Today with the City of St. John’s, Stella’s Circle is proud to announce a new partnership with Food First NL for the use of space at 77 Charter Ave, Suite 100. Stella’s Circle and Food First NL submitted a joint proposal to the City of St. John’s 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.

“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 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.

“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.”

This partnership helps build a central space where people feel connected, have a sense of belonging and are actively engaged in community life, and contributes to building safe, healthy and vibrant communities.