A CBC article posted on December 16th, 2022, states: “Between 2021 and 2022 there was a 27 per cent increase in food bank visits in Newfoundland and Labrador.” Citing the Community Food Sharing Association, the article states, “food banks in N.L. are feeding only about 40 per cent of the population who need them and 30 per cent of total usage is coming from children with seven to 10 per cent coming from seniors. We have a lot of people hungry in the province right now.”
As the Marks of Mission remind us, we are called:
• To respond to human need by loving service
• To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation
• To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
Sowing Seeds—Growing Community is an initiative of the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, and addresses these Marks of Mission. The purpose of this initiative is to address the growing demand on local food banks to provide nutrition to those who find themselves seeking the most basic necessity of life—food.
We hope to:
• Provide fresh local produce to food banks to help alleviate the shortage of food for those less fortunate.
• Enable food security in Newfoundland and Labrador.
• Enable skills training and development and mentorship.
• Be a pilot to other congregations for future like-minded endeavours within Newfoundland and Labrador.
• Encourage and enable local church congregations to live out the mission of the Church.
It is our intent to commence a farming initiative on a portion (1 acre) of land owned by the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador in Goulds that will be overseen by St. Paul’s Anglican Church.
Goulds is a long-established farming community, located within the City of St. John’s, with local people who are happy to offer farming expertise. In conversation with potential partners, this initiative will not only provide produce but will provide skills training, mentoring and mental health well-being. We will engage the community at large through hands-on involvement in learning opportunities to enable food sustainability and security.
We are now ready to Set Sail as part of the diocesan Strategic Plan, Sowing Seeds—Growing Community will launch us into renewing Stewardship and engaging Partnerships.
Follow Sowing Seeds – Growing Community this summer on https://www.facebook.com/AnglicanEastNL/
Watch us grow!
