Second Harvest is a 5-star charity with Good demonstrated impact. It has above average disclosure with an A grade for results reporting. It has overhead spending outside Ci’s reasonable range. It has reserve funds within Ci’s reasonable range.

A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top 100 Rated Charity.

A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top 10 Impact: Canadian Food Banks.

Founded in 1985, Second Harvest Canada (Second Harvest) is a national charity that rescues surplus food and delivers it to non-profits across Canada. It works with food producers, retailers, and distributors to collect food that would otherwise go to waste and gets it to people who need it.

According to Second Harvest, Canada wastes 46.5% of all food produced each year. Of this, 41.7% could be rescued and redirected. At the same time, 9.8 million Canadians are food insecure. The value of avoidable food waste in Canada is $58 billion per year.

Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste

Second Harvest runs two programs: Food Recovery and Delivery, and the School Food Infrastructure Fund (SFIF). In F2025, Second Harvest spent $21.5m on its programs, of which $2.1m was grants made through SFIF. It also distributed $401.0m worth of food.

Food Recovery and Delivery was the largest program in F2025. It accounted for $19.4m or 90% of program spending. Second Harvest collects surplus food from producers, retailers, and distributors and delivers it to non-profits across Canada. In F2025, Second Harvest rescued and redistributed 95,300,000 million pounds of food. This included: 43% produce, 12% dairy, 12% bread and grains, 8% prepared food, 8% meat and meat alternatives, 7% baked goods, 6% beverages, 3% condiments, and 1% baby formula and meal replacements. This food reached 6,800,000 million people through 5,000+ non-profit partners in 912 communities across Canada.

The School Food Infrastructure Fund accounted for $2.1m or 10% of program spending in F2025. SFIF is a new program funded by the federal government. In F2025, SFIF granted money to more than 29 organizations. Grants helped organizations expand cold and dry storage, purchase refrigerated vehicles, develop food hubs, and invest in traditional food sourcing equipment.

In F2025, Second Harvest had $422.0m in total revenues. Donated food was $401.0m or 95% of revenues. Cash donations accounted for $16.3m or 4% of revenues. In F2025, Second Harvest spent $21.5m on its programs. This was 102% of revenues (less in-kind donations).

In F2025, administrative costs were $537k or 0.1% of total revenues (less investment income). Fundraising costs were $504k or 3% of donations. For every dollar donated to Second Harvest, 97 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside Ci's reasonable range, which is not uncommon for Canadian food banks.

At the end of F2025, the charity had $15.4m in cash and investments. Net funding reserves can cover 9 months of annual program costs. This is within Ci's reasonable range.

Profile updated by Raihan Firosh on June 16, 2026. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.