The Stop Community Food Centre is a 4-star charity. It has an above average results reporting grade and its overhead costs are within Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending. The charity has $3.1m in funding reserves which can cover its annual program costs for slightly over one year.

Founded in 1982, The Stop Community Food Centre (The Stop) increases access to healthy food for those living in poverty in Toronto. The charity values dignity, equality, and a sense of community. The Stop claims that one in four people in Toronto struggle to make ends meet. This is due to high housing prices and cost of living. The charity states that Canadians living in poverty are more likely to have health complications and have shorter life expectancies. The Stop has three programs: Emergency Food Access, Community Building and Urban Agriculture.

Emergency Food Access

In F2022, The Stop Community Food Centre operated a Food Bank twice a week. It provides food hampers to families. The Stop distributed 10,383 hampers and served 23,668 people, 17% more than in F2021. The charity provides a Drop In Meals service. From January to September 2022, it served 58,476 meals. The Good Food Market and Cafe offers food items at affordable prices.

Community Building

The Stop Community Food Centre operates a Community Advocacy Program. In F2022, it ran three advocacy related events. It also trained ten advocates and two mentors in peer support. Its free income tax clinic served 207 members. The Healthy Beginnings program aims to support low-income expecting parents. It distributed 2,604 grocery gift cards to participants in F2022, amounting to $26,040. The charity also served 4,369 meals in its community kitchens.

Urban Agriculture

In F2022, The Stop Community Food Centre partnered with Na Me Res (Native Men’s Residence) to host events in the Mashkikii;aki’ing garden at Hillcrest Park. It also maintained the Earlscourt Gardens, where volunteers have grown 237kg of food as of October 2022. This food goes to The Stop’s kitchens and to volunteers. The charity reports that 44 people registered for its Global Roots program. This program focuses on building intercultural relations amongst its participants. The Stop hosts a weekly Farmers’ Market. About 3,000 customers attend the Market weekly.

The Stop Community Food Centre does not provide a breakdown of its program spending, nor does it disclose its total program spending.

The Stop Community Food Centre received $4.2m in donations in F2022. The charity received $708k worth of donated food. It also received $545k in government funding in F2022 (13% of total revenues). Administrative costs are 15% of revenue (excluding investment income), and fundraising costs are 19% of donations and special event fundraising. For every dollar donated, 67 cents go to the charity’s programs, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

The Stop has $3.1m in funding reserves, which can cover program costs for slightly over one year. 

Ci has sent this profile update to The Stop for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated May 18th, 2023 by Victoria Allder.