Food for Life Canada
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
High
DEMONSTRATED IMPACT
The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.
NEED FOR FUNDING
Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.
83%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 83 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Food for Life Canada:
Food for Life Canada is a 5-star charity with High demonstrated impact. It has above average disclosure with an A grade for results reporting. Its overhead spending and funding reserves are within Ci’s reasonable range.
A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top Canadian Impact Charity
A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top 100 Rated Charity.
Founded in 1995, Food for Life Canada (FFL) rescues food from farms, retailers and distributors and gives it to people facing food insecurity in the Halton region. It operates two centers: one in Burlington and one in Milton. In 2025, it served 2,200 active households. According to the charity, 77% of its clients have $200 or less left for food after other expenses each month and 40% have a disability.
FFL's only program is its food distribution operations. In 2025, FFL spent $2.0m on its program and distributed $16.3m worth of food.
Food rescue, sorting and distribution accounted for all of FFL's program spending. In 2025, it rescued 4,750,017 lb of food and distributed 4,473,705 lb to 2,200 households. The average household size was 2 people, and the charity reports a total of about 4,378 people. Most food rescued was produce (60%), followed by meat and protein (10%), dairy (10%), non-perishables (8%), bread and baked goods (5%), prepared food (4%), non-food items (2%) and non-perishable fruit and vegetables (1%).
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Results and Impact
In 2025, Food for Life Canada ran a client survey on program outcomes. The survey was taken by 338 households. Respondents reported:
- 91% saw positive impacts on their health
- 48% had less household stress
- 22% saw improved physical health
- 22% saw improved mental health
- 57% kept stable food security and avoided things getting worse
- 36% improved their food security
Food for Life Canada distributed an average of 1,022 lb of food per person in 2025. On average, households saved $74 per week on groceries. FFL also diverted 6,000,000 kg of greenhouse gas emissions through food rescue. It generated an estimated $167k in healthcare savings for 123 households.
Charity Intelligence (Ci) has given Food for Life Canada a High impact rating. This is based on its demonstrated social impact per dollar spent.
A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top Canadian Impact Charity.
A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top 10 Impact: Canadian Food Banks.
Impact Rating: High
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Finances
Food for Life Canada follows line-item costing which is not a best practice. Ci referred to its T3010 filings with the CRA when reporting program, administrative, and fundraising expenses
In 2025, Food for Life had $19.4m in total revenues. Donations accounted for $2.4m or 12% of revenues. Donated food accounted for $16.3m or 84% of total revenues. In 2025, the charity spent $2.0m on its programs. This was 64% of revenues less donated food.
Administrative costs were $186k or 1% of revenues. Fundraising costs were $381k or 16% of donations. For every dollar donated to the charity, 83 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
As of 2025, the charity has $1.4m in cash. Its reserves can cover 8 months of its annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
In 2025, the charity reported paying external fundraisers $440k to raise $34k in donations. This is equivalent to a cost of $13.09 for every dollar raised by external fundraisers.
Profile updated by Raihan Firosh on July 9, 2026. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 1.0% | 1.7% | 2.0% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 16.1% | 14.8% | 21.4% |
| Total overhead spending | 17.1% | 16.5% | 23.4% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 69.9% | 49.5% | 28.5% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 2,369 | 1,665 | 1,559 |
| Goods in kind | 16,284 | 15,271 | 15,312 |
| Government funding | 854 | 828 | 699 |
| Other income | (156) | 217 | (50) |
| Total revenues | 19,352 | 17,982 | 17,520 |
| Program costs | 1,953 | 1,723 | 1,877 |
| Donated goods exp | 16,284 | 15,271 | 15,312 |
| Administrative costs | 186 | 309 | 356 |
| Fundraising costs | 381 | 246 | 333 |
| Other costs | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Total spending | 18,804 | 17,550 | 17,880 |
| Cash flow from operations | 547 | 432 | (360) |
| Capital spending | 65 | (48) | 37 |
| Funding reserves | 1,366 | 853 | 535 |
Note: 1. LINE-ITEM COSTING: Since FFL follows line-item costing, Ci referred to its T3010 filings with the CRA when reporting program, administrative, and fundraising expenses. 2. DEFERRED GOVERNMENT FUNDING: Since FFL follows deferred accounting, Ci adjusted government funding for deferred government grants. This shows donors the year-to-year movement of cash within the charity and affected total revenue by ($119k) in 2025, $28k in 2024, and $3k in 2023. 3. DEFERRED CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Ci adjusted donations for changes in restricted contributions meant for capital asset purchases. This affected total revenue by $64k in 2025, ($331k) in 2024, and ($291k) in 2023. 4. DONATIONS RECEIVABLE: Ci adjusted donations for changes in donations receivable, affecting total revenue by ($19k) in 2025, $33k in 2024, and $40k in 2023. 5. GOVERNMENT GRANTS RECEIVABLE: Ci adjusted government funding for changes in government grants receivable, affecting total revenue by ($16k) in 2025, $117k in 2024, and $90k in 2023. 6. OTHER DEFERRED REVENUE: Ci adjusted other income for deferred revenue not clearly related to donations or government funding, affecting total revenue by ($191k) in 2025, $164k in 2024, and ($146k) in 2023.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
1 |
$80k - $120k |
3 |
$40k - $80k |
6 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2025
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Comment added on 8 October 2024:
Food for Life is a lifeline for those struggling with food insecurity in communities across Halton and Hamilton, alleviating hunger while protecting the environment as the largest food rescue charity in the region.
With a dual commitment to people and planet, Food for Life rescues over 4.6 million lbs of surplus food annually from our food industry partners, grocery stores, and farms. This food is then redistributed to our network of over 100 community programs, half of which are operated by FFL, who directly support households experiencing food insecurity. Since January, we have seen a more than 20% increase in the number of households accessing our programs. Through our food rescuing efforts, over 4,000 households are supported each week, with healthy fresh groceries they might otherwise be unable to afford, while also diverting 6 million kg of GHG’s from landfill due to avoidable food waste each year.
Through our innovative approach, we can leverage every $10 invested into an incredible $63.70 worth of food and groceries to those in the community facing some of life’s greatest challenges.
Our 2023 Neighbour Survey showed us that 85% of our neighbours reported having $200 or less per month for their household food needs after paying for housing and other necessities, while 89% agreed that the food they receive at Food for Life increases their access to fresh and healthy food items. Read the full Neighbour Survey Report here:
https://foodforlife.ca/accountability/
Food for Life is revolutionizing addressing poverty, food loss, and environmental sustainability. With a passionate team of 18 dedicated individuals working hand in hand with an incredible network of 500+ volunteers, we are on a mission to make a meaningful difference in communities across Halton and Hamilton.
In these challenging times, it is more crucial than ever to support those facing hunger in our community. Food for Life believes that by ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious food, we can foster a healthier, stronger, and more resilient community.
I invite you to learn more about Food for Life by touring our warehouse or visiting our website https://foodforlife.ca/
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 905-635-1106