Calgary Food Bank is a top-rated 5-star charity with High impact. The charity is one of our top 10 Canadian Foodbanks. Calgary Food Bank has an A+ in results reporting, one of the best grades in its sector, and has low overhead spending. 

Founded in 1982, Calgary Food Bank is an emergency food distribution hub that collects and sends food to individuals, families, and single parents living in poverty. The charity reports that 11% of Albertans experience food insecurity. It aims to create a hunger-free community by fighting hunger directly and addressing its root causes through client referrals to social services. Calgary Food Bank reports that it delivered 121,813 food hampers throughout its programs in F2021.

A Charity Intelligence 2022 Top 10 Canadian Impact Charity

Calgary Food Bank’s three largest programs are Emergency Food Hampers, Food Link, and Food Share.

Emergency Food Hampers represented 79% of program spending in F2021. Calgary Food Bank’s hampers provide seven to ten days’ worth of food for low-income households and meet Canada’s Food Guide standards. In addition to providing food hampers, Calgary Food Bank refers clients to local agencies and social services that help address underlying causes of food insecurity. The charity offers specialty hampers for babies, clients with allergies or dietary restrictions, birthday parties, and expecting families. In F2021, Calgary Food Bank distributed 88,177 emergency food hampers (67,879 in F2020) and provided 449 client referrals (6,329 in F2020). 

Food Link made up 8% of program spending in F2021. The charity’s Food Link program sent quality food and supplies to 56 Calgary agencies and community groups in F2021. This is a decrease from 215 programs funded in F2020, due to challenges inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The food and supplies provided by Calgary Food Bank help its partner agencies focus resources on food delivery rather than collecting donations. In F2021, Calgary Food Bank gave out 865,410 pounds of food (1.6 million in F2020) worth $2.3m ($4.2m in F2020) through the program. Calgary Food Bank does not directly connect with clients through the Food Link program.

Food Share programs were 8% of program costs in F2021. Through Food Share, Calgary Food Bank redistributes its excess food to other food banks across Southern Alberta and British Columbia. This program helps to reduce food waste and prevent excess donations from going to landfills. In F2021, Calgary Food Bank sent 1.8 million pounds of food (2.4 million in F2020) worth $4.7m ($6.1m in F2020) to 31 food banks (30 in F2020).

The remaining 5% of program spending included Hampers for the Homeless (3%), Weekends and More (less than 1%), Welcome Home (less than 1%), and Purchasing Power (less than 1%). The charity’s Hampers for the Homeless program offers short-term hunger relief for people who are homeless or at risk of losing housing. In F2021, the program gave 29,281 bags of food (24,579 in F2020) worth $1.1m ($737k in F2020).

Calgary Food Bank had total cash donations of $19.0m in F2021. It also received $35.2m in donated food and other goods, representing 63% of total revenues.

Administrative costs are 4% of revenues (less investment income), and fundraising costs are less than 1% of cash donations. This results in total overhead spending of 4%. For every dollar donated, 96 cents go to the cause. This falls slightly outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending, which is between 65 and 95 cents. In some cases, charities with less than 5% overhead costs may be underreporting their overhead spending. However, the change in Calgary Food Bank’s fundraising ratio is not because there was a significant change in fundraising costs, but because donations increased 121% between F2019 and F2021.

The charity has total funding reserves of $27.2m. Excluding the cost of donated goods, Calgary Food Bank could cover 271% or 2 years and 9 months of its annual program costs with reserves.

Charity Intelligence sent an update of this report to Calgary Food Bank for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated June 7, 2022, by Sydney Olexa.