Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to appear before you today as part of your study on food security in the face of global instability. As your letter notes, this study focuses on strengthening local food production and processing, reducing environmental footprints and supporting local purchasing initiatives. These are priorities that deeply reflect the realities we face in Newfoundland and Labrador.
My name is Tina Bishop. I serve as the general manager of the Community Food Sharing Association, the provincial hub for food banking in Newfoundland and Labrador. We support a network of more than 60 food banks across the province, from remote coastal communities to urban centres. We see first-hand how global instability translates into local hardship.
Food insecurity in our province is shaped by three intersecting pressures.
The first is geography. Many communities rely on long, weather-dependent supply chains. When global instability disrupts transportation or availability, our shelves feel it immediately.
The second is cost of living. Food cost inflation hits harder in Newfoundland and Labrador, where prices are already amongst the highest in the country.
The third is limited local production. Newfoundland and Labrador imports roughly 90% of its food. Any global shock—economic, environmental or geopolitical—becomes a local crisis.
Your motion notes that consumer demand for locally produced food has reached unprecedented levels and that Canada has fallen significantly in agri-food capital investment. These challenges are magnified in Newfoundland and Labrador, where local production capacity is small but community willingness is strong.
One community-driven solution is the Sowing Seeds—Growing Community partnership. While large-scale structural change is essential, I want to highlight one partnership that demonstrates what is possible when community organizations, volunteers and local leaders work together to strengthen food security. The Sowing Seeds—Growing Community partnership is an initiative that brings together community groups, growers, volunteers and local leaders to expand community gardening; increase access to fresh, locally grown produce; build skills in growing, harvesting and food preparation; and strengthen local food systems in a province with short growing seasons and limited arable land.
We are grateful for the recent grant from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, which is helping us expand and stabilize the Sowing Seeds—Growing Community program. This federal investment is enabling new community growing spaces, increased production of fresh produce for food banks, training and engagement opportunities that build long-term food skills, and greater resilience in local food access during periods of global instability. This support is a concrete example of how federal investment can empower community-led innovation and directly advance the committee's focus on strengthening local food production and processing, from northern and remote communities to urban centres. It also demonstrates that innovation in food security is not only technological but also social. It is about empowering communities to grow together, even in challenging climates.
There are also infrastructure challenges. While community partnerships are essential, our ability to distribute food efficiently across the province is limited by a critical challenge. The Community Food Sharing Association has outgrown its current facility. Our warehouse was never designed to meet today's scale of need. We are facing insufficient storage capacity for dry goods and perishables, limited refrigeration and freezer space, inadequate loading and distribution infrastructure, and no room to expand programming, training or community initiatives. In a province where supply chains are fragile and weather-dependent, a modern, climate-resilient food distribution centre is not a luxury; it is essential infrastructure.
A new purpose-built facility would strengthen provincial food security, improve emergency response capacity, support local food procurement and processing, reduce waste, increase efficiency and expand our ability to store and distribute fresh, locally grown produce.