Bridges to Hope looks to expand as food bank demand grows

The Bridges to Hope food bank in St. John's is searching for a new space. The need to expand comes as food bank demand grows.

Food bank saw over 17,000 visits in 2024

Jenna Head · CBC News · Posted: Jun 03, 2025 2:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 3

Woman standing in food bank with shelves of food behind her. — Lesley Burgess is the executive director of the Bridges to Hope food bank. She says demand for food assistance has gone up by 30 per cent since 2020. (Darryl Murphy/CBC)

Bridges to Hope is looking to expand its space and scope of service in St. John's as the organization works to keep up with the growing demand for food assistance in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The food bank, currently located on Cookstown Road near downtown St. John's, had over 17,000 visits in 2024.

That number represents a 30 per cent increase since 2020, according to executive director Leslie Burgess, and the service has outgrown its space.

"Our main pantry space is about 400 square feet," she said. "Once you start adding in coolers and freezers and shelving and then three or four bodies, it starts to fill up very quickly."

Searching for new space

Burgess said Bridges to Hope sometimes serves more than 100 people a day out of its current space. She said the space is tight for volunteers and clients, but its size also makes food storage a challenge.

"We're only able to purchase about a week's worth of food at a time, rather than doing what would be more cost-effective and ordering in larger quantities," Burgess told CBC News.

WATCH | Bridges to Hope needs to grow with the growing demand:
Bridges to Hope says demand for services is growing, and it needs to grow with it
3 days ago
Duration 1:46
Food banks are a lifeline for many in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Bridges to Hope is among the busiest in St. John’s. Executive director Lesley Burgess says 17,000 people visited the food bank in 2024, and the organization is in need of a new space to keep up with the demand.

Now, Bridges to Hope is seeking a space over double its current size — a 1,000-square-foot food-grade warehouse to help meet the demand of its traditional food assistance program.

In that building, the organization hopes to expand its programming to better serve residents experiencing food insecurity.

For example, Burgess said they're exploring "food rescue," a program that reduces food waste while helping those in need.

She said food rescue would allow the food bank to collect some products from grocery stores that are still good but can't be sold.

A woman holds a plastic bag in a room surrounded by packaged food — Bridges to Hope is currently operating out of a 400 square-foot space on Cookstown Road in St. John's (Malone Mullin/CBC)

"Just yesterday, we got a call that there's a truckload of bananas floating around St. John's trying to find a place to land," Burgess said. "What a great opportunity to move that food around and divert it from the landfill."

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Bridges to Hope on wheels

Starting in September, Bridges to Hope will also be mobile. The organization received funding from Food Banks Canada to start a mobile food bank, allowing its food assistance program to deliver food directly to doors.

"The idea is that we can bring services closer to people's homes so that we can make sure that food assistance is really reaching the people who need it," Burgess said.

The van will arrive later this summer.

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