providing free meals

  • Hunter’s support programs

  • Community freezers and/or food storage programs

Grassroots groups who are unincorporated were welcome to apply - they just needed to identify a partner organization who is an eligible recipient and able to receive the funds on their behalf.

As we head into 2021, we anticipate further resources to flow into this fund through the Federal Government’s second round of emergency food supports, which is rolling out $100 Million nationally.