Land acknowledgement

Community Food Centres Canada operates and partners with food organizations from coast to coast to coast. We do this on the lands of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, who have been and continue to be in a reciprocal relationship with the lands, waters, and all beings. This relationship has been embedded in gratitude and respect since time immemorial.

The national office of Community Food Centres Canada is in Toronto and is on the territory of the Wendat, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Mississaugas of the Credit. This land is now also home to many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples.

The North Grove CFC in Dartmouth, NS. (Photo by Nicola Davison, 2023.)

A person gardening outside at a Community Food Centre.

A welcome from our CEO and Board Chair

Welcome. 

This single word, translatable into many languages, says: Come in. You belong here. Your arrival makes me happy. 

With loneliness on a sharp increase in Canada, a welcome carries more weight than ever. 

And loneliness isn’t the only rising concern. Right now, the national food insecurity rate is the highest it’s ever been. Every day, 8.7 million people—almost 1 in 4 people—face food insecurity. And this translates to deep stress and anxiety about putting food on the table.

At community food organizations across Canada, our partners see this reality every day. In turn, they offer welcoming spaces. Our 2023/24 Gratitude Report takes you on a tour of some of these spaces around the country, where people connect through food and around the right to food. As they grow food, make meals, and make friends, they create something else: hope. During these challenging times, hope is a necessary balm and a galvanizing force. 

You’ll spend time on the land with Indigenous youth and Elders in Northern Saskatchewan. In Guelph, Ontario, you’ll visit Hope House—soon to be the next Community Food Centre—and meet Maddy, who volunteers at their community café. We’ll take you back to the beginnings of our Good Food Organizations network—a welcoming community where people share, learn, and inspire each other. And we’ll show you how our regional networks are rallying frontline staff and community members to advocate for food security. 

Of course, for a welcome to be sincere, it must come from a place of generosity. And we’re grateful for the generosity offered by you, our donors. 

So, thank you—enjoy your Gratitude Report.

Nick Saul, CEO

Community Food Centres Canada

Dr. Kwame McKenzie, Chair of the board

Community Food Centres Canada

Carrefour Solidaire CFC in Montreal, QC. (Photo by Valerie Guerriat, 2023.)

People working at a large table inside a Community Food Centre.

Stories: Welcoming spaces around the country

Welcome isn’t just something you say. It’s something you do. These six stories show some welcoming spaces in action.

A smiling woman in front of a welcome sign at a Community Food Centre.

Jennifer Morin, Volunteer Coordinator at The Depot CFC in Montreal, QC. (Photo courtesy of The Depot CFC, 2024.)

Welcoming spaces in action

Come to a Community Food Centre and you’ll be welcomed. Maybe the aromas of flavoursome food will welcome you first. Or maybe you’ll be welcomed by a staff member or volunteer: They know that food and hospitality (...)

Read the full story
A photo montage of community food sector events: conference attendees; a smiling person at an outdoor community market; people outdoors at a food bank.

Left to right: Food Summit (photo by Gilad Cohen, 2022); Portapique Market (photo courtesy of Portapique Market, 2024); KAF’s food bank (photo by KAF, 2022).

The network that became a community

Back in 2014, Community Food Centres Canada put the call out: We’re starting a network of community food organizations—will you join? In that first year, 37 organizations joined. And ten years on, this network of partners (...)

Read the full story
A smiling group of BC Gathering attendees who have gathered outdoors.

Participants at the BC Gathering. This conference also hosted the inaugural meeting of the BC regional network. (Photo by Fredwaack Productions, 2024.)

A new groundswell of support

Earlier this year, frontline staff began to gather, region by region. As part of our network of 400+ partners, they hail from hundreds of community food organizations across the country. They were creating something special (...)

Read the full story
Deux enfants dans un bateau tiennent chacun une oie capturée Trois enfants souriants à la table avec de la viande d’orignal. Deux Aînés sont à l’arrière-plan.

At the Mind Your Food camp in Frobisher Lake, SK. (Left photo by Rebecca Sylvestre, 2023; right photo by Jazz Moise, 2023.)

Time on the land

It was dusk and daylight was fading. In a few hours, the sunset would be reflected in the lake and the teepee and lodge silhouetted against the sky. The campers were making the most of the remaining daylight. Similar to camps (...)

