Saskatoon Food Bank is a 3-star, financially transparent charity with a Good impact rating and a below-average C results reporting grade. Its reserve of cash and investments is a reasonable size. For every dollar donated, 97 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1984, Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre (Saskatoon Food Bank) distributes food across Saskatoon and up to 50 km outside of the city to those in need. The charity gives out containers of food it describes as ‘food hampers’ which contain essentials like whole grain cereal, peanut butter, frozen meat, coffee, and pasta. According to the charity, demand for its services has increased in recent years because of the rising cost of living.

Saskatoon Food Bank runs two program groups: food distribution and community programs. It spent $3.9m on cash program operating expenses and distributed 2,883,517 lb of food in the March 2024 (F2024) fiscal year. The charity did not provide any further breakdown of its spending.

Food distribution is Saskatoon Food Bank’s main program. In F2024, the charity distributed 93,583 food hampers containing 2,883,517 lb of food. Families receive two hampers a month and each hamper contains 2-3 days worth of food (or around 31 lb / hamper). Saskatoon Food Bank did not disclose the number of unique individuals or families who received hampers at the time of this profile update.

Community programs include Saskatoon Food Bank’s jobs training, kitchen skills classes, tax clinic, community garden, and clothing depot subprograms. In F2024, the charity held 65 cooking classes and registered 91 clients into three jobs training streams. Its online tax clinic completed 2,605 tax returns for its clients, its community garden harvested 11,571 lb of fresh produce, and its clothing depot saw 19,015 visitors during F2024.

Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre’s audited financial statements follow line-item costing, meaning it does not clearly report program, administrative, and fundraising activities on its financials. This is not a best practice.

In F2024, Saskatoon Food Bank received $6.2m worth of cash donations (86% of cash revenue) and $157k worth of government funding (2% of cash revenue). It also received $13.4m worth of donated goods ($12.9m in donated food, $11k in gift cards, and $535k in non-food basic needs) – a 28% increase from $10.5m worth of donated goods received in F2023.

Administrative costs are 2% of total revenue less investment income and fundraising costs are around 1% of cash donations. Its 3% total overhead spending means that for every dollar donated, 97 cents are available to go to the cause.

In F2024, Saskatoon Food Bank spent $3.9m on its programs and grants – a 9% increase from $3.6m spent in F2023. The charity is in the process of relocating to a new, larger facility. Its purchase of a new property explains why its capital expenditures spiked at $3.1m in F2023.

At the end of F2024, Saskatoon Food Bank had $9.9m worth of net reserves (cash and investments) which covers 253% or just over two years and six months of its annual program spending.

Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on June 9, 2025. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.

Questions? Contact jdranitsaris@charityintelligence.ca