Josh Smee

Nice to be back in the Happy City space to speak to folks at their Campaign School. Municipal elections are this October - get out and run!

FFNL staff listen to a presentation from Ian at Tree of Life in their gardens

FFNL staff have circle time in the grass at Tree of Life with blankets, pillows, smiles, and sodas.

With our staff spread across the province, bringing us all together is tricky, but always the highlight of the season!

To say there was a lot of gratitude and joy in the room at this year's Staff Gathering is an understatement.

Grey day on the West Coast today but the @foodfirstnl.ca Food Hub is full of colour.

2024 Food Insecurity Data for N.L. — Food First NL The latest data from Statistics Canada confirms what we already knew — food insecurity continues to get worse. Our blog post explains the data for Newfoundland and Labrador and offers our thoughts abo...

And here's our more detailed breakdown of these very concerning food insecurity numbers:

www.foodfirstnl.ca/blog/2024-fo...

A man speaks to people on chairs in a greenhouse

Spent a lovely Sunday afternoon at the Autism Society Greenhouse for the Food Producers Forum AGM. Lots on the go with their work, including a shiny updated website at www.foodproducersforum.com

Our crew at @foodfirstnl.ca will take a dive into these data in the coming weeks, as will our colleagues from food organizations around the country.

Suffice it to say, though, that these are tragic and unacceptable numbers that we can't let ourselves get used to seeing.

As always, single parent families are especially at risk here. In NL just short of 60% are food insecure. That's a number with a lot of long term consequences.

Looking at this data also busts some common assumptions. A big one: people tend to think seniors, especially those living alone, are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity but in fact the reverse is true. In NL The rate of food insecurity for single seniors is half that of single non-seniors.

A small silver lining is that our rate of severe food insecurity (aka hunger) actually fell a little bit, from 8.7% to 8.3%. Growth in the overall rate driven by more people being moderately food insecure. With most new support programs targeting the very poorest this is what you'd expect to see.

The data dump that our team at @foodfirstnl.ca waits for every year is here - new food insecurity numbers (for 2023) from the Canadian Income Survey.

The news is... not good. 30.1% of NLers were food insecure in 2023, up from 26% the year before. Third highest rate of the provinces.

A very useful graph/thread here!

Labradorians, it's survey time! Our team at @foodfirstnl.ca has a survey out to gather some info about what kinds of country foods people want to eat. This will help inform all sorts of work happening in Labrador right now.

Survey link is here: survey.alchemer-ca.com/s3/50271634/...

The end of the carbon rebate is unquestionably bad for low income households. Life just got more expensive for people who can least afford it.

So, some crossed fingers (and maybe a friendly note to your MHA) are what the Library needs right now. If all goes well, the West End will get a great new space with some room to do all the amazing things libraries do. (5/5)

The idea of a library in a mall has raised a few eyebrows, but IMHO it's an excellent fit. The mall has excellent transit access, solid accessibility infrastructure, and lots of co-located services. There's a reason mall libraries are actually pretty common in Canada - they're useful! (4/5)

What we need, now, is for this project to be included in the next provincial budget. The libraries are provincial, and so approving a new lease is part of the Department of Education's budget process. The provincial board for the library system has recommended this, so we're hopeful! (3/5)

What put this out in public was that we were successful in an application to the City of St. John's for a capital grant. That $50,000 grant will be matched by $75,000 in fundraised money from our board to cover the costs of fitting out a new space. (2/5)

Popular Topsail Road library moving to Village Mall St. John’s Public Libraries receives $50,000 capital grant to create larger, accessible, modernized facility in city’s west end

A fun little cat to let out of the bag this week (I'm on the St. John's Public Libraries Board) is that we're hoping to move the Michael Donovan Library from it's itty-bitty storefront (1600 square feet!) to a bigger more accessible spot in the Village. It's not a done deal yet, though! (1/5)

We've got town hall meetings coming up Friday at lunch and Tuesday at supper! Good food and good chats for sure. Register at www.77charter.ca

All provinces and territories join Ottawa’s national school food program Advocates say the program is a crucial step in supporting students and help families struggling with rising food costs

Canada now has a national school food program now that all provinces and territories have inked funding deals with Ottawa, by @davemcginn.bsky.social
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... via @theglobeandmail.com  
@chsfcanada.bsky.social

Looking forward to speaking to some smart folks for this one!

This is neat! Designs are regionalized so there are some Atlantic Canada ones that look pretty nifty.

Setting up for a lived-experience focus group to start. Excited to hear what folks have to say.

Dark times these days so it's nice to have some dreaming to do. Won't you join us? 77charter.ca is the spot!

I'll be on CBC radio in Labrador this morning at 7:40 Labrador time, talking tariffs and what they mean for our food systems. Listen in if you're in the Big Land!

What Could the Trade War Mean for the Right to Food in Newfoundland and Labrador? — Food First NL The threat has now become reality. As of March 4th, the United States imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian imports and Canada launched retaliatory tariffs on a range of American goods.  To wrap your ...

Some thoughts on the trade war, now posted on the @foodfirstnl.ca blog.

Things are going to be hard, but there are the beginnings of a road map on how to respond.

We just finished up a fun afternoon launching this thing with some great friends and colleagues. It's pretty neat to look back on a year's work and have so much to talk about. Super-proud of our team at @foodfirstnl.ca today.

Going on air with the CBC St. John's Morning Show around 7:20 to talk school food! There's a big survey out and a ton of opportunities coming. Listen in if you can!

Annual Community Update — Food First NL More information and registration for the annual Food First NL Community Update.

All are welcome to join us this Thursday as we look back on our work in 2024 and plan for 2025. Enjoy some light refreshments, explore our new home, and let us know what you'd like to see happen at Charter Avenue -- YOUR new community food space!

Register now: www.foodfirstnl.ca/community-up...