Charity Intelligence

Charity Intelligence was founded to help donors identify which charities most closely align to their giving priorities. They rate non-profit organizations based on donor accountability, financial transparency, funding needs and cost-efficiency. Calgary Food Bank has an A+ and 5-star rating, and were included in the Top 10 Canadian Impact Charities of 2022. This page is an overview of the information we are graded on.
Household Food Insecurity is an important determinant of health, and it is associated with poorer health and negative psychological, social, and emotional outcomes. Household Food Insecurity is defined as inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints. According to Statistics Canada’s Canadian Income Survey, Alberta experienced the highest prevalence of Household Food Insecurity (20.3%) by province in 2021. This accounts for one in five households that are experiencing food insecurity. In a time where so many families are struggling to make ends meet, the existence of food banks is becoming increasingly more important. With the vision of “A hunger-free community”, The Calgary Food Bank is fighting against hunger and food insecurity by providing immediate assistance as well as addressing the root causes of the problem.
For a comprehensive look at our program financials, please refer to our audits.
General Information
Volunteer & Staff
104,344 HOURS OF VOLUNTEERING
- Staff 61%
- Volunteers 39%
Fund Contribution Sources
- Personal (51%) 51%
- Corporations (21%) 21%
- Foundations (22%) 22%
- Communities (6%) 6%
ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES
$43.9 MILLION SPENT ON PROGRAMMING
- Emergency Food Hampers $36.4M (83%) 83%
- Food Link $2.3M (5%) 5%
- Food Share $2.2M (5%) 5%
- Mobile Hampers $1.4M (3%) 3%
- Purchasing Power $807,000 (2%) 2%
- Weekends and More $512,000 (1%) 1%
- Welcome Home $128,000 (.29%) .29%
Emergency Food Hampers
PROGRAM DISCUSSION
The Emergency Food Hamper Program aims to achieve the Calgary Food Bank’s vision of a hunger-free community and attempts to address hunger and food insecurity as the program provides food and community supports to qualified clients.
An Emergency Food Hamper is a collection of food items providing 7 to ten days’ worth of food to clients based on the household size. Besides regular hampers, we also provide five speciality hampers based on age and dietary restrictions (Baby Hampers, Birthday Party Kits, Celiac Hampers, Prenatal Hampers, and Renal Hampers). Hamper content is determined based on Canada’s Food Guide recommendations and food categories included in it are fruits and vegetables, protein, whole grains, and others. We strive to provide nutritious hampers.
CAUSES Food insecurity in Canada is directly related with financial constraints. Increasing cost of living and food prices in Canada is escalating the financial pressure on individuals and households and pushing them into food insecure situations. HungerCount 2022 data [1] demonstrated that the number of people visiting food banks in Alberta increased by 73% since 2019, explaining the highest prevalence of food insecurity in the province.
EFFECTS There are several negative outcomes related to food insecurity, including poor physical and mental health, and increased risk of chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, heart issues, etc.), which creates a burden on the Canadian health care system.
WHO IS AFFECTED The Emergency Food Hamper Program is designed for individuals or households that cannot access food due to financial constraints.
[1] HungerCount2022, From a Storm to a Hurricane, FoodBanks Canada
OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES
Emergency Food Hampers program provides food to low-income and food insecure Calgarians. Along with a hamper containing one week’s worth of food, clients are also provided with the option to participate in a survey to determine referrals to outside organizations based on their situation and needs. We connect clients with community resources that can address the underlying causes of food insecurity. While 29% of EFH clients were referred to Calgary Food Bank by partner organizations only 4% of clients were referred out to the network of partner organizations.
GOALS The goals for the program are to be within plus or minus 10%, in the coming fiscal year. The goal of number of hampers distributed in 2021/22 exceeded this target due to increased demand in our community. Goals for money saved and clients helped by agencies were exceeded. Our goal for referring to agencies was not met, however it increased significantly since last year with our new and client focused referral out process and it is expected to continue to increase as it becomes more convenient for the clients to access.
