Calgary Food Bank is a top-rated 5-star charity with High impact. The charity is one of our top 10 Canadian Foodbanks. Calgary Food Bank has an A+ in results reporting, one of the best grades in its sector, and has low overhead spending.  

Founded in 1982, Calgary Food Bank is an emergency food distribution hub that collects and sends food to individuals, families, and single parents living in poverty. The charity reports that 16% of households in ten Canadian provinces experience some level of food insecurity. It aims to create a hunger-free community by fighting hunger directly and addressing its root causes through client referrals to social services. Calgary Food Bank reports that it delivered 141,206 food hampers throughout its programs in F2022.

A Charity Intelligence 2022 Top 10 Canadian Impact Charity

Calgary Food Bank’s three largest programs are Emergency Food Hampers, Food Link, and Food Share.

Emergency Food Hampers represented 83% of program spending in F2022. Calgary Food Bank’s hampers provide seven to ten days’ worth of food for low-income households and meet Canada’s Food Guide standards. In addition to providing food hampers, Calgary Food Bank refers clients to local agencies and social services that help address underlying causes of food insecurity. The charity offers specialty hampers for babies, clients with allergies or dietary restrictions, birthday parties, and expecting families. In F2022, Calgary Food Bank distributed 112,294 emergency food hampers (88,177 in F2021) and provided 2,037 client referrals (449 in F2021).

Food Link made up 5% of program spending in F2022. The charity’s Food Link program sent quality food and supplies to 72 Calgary agencies and community groups in F2022. This is a 29% increase from F2021, where the number of agencies was 56, but it not close to pre-pandemic levels (215 programs in F2020).  The food and supplies provided by Calgary Food Bank help its partner agencies focus resources on food delivery rather than collecting donations. In F2022, Calgary Food Bank gave out 672,201 pounds of food (865,410 pound in F2021) worth $1.7m ($2.3m in F2021) through the program. Calgary Food Bank does not directly connect with clients through the Food Link program.

Food Share programs were 5% of program costs in F2021. Through Food Share, Calgary Food Bank redistributes its excess food to 32 food banks  (31 in F2021) across Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. This program helps to reduce food waste and prevent excess donations from going to landfills. In F2022, Calgary Food Bank sent 1.9 million pounds of food (1.8 million in F2021) worth $4.8m ($4.7m in F2021). 

The remaining 7% of program spending included Mobile Hampers (3%), Purchasing Power (2%), Weekends and More (1%), and Welcome Home (less than 1%). The charity’s Mobile Hampers program offers short-term hunger relief for people who are homeless or at risk of losing housing. In F2022, the program gave 24,614 bags of food (29,281 in F2021) worth $1.0m ($1.1m in F2021).

Calgary Food Bank had total cash donations of $16.8m in F2022. It also received $31.6m in donated food and other goods, representing 65% of total revenues.

Administrative costs are 5% of revenues (less investment income), and fundraising costs are less than 1% of cash donations. This results in total overhead spending of 5%. For every dollar donated, 95 cents go to the cause. This falls on the threshold of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending, which is between 65 and 95 cents. In the past two years, Calgary Food Bank has been outside the range, with overhead spendings of less than 5%. In some cases, charities with less than 5% overhead costs may be underreporting their overhead spending.

The charity has $25.3m in reserve funds. These are Calgary Food Bank’s cash and investments. Excluding the cost of donated goods, Calgary Food Bank could cover 195% or slightly less than 2 years of program costs with current reserves.

Charity Intelligence sent an update of this report to Calgary Food Bank for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated June 7, 2023 by Alessandra Castino.