Note: 1. DEFERRED CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Since FBC follows deferred accounting, Ci adjusted donations for changes in deferred contributions used for capital asset purchases to show donors the year-to-year movement of cash within the charity. This affected total revenue by ($nil) in F2025, $12k in F2024, and $9k in F2023. 2. PLEDGES RECEIVABLE: Ci adjusted donations for changes in corporate pledges receivable, affecting total revenue by ($157k) in F2025, $644k in F2024, and $90k in F2023. 3. GRANTS PAYABLE: Ci adjusted grants for changes in grants payable, affecting total expenses by ($1.8m) in F2025, ($4.1m) in F2024, and ($812k) in F2023. 4. AMORTIZATION: Ci backed out amortization on a pro-rata basis from program, administrative, and fundraising costs.

Charity Intelligence Impact Rating Response – F25

Thank you for the opportunity to provide our comments on Charity Intelligence’s impact rating. This year marks a pivotal shift for Food Banks Canada (FBC) with the launch of our new 5-year strategic plan and the adoption of a Theory of Change that aligns our work with long-term impact.

To review our most recent financial statements and annual report please visit
https://foodbankscanada.ca/about-us/annual-reports/ and to read more about Food Banks Canada’s impact, visit https://foodbankscanada.ca/you-make-it-possible/

Strategic Direction: Fiscal Years 2026–30

Food Banks Canada’s new strategic plan sets a bold course for the next five years, grounded in our mission to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow. Our vision remains: a Canada where no one goes hungry. The plan is built around three priorities:

1. Leading & Mobilizing for Change
We aim to reduce food insecurity by 50% by 2030 through collective action and policy change.
2. Strengthening the Food Bank Network to Meet Demand
We are enabling a modern, resilient food bank system that is healthy, cohesive, efficient, and adaptable.
2. Improving Access Where It's Needed Most
We are ensuring sustainable, community-led food access for underserved communities.

FY25 Impact Highlights Organized by FBC’s Theory of Change

Our Theory of Change outlines three key areas of focus:

• Advocacy & Awareness: Conducting leading research on food insecurity, elevating the
cause within Canada, and mobilizing the food banking network and the general public to
influence governments to implement evidence-based policies that address the root
causes of food insecurity.
• Increasing Food Supply: Ensuring a consistent supply of food to the food banking network across Canada, by acquiring and distributing food, facilitating cost-effective procurement, and providing emergency response support.
• Food Bank Network Support & Enhancement: Working collaboratively with the food
banking network to enable and enhance capacity and service delivery by distributing
targeted funding, convening the network, sharing awareness of innovative initiatives and
practices in food banking, collecting and analyzing data, and upholding standards of excellence.

Below are highlights from fiscal year 2024-25 under each area:

1. Advocacy & Awareness

• Public Engagement and Mobilization: Over 1 million users on FBC’s website, and more
than 100,000 followers on FBC’s social media channels.
• Government Engagement: We brought together over 50 ministers, MPs, and senators at FBC events to discuss food insecurity, and mobilized the public with over 100,000 petition signatures and letters to MPs through our Groceries and Essentials Benefit campaign.
• HungerCount 2024: Through this campaign based on original FBC research, over 450 unique media stories spotlighted the rise in food bank use and our policy recommendations.
• Poverty Report Cards: This FBC report became a dominant topic in Parliament, prompting direct engagement from policymakers. The Poverty Report Cards sparked widespread national and local media coverage, garnering over 400 media stories and reaching a total audience of millions, on the day of their release.

2. Increasing Food Supply

• Food Recovery and Distribution: Delivered 26.9 million pounds of food to the food bank network through our retail and producer partnerships, helping to divert 103 million pounds of greenhouse gases.
• After the Bell: Provided 200,000 nutritious food packs over the summer to children in 215 communities across the country.
• Emergency Response: As wildfires and floods surged, we staged 50,000 emergency food packs ready for dispatch within 48 hours of disaster events.
• Procurement Facilitation: By leveraging the collective buying power of over 5,500 affiliated food banks and community organizations, we negotiated exclusive pricing on key items, saving food banks 25% to 50% on the cost of food, supplies, services, and delivery from reputable vendors.

3. Food Bank Network Support & Enhancement

• Northern Food Security: Invested $2.5M in Indigenous and Northern community-led initiatives to further equitable access to food in underserved communities.
• Capacity Grants: Distributed $3M to improve infrastructure for food storage, preservation and distribution across the country.
• Access Investments: Invested $4M to reduce barriers to food bank services.

• Standards of Excellence: Granted $3.75M to support food banks in implementing national standards for governance, food safety, and client care.
• Additional Investments: Distributed an additional $2.25M to strengthen the food bank network.

Special Initiatives
Tax Clinics: In FY25, Food Banks Canada supported 24 tax clinics across the country, including six primary locations and 18 smaller grant-supported sites. These clinics completed 16,358 tax returns, benefiting more than 9,600 individuals, including over 2,500 children and dependents. The total financial impact was substantial: $58.5 million was returned to the pockets of food bank clients.