Read the full story
A smiling man of Japanese background sits at a table with others at a Community Food Centre. A smiling mother of Nigerian background outside at a Community Food Centre, carrying her baby on her back.

Hiroki (left) and Funke (right) are volunteers at The North Grove CFC in
Dartmouth, NS. (Photos by Snickerdoodle Photography, 2023.)  

Memorable people

Hiroki ponders the question about who at The North Grove Community Food Centre has been especially memorable. As he searches for the words in English, his second language, he reflects on the welcoming staff and who stands out most (...)

Read the full story
A smiling young woman in a wheelchair serves a young customer who is standing at a café counter.

Maddy serves a customer at Hope House Cafe. 
(Photo by Taylyn Forsey-Smith, 2024.)

Future spaces

Cups clink. Coffee brews. Around the tables, people chat. Behind the counter, warm beverages await, served by café volunteer Maddy Workman. Maddy’s working her usual weekly shift. It’s a Monday morning and Maddy keeps the mood light (...)

Read the full story

Our shared impact

Our programs are powered by your solidarity. This is a snapshot of our shared impact in 2023/24.

%

feel they belong to a community at their Community Food Centre (CFC).

%

say their CFC provides 
an important source of 
healthy food.

+

community food organizations are learning and sharing knowledge as members of our partner network.

%

of community members who visit their CFC also volunteer there!

Hamilton CFC in Hamilton, ON. (Photo by Jon Evans, 2023.)

Three children preparing a meal at a Community Food Centre.

Our donors

To all of our donors: Thank you! Your generosity makes our welcomes warmer and wider. Every gift makes our work possible—and makes a difference. 

Note: This donor list spans gifts from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024. It does not include anonymous donors and, for brevity, it is not exhaustive. This list does not rank or reflect the extent of our appreciation as we are grateful for all gifts.

$1,000,000+

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The Arrell Family Foundation

Balsam Foundation

Peter Gilgan Foundation

Weston Family Foundation

$100,000 to $999,999

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BMO Financial Group

Chickapea

CIBC Capital Markets

David Feldberg

Gary Slaight

Irma & Vincenzo Pulla Charitable Foundation

Jennifer Grant and David Dattels

John and Jocelyn Barford Family Foundation at Toronto Foundation

Kirk and Anke Simpson

MacFeeters Family Fund at Toronto Foundation

Manulife

Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security

McGraw Family Foundation

Medavie Foundation

Moffat Family Fund at Winnipeg Foundation

P. & L. Odette Charitable Foundation

Patrick and Barbara Keenan Foundation

Riverside Natural Foods, producers of the organic snack brand, MadeGood

Rossy Family Foundation

Temerty Foundation

The Brian and Joannah Lawson Family Foundation

The McConnell Foundation

The Metcalf Foundation

The New Farm

The Peterson Foundation

The Public Health Agency of Canada

The Roof Garden Foundation

The Slaight Family Foundation

The Sprott Foundation

$10,000 to $99,999

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Alastair and Jennifer Murray Foundation

Alo (in-kind support)

AMAPCEO

Ana P. Lopes, C.M. and Don Tapscott, C.M.

Andrew Maciel

Ange Rocca

Bert Clark

Beth Malcolm and Alan Ring

Blake Goldring

Bob Dorrance

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (in-kind support)

Cailey Heaps

Christine Maw and Sandy Stephens

Dattels Family Foundation

Dominick Staunton

Donner Canadian Foundation

Earle and Janice O’Born Family Foundation

Edgehill Capital Investments Ltd.

