City of St. John’s Announces New Partnership for 77 Charter Ave Space

The City of St. John’s is proud to announce a new agreement with Food First NL and Stella’s Circle for the use of space at 77 Charter Ave, Suite 100. In January, the City announced a Request for Submissions for the space to identify a new non-profit tenant partner working on housing and/or poverty reduction initiatives.

“On behalf of Council, we commend Food First NL and Stella’s Circle for the incredible work they are doing in the community to address food insecurity and support residents who face barriers to fully participating in their community,” said Mayor Danny Breen. “We are excited to enter into this new partnership and contribute space to support the important services these organizations provide.”

Food First NL and Stella’s Circle submitted a joint proposal to turn 77 Charter, Suite 100 into a community food space that serves residents of the building, the Pleasantville area, and the entire city. While the mix of programs from each organization will respond to the needs of those with low incomes, the programs and services will be available to all residents.

"Food First NL is so thrilled to be a part of this,” said Joshua Smee, CEO of Food First NL. “Over the last several years we have had the chance to lead a deep dive into food systems in St. John's through our ‘Eat the City’ food assessment and the development of a Food Action Plan for St. John's. This space is going to support so many things this community wants to see happen in their food system. We're also excited to deepen our years-long partnership with Stella's Circle. It is partnership and collaboration that will drive community change, and we're so thankful that the City of St. John's saw the potential of this collaboration to make a difference." 

The space at 77 Charter Ave consists of office space, a large multipurpose space, and a commercial kitchen/café front. Food First NL and Stella’s Circle received the keys to the space today and will host an official opening in the coming months. 

The new space will accommodate various program elements, including:

• The Hungry Heart Café, allowing the social enterprise by Stella’s Circle to expand its employment training and food security program.
• A base for Food on the Move, Food First NL’s affordable grocery market social enterprise.
• Multipurpose space availability for community organizations (e.g., training, knowledge sharing, tax/government benefit clinics, community meals, etc.).
• Low-barrier food skills workshops.
• Food rescue and community composting to divert food from the waste stream and to expand on Stella Circle’s existing composting program.
• Local food production and access through existing Food First NL and Stella’s Circle’s community-oriented programming.

“As a social justice organization, Stella's Circle knows the meaningful impact of food-centered work in the lives of community members,” said Laura Winters, CEO, Stella’s Circle. “We also know the value of food in creating and sustaining relationships and community. With this new space, our long history of using food to nurture community members, through a neighbourhood cafe, employment training, and food security programming, is able to expand and thrive in a shared centre and vision of inclusion. We are delighted to formalize our long-standing relationship with Food First NL in this way and look forward to welcoming many more community partners into this space. With gratitude to the City of St. John's for recognizing the value of collaboration and that the greatest impacts come from partnerships.”

The City of St. John’s has a strategic direction to be a Connected City, where people feel connected, have a sense of belonging and are actively engaged in community life. This partnership will advance this strategic direction by helping develop public spaces that build safe, healthy and vibrant communities.  

This new partnership also aligns with the City’s Healthy City Strategy and Affordable Housing Strategy, which recognize the importance of cultivating partnerships and City resources to address affordability challenges and the determinants of health.