Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Harbour Lights Campaign

Harbour Lights Campaign is a Saint John–based registered charity devoted to fighting hunger across Southwestern New Brunswick. Operating as a regional fundraising campaign, it mobilizes individuals, businesses, media partners and institutional donors to raise money that is then distributed to 16 local food banks from Sussex to St. Stephen. The organization works in partnership with the Greater Saint John Community Foundation through the Harbour Lights Fund, which serves as a secure platform to receive and manage donations.

Each year, the funds collected are disbursed in the winter to participating food banks at a time when food shelves are often empty and demand for assistance is high. Since 1997, Harbour Lights has disbursed more than $4.2 million to regional food banks, and in 2024 alone it distributed over $377,000.

Harbour Lights uses a data-driven formula to determine allocations. Each food bank receives a portion of the total campaign proceeds based on the number of clients served in the previous year. These client statistics are drawn from Food Banks Canada’s annual Hunger Count and verified by Feed NB, helping ensure that distributions reflect real community needs across the region.

The Impact page details the annual recipients and amounts, illustrating transparent financial flows to organizations such as the Community Food Basket of Saint John, Saint John East Food Bank, Saint John North Food Bank Association, and numerous rural food banks and community programs. Partner food banks report that Harbour Lights funding typically represents about one-third of their yearly food purchasing power, making it a critical complement to in‑kind food donations.

Harbour Lights does not provide small grants to individuals; instead, it channels funds to established non-profit food banks and community organizations that deliver front-line hunger relief. By focusing on a network of 16 food banks, the charity supports families, seniors, and individuals facing food insecurity across urban and rural communities in Southwestern New Brunswick. Its annual campaign keeps support flowing beyond the holiday season, when traditional giving often declines while needs remain high.

The campaign is guided by a community-minded board of directors and relies on strong partnerships with founding partners such as CBC and Port Saint John, as well as supporting and sustaining donors including Saint John Energy, Nutrien, DP World, Tim Hortons and Java Moose. These partners provide media visibility, corporate gifts and multi-year commitments that stabilize fundraising and increase the volume of financial aid available to food banks each year.

Through this collaborative model, Harbour Lights Campaign serves as a key regional funding hub for hunger relief, turning community generosity into predictable financial support for food banks across Southwestern New Brunswick.