Elana Rosenfeld

Embrace Life Foundation

Fiera Capital Foundation

Geoffrey Wong

Grey Birch Foundation

Gwen Harvey

Harkamaljit Dhadwar

Jaspreet Singh

Joe and Averil Wiley

Joep Van Gaal

John Deere Foundation of Canada

Jon and Nancy Love Fund at Toronto Foundation

Kanishk Gupta

Kevin Mol

La Fondation Emmanuelle Gattuso

Lillian Veri and Fred Klinkhammer

Lloyd and Marie Barbara

Maryam Moshiri

McLean Smits Family Foundation

Meighen Family Foundation

Nancy and Richard Hamm

Nelson Arthur Hyland Foundation

Pitblado Family Foundation

Rachel Kimel

Ravi Balchandani

RBC Foundation

Richard Lambert

Richard Rooney

Shuttleworth Family Fund at Toronto Foundation

Stait Family Fund, a donor-advised fund at Canada Gives

Steelworkers Humanity Fund

Stephen and Ann Lieff

Steve and Sally Stavro Family Foundation

Sunil Adalja

The Azrieli Foundation

The Bickerton & Grabowski Family Foundation

The Caring Foundation

The Cato Foundation—Keith, Tanya, and Kiera Thomson

The Harbinger Fund at MakeWay

The Haynes-Connell Foundation

The Janice Lewis and Mitchell Cohen Foundation

The Krstajic Foundation

The McLean Foundation

The Printing House

The Schad Foundation

The W.P. Scott Charitable Foundation

The Young Fund at Hamilton Community Foundation

Timothy Eaton Memorial Church

Vanessa L. Morgan

Zita and Mark Bernstein Family Foundation

$1,000 to $9,999

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Adam Shapiro

Alex Ip

Aman Haji

Amichay Greenstein

Andrea Barrack

Andrea Savage and Scott Henshaw

Andrew Fleming

Andrew Parker

Andy and Roz Heintzman

Angela Esterhammer

Angie Macedo

Anna-Joy Veenstra

Anne Jasper and Rob Groh

Anthony Bell

Ashley Copeland

Barry Kowal

Bill Saul

Bob and Anne Aziz

Brenden Donaher

Brian Marshall

Bruce and Lisa Rothney

Camilo Gil

Canadian Health Food Association

Carl Heinrich

Carol Faulkner

Cassaday Family Foundation

Catherine Bateman

Charles Gane

Daniel Maev

Daniel Nahmias

David Brady and Robin Lampard

Denzil Dias

Diane Enhorning

Donald Mikolich

Don Cranston and Megan Hill

Douglas and Margaret Derry Foundation

Elliot Scherer

Eric Field

Geoff Grayhurst

GHW Memorial Fund

Govan Brown & Associates Limited

Green Reason Inc.

Hadi Daou

Heather Killian

iA Financial Group

Ian Woodward

Jake Gilbert

James and Runa Whitaker

James Brooks

James Stewart

Janet and Douglas Davis

Janet Burrows

Jason Manipon

Jeff Gabriel

Jeffrey Markowitz

Jerome Julier

Jialiang Liu

Jimmy Dinh

John Birnie

John Foresi

Jonathan Guilford

Jonathan Pinchuk

Joseph Kostandoff

Karim Rachadi

Kilian Berz

Krista Friesen

Lia DelZotto

Libby Wildman

Loutfi Mouaket

Lucy Waverman

Madian Taleb

Marion MacDonald

Mark Satov

Marlene DelZotto

Matthew Hopkins

Matthew Manias

Matthew Wallace

Matthew Watson

Maxwell Blundell

Meredith MacFarquhar

Michael Kelly and Marisa Mills

Michael Larson

Michael Lau Moon Lin

Miriam Rogers

Mohammed Ibrahim

Molly Watsa

Neal Brothers Foods Inc.

Nick Pasquino

Nicole Swartout

Oluwatobi Ibikunle

Osahon Omokhodion

Patricia J. Fleming (FBG) Fund at Toronto Foundation

Patrick O’Connell

Paul Gorman

Peter Angelou Foundation

Potter Family Fund

Prime Services, Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets

Rachna Patel

Rebekah Mcintosh

Rishi Dani

Rita Caporiccio

Robert Forbrigger

Robert Griffin

Robin Cory

Robin MacAulay

Ron Foerster

Savi Sanghara

Schuster and Sam Gindin

Sean Figueroa

Senning Luk

Shane Pearson

Superkul Inc.

Susan Busby

Susan Vardon and Kevin White

Suzanne Bradshaw

Tara Singh

Taylor Irwin Famly Fund at Toronto Foundation

The Paul Butler and Chris Black Foundation

The Robert Green & Kelly Willis Green Foundation

Tom McCullough

Tyler Swan

Underline Studio Inc.

Vincent Mercier

Wai Kit Chan

Whitehorse Liquidity Partners Inc.

