St. John’s food banks and shelters are grappling with a surge in demand as rising housing and living costs push more residents to seek aid, according to local leaders. At Bridges to Hope, one of the city’s largest food banks, the number of clients served has increased by 70% since 2019 and by 30% in the past year alone, according to executive director Lesley Burgess.

Food Insecurity Reaches Crisis Levels

Bridges to Hope, which serves anyone in the metro region, reported an average of 1,500 visits per month. About 30% of these visits involve individuals under 17, a significant increase in recent years. Burgess said rising housing, food, and utility costs are forcing families to use food bank resources that were previously reserved for those in extreme poverty.

According to Statistics Canada, 30.1% of Newfoundland and Labrador residents — over 160,000 people — were food insecure in 2023, with 8.3% facing severe food insecurity. Non-profit organization Food First N.L. recorded 15,422 food bank users across the province in the last quarter of 2025, a 44.1% increase since 2019.

Tina Bishop, manager of the Community Food Sharing Association, said the demand for food bank supplies is at an all-time high. ‘The food insecurity in Newfoundland and Labrador is at the highest level it’s ever been at, which is very, very alarming,’ she said. Bishop added that an order of food for the association’s St. John’s distribution centre costs about $200,000 and is quickly depleted, with visible changes in inventory every four weeks.

Shelters Struggle with Rising Homelessness

The growing crisis extends beyond food banks. In downtown St. John’s, Jen Crowe, executive director of Choices for Youth, a non-profit organization working to end youth homelessness, said the number of people seeking shelter has tripled in the last three years. ‘The rates of homelessness in our city have tripled in the last three years,’ Crowe said, adding that the organization’s 69 supportive and affordable housing options are always at full capacity, with 115 people on a waitlist.

Crowe said the number of people turned away from the organization’s nine-bed emergency shelter increased by 16% in the last quarter, reaching about 40 people — or 10 to 15 people per month. She emphasized the need for government action, including increased income support and mental health services, to address the root causes of homelessness.

The Gathering Place on Military Road, a temporary refuge offering three daily meals, transitional and supportive housing, and a 40-bed shelter, is also experiencing a surge in demand. Executive director Colin McNeil said the number of people registered with the organization has increased by 25% since the last annual report and by nearly 300% since 2019, when 900 people were registered.

‘We are filling a very, very important gap,’ McNeil said. ‘If the guests weren’t coming to the Gathering Place, where would they be? What kind of position would they be in?’ He noted that many of the people accessing services face complex mental health and addictions issues, emphasizing the need for more treatment options.

System at Breaking Point

Bishop said the food banking system is at a breaking point. ‘There’s no way that the food banking system is designed to be able to support those increases,’ she said. ‘That’s astronomical numbers.’

Bridges to Hope, like other food banks, has seen a decrease in donations, which account for 80% of its revenue. Burgess said the situation is becoming increasingly difficult to manage. ‘It has been challenging, and it is getting increasingly more challenging to meet that need,’ she said. ‘It is concerning to think of the situation that we might be in if demand doesn’t decrease anytime soon.’

With the number of people in need continuing to rise, local leaders are calling for urgent government action to address the systemic issues driving food insecurity and homelessness. Solutions such as increased income support, the introduction of a basic income, and expanded mental health services are being urged as critical steps forward.