As COVID-19 pandemic reached its one-year mark early 2021, the EFH program continued to provide unlimited hampers to clients every 10 days. As the demand for EFH hampers has increased, we continued to modify our operations and increased the daily capacity up to 500 hampers/day. The purpose was to provide emergency assistance to all those affected by food crisis. In this fiscal year, the Calgary Food Bank distributed the largest number of hampers to the largest volume of clients in its history. Large hamper demands were in tandem with long wait times for clients to receive hampers. However, exceptions were accepted by staff and volunteers for those clients with emergency food need during the long waiting period. Additionally, the changes that had been introduced in response to COVID-19 related to the hamper distribution methods, we continued to follow the same outdoor drive-thru distribution model, followed by improved online booking platforms for clients’ convenience. In the last quarter, main location was being renovated and so all the distribution shifted to occur off the dock. Many roadblocks were identified during the transition process, but they were handled seamlessly by staff and volunteers. These adaptations have been successful in accommodating more clients’ requests.
To address the root causes of hunger and food insecurity, before COVID-19 pandemic, the Calgary Food Bank volunteers used to provide agency referral outs by going through a resource binder and selecting a relevant organization for the client. This was not a well-structured process. During COVID-19 pandemic, the referrals were not given out actively due to some agency closures. Hence, after one year of COVID-19 pandemic, Research and Client Services (R&CS) began to explore re-introducing agency referrals. The purpose was to have a structured process of providing community resources to clients based on their situation. Through closer partnership with agencies, the department was able to build back a better referral processes through improved training, data-informed referrals, improved information navigation and improved quality assurance measures. The new referral-out project was initiated on 4th April 2021 and a total of 2475 clients were referred-out in the fiscal year 2021-2022.
We are projecting for 2023/24, the number of Emergency Hampers distributed to be between 117,615 and 174,239.
We are projecting for 2023/24, the number of referrals to agencies to be between 5,500 and 7,400.
We are projecting for 2023/24 the money saved to be between $31,000,000 million and $36,000,000 million.
We are projecting for 2023/24 the clients helped by agencies to be between 27,000 and 30,000.
SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES Relieving food insecurity and providing support for clients who are living with food insecurity. Alleviate the stress of wondering where the next meal is coming from.
LONG-TERM OUTCOMES Creating a hunger-free community.
Descriptions and definitions
UNIQUE CLIENTS
This is calculated by counting all members of the household only once, irrespective of their number of visits to the program.
REFERRALS TO AGENCIES
A referral out is where a client, calling into the Calgary Food Bank, is provided with information about community supports that can help address their underlying root cause of food insecurity. Clients may receive a referral at anytime they call our call centre, they do not necessarily have to book an hamper in order to receive a referral to an agency.
CLIENTS HELPED BY AGENCIES
A critical part of the Emergency Food Hamper program’s theory is that the clients build connections and receive referrals to available community services for their needs.
MONEY SAVED
Clients are asked how they use the money saved by accessing the Emergency Food Hamper program. Based on the responses, a majority of clients use the money to pay their bills. The second most common response is spending money on rent and additional food. They also use this money for expenditures related to their children, health care, and transportation. Despite this, there is a large section of clients that do not have any spare money to spend on any other expenses. They come to the food bank in situations where they have absolutely no money and need food. This reinforces the theory that the population that accesses food banks are the extremely food insecure segment of the population. These clients use their funds on their fundamental physiological needs such as shelter.
