Feed Nova Scotia
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A-
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
Good
DEMONSTRATED IMPACT
The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.
NEED FOR FUNDING
Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.
85%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 85 cents are available for programs.
My anchor
OVERVIEW
About Feed Nova Scotia:
Feed Nova Scotia is a five-star, financially transparent charity with a Good impact rating. It has an above average A- results reporting score, reasonable overhead spending, and a reasonably sized reserve fund. For every dollar donated, 85 cents are available to go to the cause.
Founded in 1984, Feed Nova Scotia collects, purchases, organizes, and distributes food to its 140-member agency network across Nova Scotia. This network then provides this food to those in need. The charity also funds meals programs and farming initiatives across the province. According to the charity, 22% of Nova Scotians (213,000 people) were food insecure in 2022 and this number is increasing every year.
A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 100 Rated Charity
Feed Nova Scotia runs two programs: food distribution operations and the Innovation and Learning Lab. It spent $7.0m cash to operate its programs and distributed $12.7m worth of food in the fiscal year ending in March 2024 (F2024).
Food distribution operations were 86% ($6.1m) of the charity’s program spending. The charity distributed 6,430,211 lb of food to 140 agency partners that reached 57,232 unique clients throughout F2024. According to the charity, 83% of the food it distributes includes protein, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and grain.
The charity's Innovation and Learning Lab was 14% ($963k) of its program spending. In F2024, Feed Nova Scotia funded 14 projects aimed at reducing future reliance on Nova Scotia’s food banks. It spent $257,000 on food distribution efficiency, $124,062 on community farming education, and $165,460 on advocacy projects ($546,522 total) during F2024.
My anchor
Results and Impact
Feed Nova Scotia spent $7.0m on food distribution operations in F2024. It distributed 6,430,221 lb of food to 57,235 unique clients, meaning that each client received an average of 112 lb of food. It also means the charity spent an average of $1.09 / lb distributed and $123 / unique client served.
Feed Nova Scotia published a report on the results of the grants it distributed as part of the Innovation and Learning Lab program. Some key results include:
Distributed over 33,000 meals to Nova Scotian communities.
Grew and sold over 15,000 lb of fresh produce.
While Charity Intelligence highlights these key results, they may not completely represent Feed Nova Scotia’s results and impact.
Charity Intelligence has rated Feed Nova Scotia as having Good demonstrated social impact per dollar spent.
Impact Rating: Good

My anchor
Finances
Feed Nova Scotia’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a financial reporting best practice. This means it clearly disclosed how much it spent on program, administrative, and fundraising activities in its financial statements.
During F2024, the charity received $7.6m worth of cash donations (33% of total revenue) and $13.4m worth of donated food (59% of total revenue). Donations increased by 15% since F2023 ($6.6m received) while food donations decreased by 10% ($14.9m received).
Administrative costs are 6% of total revenue less investment income while fundraising costs are 9% of cash donations. This means Feed Nova Scotia’s total overhead spending is 15%. For every dollar donated, 85 cents are available to go to the cause.
In F2024, the charity spent $7.0m on its programs and distributed $12.7m worth of food. It also distributed $1.1m worth of donor-designated grants in F2024. Feed Nova Scotia’s operating cash flow decreased from $829k to ($9k) from F2023 to F2024. Its operating cash flow is negative for the first time since F2020.
At the end of F2024, the charity had $11.0m worth of net reserve funds (cash and investments) that can cover 156% or around one year and seven months of its annual program spending.
Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on April 17, 2025. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending March
|
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|
Administrative costs as % of revenues | 6.3% | 5.0% | 4.2% |
Fundraising costs as % of donations | 9.0% | 10.5% | 9.4% |
Total overhead spending | 15.3% | 15.5% | 13.6% |
Program cost coverage (%) | 156.3% | 224.3% | 164.3% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|
Donations | 7,606 | 6,631 | 6,526 |
Goods in kind | 13,403 | 14,932 | 16,347 |
Government funding | 1,040 | 3,007 | 2,223 |
Investment income | 435 | 20 | (130) |
Other income | 429 | 132 | 33 |
Total revenues | 22,913 | 24,723 | 24,999 |
Program costs | 7,014 | 4,782 | 5,965 |
Donor-designated donations | 1,070 | 2,851 | 719 |
Donated goods exp | 12,738 | 14,324 | 14,227 |
Administrative costs | 1,417 | 1,240 | 1,050 |
Fundraising costs | 682 | 697 | 613 |
Total spending | 22,922 | 23,894 | 22,574 |
Cash flow from operations | (9) | 829 | 2,426 |
Capital spending | 142 | 73 | 76 |
Funding reserves | 10,962 | 10,725 | 9,801 |
Note: 1. CHANGES IN DEFERRED DONATIONS: Since Feed Nova Scotia follows deferred accounting, Ci adjusted donations for changes in deferred contributions to show financial information on a consistent basis. This affected revenue by $428k, ($nil), and ($nil) in F2024, F2023, and F2022, respectively. 2. CHANGES IN DEFERRED GOVERNMENT FUNDING: Ci adjusted government funding for changes in deferred government revenue, affecting total revenue by ($181k), $159k, and ($32k) in F2024, F2023, and F2022, respectively. 3. CHANGES IN OTHER DEFERRED REVENUE: Ci adjusted other revenue for changes in deferred accounts not clearly related to donations or government funding. This affected total revenue by ($51k), ($nil), and ($nil) in F2024, F2023, and F2022, respectively. 4. INNOVATION AND LEARNING LAB: Ci added total spending on the Innovation and Learning Lab program to program expenses. This affected total expenses by $963k, $188k, and ($nil) in F2024, F2023, and F2022, respectively. 5. DESIGNATED DONATIONS: Ci added donations restricted for spending on the Innovation & Learning Lab to donations, affecting total revenue by ($nil), $90k, and ($nil) in F2024, F2023, and F2022, respectively.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
0 |
$80k - $120k |
2 |
$40k - $80k |
2 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2024
My anchor
Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
No comments have been added by the charity.
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 902-457-1900