Edmonton’s Food Bank is a five-star financially transparent charity with a High demonstrated impact score. It has an A results reporting score, which is above average. For every dollar donated, 91 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 1981, Edmonton’s Food Bank (EFB) collects and distributes food using its three facilities (Main Warehouse, ANNEX, and Niso locations), 80 food depots, and 350 partner agencies. It does this by salvaging unbought food from grocery outlets, giving out boxes of food (food hampers) to those in need, running school meal programs, and distributing meals to non-profits in its agency network. According to a 2023 client survey of 497 people, 20% of those surveyed reported not having enough food to eat while 40% could not afford nutritious food.

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EFB’s core program is food distribution. This is broken down into several subprograms: Retail Food Program, Out Hampers Program, Meal & Snack Program, S.N.A.C.K Program, & Second Helping Program. Beyond Food is the charity’s non-food program. This is a jobs training and mentorship program operated out of EFB’s ANNEX facility. The charity spent $8.3m cash on its programs and distributed $35.7 worth of donated food in the fiscal year ending December 2023 (2023). EFB did not provide a spending breakdown for these programs in its 2023 annual report.

Food collection and distribution are the charity’s core programs. In 2023, Edmonton’s Food Bank distributed 5,600,000 kg of food to 75,426 unique clients (34% children and 66% adults). According to the charity, this food is valued at $35.7m total, meaning that each kilogram is worth $6.38. The charity also reported 417,912 annual visitors, meaning that each unique client visited EFB 5.5 times on average in 2023. EFB additionally distributed 400,000 snacks and meals to 100 schools in 2023.

Beyond Food is a small amount of the charity’s program spending. This is a jobs training program with 1,763 participants in 2023. According to the charity, 70% (1,234) of participants found jobs after entering this program.

In 2023, Edmonton’s Food Bank received $12.2m in donations. This is 25% of total revenues  and a 7% increase from $11.4m in donations reported in 2022. The charity also received $345k from the Government of Alberta in 2023. Administrative costs are 2% of revenues and fundraising costs are 7% of donations. This results in 9% total overhead spending, meaning that for every dollar donated, 91 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

In 2023, EFB spent $8.3m cash on its programs, representing 62% of revenues and a 9% increase from $7.7m in 2022. The charity also distributed $35.7m worth of food in 2023.

At the end of 2023, EFB had $14.2m net reserve funds (cash and investments) which covers 171% or around 20 months of its annual program spending. In 2022, the charity purchased a new building – the NISO warehouse – and financed this purchase with a loan from the Muttart Foundation. Ci backed out $1.3m worth of interest-bearing debts related to this loan from its gross reserve funds in 2023.

Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on August 26, 2024. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.