Food Banks Mississauga is a five-star financially transparent charity with a Good demonstrated impact score. It has an A+ results reporting grade, which is excellent. For every dollar donated to the charity, 73 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1986, Food Banks Mississauga (FBM) prepares and delivers healthy food across Mississauga to those unable to afford it. As the largest food bank in Mississauga, the charity leads a network of over 65 agencies who deliver meals, host community markets, and redistribute wasted edible food to those in need. According to the charity, 5% of those living in Mississauga (35,538 people) rely on FBM's services and half of these are first-time users in F2023. Children also increasingly rely on FBM with 11,043 F2023 users, a 10% increase from the prior year. FBM’s food bank programs include its food bank services, Food Bank 2 Home Deliver, ReclaimFRESH food rescue, and its Community Market. Non-food related programs include its Tax Clinic and Ukraine Support Program. The charity spent $6.1m on its programs in the fiscal year ending May 2023 (F2023).

A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 100 Rated Charity

Food bank service program distributed 5,925,109 lb of food to 35,538 F2023 unique clients, a 10% and 18% increase from 5,222,247 lb and 30,038 clients in F2022 respectively. The charity also reported a total of 235,750 food bank visitors in F2023, a 1% increase from 231,194 visitors in F2022.

Food Bank 2 Home delivery program provides a meal home delivery service to those unable to purchase food on their own. The charity fulfils custom food orders for the physically disabled, mobility-restricted seniors, and people living without a support network. In F2023, the charity delivered 216,348 meals containing fresh, frozen, and shelf-stable food to 560 households and 1,013 individuals.

ReclaimFRESH food rescue program addresses Canadian food waste through partnerships with local farmers, grocery stores, and wholesalers. According to the charity, Canadians waste 2.3 million tonnes of surplus edible food. In F2023, the charity rescued 775,000 lb of food and delivered this to its agency network.

Community Market program hosts pop-up food banks across Mississauga, providing free fruits and vegetables to people living in high-priority neighbourhoods. In F2023, FBM distributed 63,327 lb of food to 938 households.

Other non-food programs include the charity’s Tax Clinic and Ukraine Support programs. FBM filed 338 tax returns for low income households and served 347 Ukrainian temporary residents in F2023.

In F2023, Food Banks Mississauga received $6.0m in donations, a 15% increase compared to $5.0m donations and special events revenue in F2022. The charity also received $977k net government funding which is 4% of revenues. Administrative costs are 3% of revenues and fundraising costs are 24% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 27%. For every dollar donated, 73 cents are available to go to the cause.

In F2023, the charity spent $6.1m on its programs, which is 86% of revenues excluding donated food. The charity increased its program spend by $2.7m (79%) compared to F2022, which is a significant increase.

At the end of F2023, Food Banks Mississauga had $5.1m in reserve funds (cash and investments) which covers 83% or slightly over 9 months of its annual program spending. This means that the charity can sustain its programs for less than a year in an absence of funding.

Profile updated May 29, 2024 by Julian Dranitsaris. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.