Founded in 1987, London Food Bank gives food to hungry people in London and distributes additional food to community organizations in Ontario.

In F2018, 42,275 households received food from London Food Bank, representing 102,430 household members. Of these individuals, 64% are under the age of 35. Before receiving food, individuals must participate in an interview, provide proof of any dependents, and other information such as proof of income. Households can only visit the food bank every 30 days while the average household received food four times during F2018. London Food Bank distributed 1.8 million pounds of food to clients.

London Food Bank distributed 471,000 pounds of food to other organizations in F2018, representing 21% of all food. The organizations include other food banks and charities in London, school lunch programs, and food banks in Ailsa Craig, Goderich, Ingersoll, Stratford, Strathroy, St. Marys, St. Thomas, and Zurich.

Of the food donated in F2018, 47% was fresh or frozen including fruits and vegetables from local farmers, eggs, milk, bread, and meat. The Community Harvest program collects produce from farmers and grocery stores which cannot be sold and would otherwise be thrown out or tilled back into the soil. London Food Bank also encourages individual gardeners to plan one extra row of seeds in their garden and donate the additional produce.

London Food Bank is a large charity, receiving monetary donations of $1.3m and $4.4m worth of donated food in F2017. Administrative costs are 1% of revenues less investment income, and fundraising costs are 5% of donations. For every $1 donated, 94 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. London Food Bank has $1.7m in funding reserves. Excluding donated food, funding reserves could cover program costs for two years.

This charity profile has been sent to London Food Bank for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Created on June 26, 2019 by Madison Kerr.