Interfaith Food Bank Society of Lethbridge is a five-star financially transparent with a High demonstrated impact score. It has a B+ results reporting grade, which is above average. For every dollar donated to the charity, 84 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1989, Interfaith Food Bank Society of Lethbridge (IFBSL) prepares and distributes food across Lethbridge to those unable to afford it. It does this by giving out several types of food hampers such as Halal and diabetic hampers to households in need. The charity’s other programs include a client referrals program, cooking classes, and events at its community garden. According to the charity, Albertans are among the most food insecure across Canada, with the charity reporting a 3,429 increase in clients served since 2022. IFBSL’s main program is Emergency Food Assistance, while its other programs are Client Advocacy, Kitchens, and Gardens. The charity spent $1.0m on its programs in the fiscal year ending in December 2023 (2023) but did not disclose the amount spent on each of these programs.

A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 100 Rated Charity.

Emergency Food Assistance program distributed 10,183 hampers to 10,200 households (25,786 unique clients) in 2023, meaning that each family and client received an average of 1.0 and 0.4 hampers, respectively. This is a 2,060 increase from 8,144 hampers distributed in 2022. According to the charity, 77% (7,854) of households it serves rent, 9% (918) live in social housing, 7% (714) are homeowners, 4% (408) live with family, and 3% (306) live elsewhere.

Client Advocacy program helps clients access government, community, and charitable services available in Lethbridge. It does this by providing clients referrals to tax filing services, social housing services, the Teamworks Career Centre, and other services. In 2023, IFBSL referred 484 people to 20 different types of services.

Kitchens refers to the charity’s cooking lessons program. According to the charity, this program teaches people how to cook affordable healthy food. In 2023, IFBSL partnered with the Lethbridge Family Centre and held 207 adult and 48 youth cooking classes. 1,166 adults and 460 children participated in these classes.

Gardens refers to the charity’s community garden. IFBSL runs events, workshops, and other activities that teach people how to grow their own food. In 2023, the charity grew over 900 lb of produce and held 38 events. According to the charity, 1,227 people took part in these events.

In 2023, Interfaith Food Bank Society of Lethbridge received $1.6m worth of donations and special events fundraising revenue. This is a 30% increase from $1.3m reported in F2022 and is 34% of total revenues. The charity also received $3.1m worth of donated food, representing a 28% increase from $2.4m received in F2022 and is 34% of revenues. Administrative costs are 10% of revenues and fundraising costs are 6% of donations. This results in 16% total overhead spending, meaning that for every dollar donated, 84 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

In 2023, IFBSL spent $1.0m cash on its programs and distributed $3.1m worth of donated food. This is a 40% and 33% increase from $716k spent and $2.3m distributed in 2022, respectively.

At the end of 2023, IFBSL had $811k in net reserve funds (cash and GST receivables). This covers 81% or around ten months of its annual program costs. Ci backed out $78k worth of interest-bearing debts from the charity’s gross reserve funds.

Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on September 23, 2024. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.