2021/22
Hampers provided | 112,294 |
Unique clients | 68,794 |
Unique clients under 18 | 24,822 |
Clients referred to agencies | 2,037 |
Clients helped by agencies* | 35,746 |
Agencies/programs receiving referrals from the Food Bank | 89 |
Agencies/programs sending referrals to the Food Bank | 289 |
Money saved** | $30,569,325 |
AGE BREAKDOWN
- Female Children 34%
- Female Adults 66%
- Male Children 38%
- Male Adults 62%
Female | Male | Agender | |
Under 36 Months | 2,210 | 2,167 | 2 |
Age 3-12 | 6,961 | 7,412 | 21 |
Age 13-17 | 2,863 | 3,158 | 27 |
Age 18-64 | 21,979 | 19,174 | 110 |
Age 65+ | 1,372 | 1,328 | 0 |
2020/21
Hampers provided | 88,177 |
Unique clients | 55,300 |
Unique clients under 18 | 20,209 |
Clients referred to agencies | 449 |
Clients helped by agencies* | 21,942 |
Agencies/programs receiving referrals from the Food Bank | 75 |
Agencies/programs sending referrals to the Food Bank | 324 |
Money saved** | $30,931,059 |
AGE BREAKDOWN
- Female Children 35%
- Female Adults 65%
- Male Children 39%
- Male Adults 61%
Female | Male | Agender | |
Under 36 Months | 1,779 | 2,211 | 1 |
Age 3-12 | 5,637 | 6,047 | 7 |
Age 13-17 | 2,362 | 2,529 | 13 |
Age 18-64 | 17,373 | 15,566 | 72 |
Age 65+ | 1,045 | 1,035 | 0 |
2019/20
Hampers provided | 67,879 |
Unique clients | 67,734 |
Unique clients under 18 | 24,668 |
Clients referred to agencies | 6,329 |
Clients helped by agencies* | 28,898 |
Agencies/programs receiving referrals from the Food Bank | 344 |
Agencies/programs sending referrals to the Food Bank | 392 |
Money saved** | $24,946,147 |
AGE BREAKDOWN
- Female Children 35%
- Female Adults 65%
- Male Children 38%
- Male Adults 62%
Female | Male | Agender | |
Under 36 Months | 2,323 | 2,316 | 1 |
Age 3-12 | 6,887 | 7,364 | 8 |
Age 13-17 | 2,790 | 2,975 | 4 |
Age 18-64 | 21,176 | 19,540 | 34 |
Age 65+ | 1,178 | 1,138 | 0 |
LEARNINGS
- As a response to client feedback, and to better support clients, we continued distributing hampers with the drive-thru distribution model.
- Modifications to daily capacity were made throughout the year based on observed increases in demand.
* Clients being helped by other agencies is the number of hampers referred to the Food Bank from other agencies.
**Money saved can be used to pay off debt, pay for rent, utilities, medical bills, childcare, etc. The money saved includes all emergency hampers and baby hampers. The estimated value of each hamper is as follows: Pink $205, Blue $368, Green $511, Purple $716, Orange $880 and Baby $65.
Mobile Hampers
PROGRAM DISCUSSION
The Mobile Hamper Program provides ready-to-eat, shelf stable food* for the short-term relief of hunger to people experiencing homelessness, at risk of experiencing homelessness, or otherwise impoverished populations. [*requiring minimal/no preparation or refrigeration]
The primary goal of Mobile Hamper program is to provide short-term hunger relief to clients and create a connection between clients and partner organizations that can help with the underlying cause of their food insecurity. This program also helps agencies free up time and resources spent on food acquisition that can be used towards programming to address clients’ root causes of food/housing insecurity.
CAUSES Homelessness is described by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness as the situation of an individual or household without stable, safe, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it. [1]
EFFECTS The need for this program remains crucial as the homeless population is disproportionately affected by food insecurity and lack of food [2].
WHO IS AFFECTED The population experiencing homelessness and partner organizations that support and distribute to a population experiencing homelessness.
Since the Mobile Hamper Program does not directly connect with the target population, we rely on reporting by the agencies accessing the program to evaluate the impact. According to the reporting by the agencies, the largest segment of the target population that received hampers are categorized as un-sheltered or absolutely homeless and living on the streets or in places not intended for human habitation.
