Hamilton Food Share is a 5-star, financially transparent charity. It has Good demonstrated impact and a high results reporting grade. Its overhead spending is within Ci’s reasonable range. It has $1.8m in reserve funds which can cover nine months of annual program costs. 

Founded in 1992, Greater Hamilton Food Share (Hamilton Food Share) is the distribution hub for Hamilton's Emergency Food Network. The network consists of 16 member agencies, operating 23 emergency food programs that work to feed people in poverty. According to Hamilton Food Share’s 2023 Hunger Report, over 1,117 people ask for food support daily, and 66 seniors access a food bank daily. As part of the report, Hamilton Food Bank ran a survey that found that 2,621 households are paying more than 50% of total income on rent, putting them at extreme risk of homelessness.  

A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 100 Rated Charity.

Hamilton Food Share’s main program is food distribution. In F2023, the charity reports sourcing 3,872,827 lb of food, of which 63% was fresh, 26% was non-perishable, and 11% was frozen. It distributed 3,567,420 lb of food. Hamilton Food Share distributed a total of 361,800 public meals through emergency food banks in F2023. The charity’s local food bank partners reported 114,668 visits this year. The charity states that 17,600 people visit food banks from its network every month. Hamilton Food Share supported 23 local hunger relief programs.  

Hamilton Food Share also runs various projects. These include the priority food project, which aims to ensure certain priority items are always available at member agencies. The menstrual pilot project distributes menstrual products to the Emergency Food Network. In F2023, 16,519 households accessed menstrual products. 

Hamilton Food Share received $3.0m in cash donations in F2023. It also received an estimated $12.6m in donated food (79% of revenues) and $154k in government funding. Administrative costs are 2% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 8% of cash donations. This results in total overhead spending of 10%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 90 cents are available for programs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

In F2023 Hamilton Food Share spent $2.3m on its programs, which is 69% of total revenues (excluding donated goods). The charity had $382k in surplus.  

Hamilton Food Share has $1.8m in reserve funds. The charity can cover 77% or nine months of annual program costs with its existing reserves. 

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to Hamilton Food Share for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on August 7, 2024 by Alessandra Castino.