William Stevenson

Wood/Cathcart Memorial Fund at Toronto Foundation

Yaffe Feld Fund at Aqueduct Foundation

James and Runa Whitaker

Monthly donors

Click to expand

Adam Neal

Ai-Lin Hsiao

Alison Crouch

Alison Loat

Alleli Alcasid

Allison Bone

Allyson Collymore

Amanda Caswell

Andrew Frank

Andrew Zimbel

Andrzej Kardys

Angela Hersey

Angela Knapp

Anika Austrie

Art and Maryanne MacNeil

Avalon Jennings

Avril Robinson

Barbara Gordon

Benny Ma

Beth Aspen Parks

Betty Yung

Beverly Hadland

Bonnie Richardson

Brian Hall

Carissa Di Gangi

Carmen Culcer

Caterine Bertini

Celia Harte

Chris Cawthray

Chris Hergesheimer

Claudia Feldkamp

Colleen Brown

Daniel Bloom

Daniel Soper

David Daniels

David Swain

Don Dippo

Donna Wareham

Doug Ewart and Judith Keene

Elizabeth Dias-Fimio

Ellen Pardy

Elsie Redekopp

Emma Rogers

Emmanuel Provost

Eric Liphardt

Erica and James Curtis

Erica Baron

Erin Carroll

Gary Gerbrandt

Genaro Liriano

Heather Anderson

Hsuan-Chung Wu

Ian Foster

Inderjot Singh

Ivy Tsang

Jamie Bowman

Janice Lee

Jennifer Lake

Joe Lobko

Judith Marshall

Judy Enchin

Julia Foster

Juniper Locilento

Katherine Diles-Kanellakis

Kent Hudson

Kevin Kalaycian

Kim Pittaway

Kimberley Humes

Krista Pawley

Kyle Byron

Leah Boucher

Lesley Seaborn

Leslie Lane

Lolita Defreitas

Lorraine Flanigan

Lynn Chiao

Malinga Maddumage

Mam Joof

Margaret Hancock

Marie-Lise Bermingham

Michael Curry

Michael Rudder

Michelle Cader

Michelle Coyne

Michelle Illiatovitch

Murray Evason

Nadia and Darrick Heyd

Nafisa Bharmal-Chaurasia

Nga Ting Alicia Chan

Nick Saul and Andi Curtis

Nigel Terpstra

Nimesh Savla

Odette Keseler

Pamela Kosoy

Pascale Prévost

Pawanpreet Brar

Peggy Solomon

Rae Brown

Rebecca Davies

Rheanne Kett

Rita Selby

Roy Wilds

Ryan Barry

Sara Taccone

Sherrie James

Simone Robinson

Siobhan Hitchmough

Stephanie Highfield

Subathra Purushothaman

Sue Riedl

Swanzy Quarshie

Sylvia Hargittay

Tanner Watt

Tomasz Mrozewski

Tracy MacKay

Typhenn Brichieri-Colombi

Vanessa Rochefort

Vasuki Kana

Vineet Udeshie

Vivek Shah

Vladislav Petkovic

Wendy Kelly

Yumi Hotta

Our board

Dr. Kwame McKenzie photo

Dr. Kwame McKenzie

Chair

CEO, Wellesley Institute

Brian D. Lawson photo

Brian D. Lawson

Treasurer (past chair)

Vice Chair, Brookfield Asset Management

Ana P. Lopes, CM photo

Ana P. Lopes, CM

Secretary

Corporate Director, The Tapscott Group

Phil Caravaggio photo

Phil Caravaggio

Co-founder, Precision Nutrition

Joyce Carter photo

Joyce Carter

President and CEO, Halifax International Airport Authority

Sahba Fotovat photo

Sahba Fotovat

Co-founder and Director of Manufacturing, Riverside Natural Foods Ltd.

Kelly Gordon photo

Kelly Gordon

Portfolio Lead—Community Health and Wellness, Six Nations Health Services

Judy Pfeifer photo

Judy Pfeifer

Chief Public Affairs Officer, Financial Services Regulatory Authority

Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed photo

Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed

Associate Dean, Serving and Engaging Society, Dalhousie University, Faculty of Medicine

Financials

Revenue and expenses

REVENUES

69 %

Came from foundations

11 %

Came from corporate donors

13 %

Came from individuals and families

7 %

Came from government—program support

EXPENSES

77%

Paid for programs and grants

13%

Paid for administration

10%

Paid for fundraising

For our audited financial statements, please visit cfccanada.ca

Read our past reports

NorWest Co-op CFC in Winnipeg, MB. (Photo by Cory Penner, 2023.) 

A ground squirrel stands in a grassy area, looking to the right.