Promote and support efforts to improve access to safe, stable, nutritious, and affordable food sources for the urban Indigenous community. This includes wild game, country foods, and other culturally significant sources of nutrition.

First Light food security initiatives growing

In 2025, First Light received its first moose licence and successfully harvested its first moose. The harvest was shared with community members, supporting food security, cultural practices, and the revitalization of traditional food sharing.

The City of St. John’s has allocated garden spaces at the H.G.R. Mews Community Centre and Victoria Park Community Gardens for First Light to support community gardening initiatives. Committee members visited the Botanical Gardens to gather inspiration and learn from existing gardening practices. Gardening activities continue at First Light’s Bannerman Street location, where residents are participating in hands-on gardening activities along with staff. A greenhouse will be constructed to extend the growing season and create additional opportunities for land-based learning.

Raised garden beds have also been established at the First Light Daycare Centre as part of land-based learning programming, where children are able to learn about plant lifecycles through growing herbs, caring for plants, and incorporating harvested herbs into cooking activities. Additionally, the Lunar Inn (First Light’s experiential learning hub) is developing a raised medicine garden featuring traditional medicines such as sage, sweetgrass, tobacco and Labrador tea, along with a secondary vegetable garden. This space will support cultural teachings, land-based learning, and community connection.

Food First NL continuing advocacy

Food First NL has partnered with Indigenous governments and organizations in Labrador and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services to introduce country foods in some long-term care settings in Labrador. The program may expand to Western Newfoundland in the coming years.

Right to Food, a national organization which works locally with Food First NL, has implemented a new advocacy strategy that centres Indigenous food sovereignty alongside income interventions.

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development rolling out pay-what-you-can school lunch program

In September 2024, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, acting through the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, became the first province or territory to sign an agreement with the Government of Canada under the National School Food Program. That same year, the department began rolling out pay-what-you-can lunches at schools across the province. This initiative reportedly included initiatives to support the lunch programs connected with the NunatuKavut Community Council and the Nunatsiavut Government. The program aims to reach 40,000 students by the end of the 2025–2026 academic year. It is unclear at the time of writing whether that target has been attained.

For First Light:

• Continue to build and expand food security initiatives for urban Indigenous community members