[1] Barr, C., Friesen, A., Hill, C., Kovacs-Burns, K., Pauly, B., Turner, A., & Marsolais, A. (2012). Canadian Definition of Homelessness. Toronto: Canadian Observatory on Homelessness Press.
[2] Parpouchi, M., Moniruzzaman, A., Russolillo, A., & Somers, J. M. (2016). Food insecurity among homeless adults and mental illness. PLoS ONE, 11, e0159334.
OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES
The Mobile Hamper Program addresses food insecurity by providing short-term relief of hunger to those experiencing homelessness. The root causes of long-term hunger are also addressed as clients are given hampers by organizations which provide support for individuals experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Food acts as a connector and allows partner organizations to work with individuals to transition them out of homelessness. This program reduces poverty by relieving some financial and mental strain on those experiencing homelessness and allowing individuals to use the funds and resources to move into a stable shelter situation. We collaborate with 11 partner organizations that are working with the population experiencing homelessness.
GOALS The goals for the program are to be within 10%, plus or minus in the coming fiscal year.
The amount of food distributed in 2021/22 was within the target. The measurement of the food distributed was changed from number of hampers to pounds of food halfway through the Fiscal Year. While this was a necessary change to improve accuracy, it made the comparison to previous years challenging. In the 2021/22 Fiscal Year 208,000 lbs of food was distributed to partner agencies. Through this distribution, the program potentially saved $610,702 for its partner organizations.
FUTURE PROJECTIONS For 2022/23 Fiscal Year, we are projecting Mobile Hamper program to distribute between 212,000 lbs and 228,800 lbs of food. We are projecting for 2022/23 the money saved to be between $615,800 and $682,675.
SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES Supplying nutrition to those experiencing homelessness and may not have another source of food.
LONG-TERM OUTCOMES Creating a hunger-free community.
On a given night, 3,430 Calgarians experience homelessness.
– The Calgary Homeless Foundation
What's in a Hamper?
▪ Canned meat (2)
▪ Canned soup (2)
▪ Dry soup (2)
▪ Fruit/pudding (4)
▪ Juice/drinks (2)
▪ Oatmeal (6)
▪ Snacks (1)
▪ Bag of cutlery and napkins (1)
2021/22
Number of agencies | 14 |
Number of bags distributed | 24,614 |
Money saved* | $1,045,110 |
2020/21
Number of agencies | 12 |
Number of bags distributed | 29,281 |
Money saved* | $1,086,325 |
2019/2020
Number of agencies | 12 |
Number of bags distributed | 24,579 |
Money saved* | $737,370 |
* Dollar value of hamper savings, allowing agencies focus on their programming rather than outsourcing food.
LEARNINGS
- Fresh fruits, soft to eat food, and hygiene items are highly valued by the target population and the partner organizations. We continue to provide a selection of these items as well as other desired options based on feedback from the partner organizations.
- Switching to bulk food allowed us to be more flexible to meet the preferences of different organizations based on their clients’ needs. The majority of our partner organizations now pick up bulk orders rather than pre-packed hampers.
- The program name was changed from formerly Hampers for the Homeless to Mobile Hampers in 2022.
Food Link
PROGRAM DISCUSSION
The Food Link program is a Calgary Food Bank program that provides food and supplies to qualified organizations so they can focus their resources on important program delivery dealing with root causes of food insecurity. Unlike the Emergency Hamper Program, we do not directly connect with the food insecure population. We rely on reporting by the agencies using the program to evaluate the impact.
CAUSES Household food insecurity in Canada is a growing concern and Alberta has the highest prevalence where 20.3% of households are food insecure and 6.3% is severely food insecure.
EFFECTS There are a number of negative outcomes related to food insecurity, including poor physical and mental health, and increased risk of chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, heart issues, etc.), which creates a drain on the Canadian health care system.
WHO IS AFFECTED Agencies that are qualified to access the Food Link Program. The beneficiaries of this program include social service organizations that provide a range of services for children, youth, families, immigrants, refugees, the elderly, the disabled, the homeless, the poor, and others. See the list of our Food Link agencies.
[1] Tarasuk V, Li T, Fafard St-Germain AA. (2022) Household food insecurity in Canada, 2021. Toronto: Research to identify policy options to reduce food insecurity (PROOF). Retrieved from https://proof.utoronto.ca/
OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES
Bulk food and supplies are provided to partner agencies. The output is determined on assumptions such as all goods taken out of Food Link are weighed. Food that is typically picked-up from Food Link is 70% non-perishable and 30% perishable. 1,120,476 pounds of bulk food was distributed to partner agencies in the Fiscal Year 2021/22.
Agencies use the Food Link Program to supplement their food supply and redirect their budget. Agencies were asked about the ways they used the money saved by accessing the program. According to their feedback, agencies diverted their funds in a variety of ways, including investing in programming, food purchases, and purchasing supplies. Most agencies (57%) redirected funds to food purchasing and they were able to extend their food budget or purchase supplies with the funds saved. Some agencies (18%) used the funds to improve programming. The examples of improved programming include an increased invested in staff training, offering more programs or extend the scope of their programming.
GOALS
The goals for the program are to be within 10%, plus or minus in the coming fiscal year. We are projecting for 2022/23, the pounds of food and supplies distributed through Food Link to be between 1,008,428 and 1,232,524. We are projecting for 2022/23 the money saved to be between $2,621,913 and $3,204,561.
With the onset of COVID-19 we were required to deny access to all external visitors, which greatly impacted how the Food Link Program operated. Implementation of partners qualification criteria and COVID-19 restrictions resulted in the number of agency programs supported through Food Link being reduced from 215 to 37 in 2020. In 2021/22 Fiscal Year, the number of Food Link partner organizations was up to 48. We are expecting for 2022/23 the number of Food Link partner organizations to be between 75 and 85.
SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES Supporting organizations by absorbing or diverting agencies’ food and supplies cost, allowing agencies to focus on meeting the needs of the community instead of sourcing food. Money saved can be relocated to sustain existing programs or launch new programs. Re-distributing excessive amounts of certain items to other agencies which results in reduced food waste.
LONG-TERM OUTCOMES Creating a hunger-free community.
Qualifications for Agencies
- Agencies are serving the food insecure population.
- Agencies must be registered as a charitable organization or fall under exemptions according to the CRA.
- A partnership with Food Link enhances the agencies’ ability to provide effective programming.
- They must not be duplicating services (hampers or pantries), or operating as a food bank.
- They must not charge fees for services.
- Their programming works with root causes of food insecurity.
- Agency programming provides capacity building for clients or community building.
- Demographics, scale of operations, or geography do not affect qualification.
“Saved money goes toward purchasing more food for the breakfast club.”
“Money saved by using Food Link is redistributed back into our programs, through improved services and development of new programs.”
2021/2022
Number of programs* | 72 |
Pounds of food distributed** | 672,201 |
Money saved*** | $1,747,723 |
2020/21
Number of programs* | 56 |
Pounds of food distributed** | 865,410 |
Money saved*** | $2,250,065 |
2019/20
Number of programs* | 215 |
Pounds of food distributed** | 1,614,984 |
Money saved*** | $4,198,958 |
* Number of agencies and programs receiving food and supplies
** Amount of food and supplies accessed by the Food Link agencies
*** Dollar value of food distributed.
LEARNINGS
- Clearly defined eligibility criteria for onboarding Food Link partner organizations helped us reduce service duplications.
- Agency reporting was made mandatory to ensure a consistent flow of information for program evaluation.
- The demand for the Food Link program remains to be significant and is expected to increase. The Food Link team is receiving requests to re-enter the program from former Food Link partner organizations also connecting with completely new organizations through Community Liaison.