What Feed Nova Scotia does

Feed Nova Scotia is a registered Canadian charity (CRA #119039337 RR0001) founded in 1984 as the Metro Food Bank Society and rebranded in 2005, headquartered at 67 Wright Avenue in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The organization operates as the provincial umbrella body for food banking, distributing approximately 6,994,561 pounds of food in 2025 to a network of more than 130 member food banks, shelters, and meal programs across Nova Scotia. Its mission, updated in 2019, focuses on increasing food security through food distribution, education, and collaboration. With more than 1-in-4 Nova Scotia households food-insecure, the organization addresses a documented provincial crisis; 86% of distributed food consisted of main meal components and 55% was perishable, indicating recovery-heavy logistics operations.

The product portfolio combines direct food distribution with grantmaking, advocacy, and donor engagement programs. Core products include the Food Distribution Network, the Hunters Helping the Hungry wild game donation program (coordinated with the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers & Hunters), grant programs (Prototype Grants up to $25,000 and Community Food Sovereignty Grants up to $20,000/year), and the First Voice Advisory Council launched in 2022. Revenue is generated entirely through voluntary mechanisms: individual donations (including the give12 monthly program), corporate and retail food donations, gifts-in-kind, the 50/50 raffle program (via Rafflebox), and grant funding. Advocacy is structured around three pillars — income, food access, and food sovereignty.

There is no proprietary technology platform. Underlying technology consists of a member portal, online donation processing through CanadaHelps, Constant Contact for email, SurveyMonkey for First Voice applications, Airtable for partner organization data, and standard website infrastructure. Distribution follows a hub-and-spoke model centered on the Dartmouth warehouse, with food reaching end beneficiaries exclusively through member agencies. The organization holds Imagine Canada Accreditation, Food Banks Canada Standards of Excellence, and Good Food Organization recognition, and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors with an executive director leadership structure. Geographic scope is confined to Nova Scotia, with no expansion outside the province indicated in the input data.

Name

Feed Nova Scotia

Legal name

Feed Nova Scotia

Website

https://feednovascotia.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Feed Nova Scotia is a registered Canadian charity founded in 1984 operating as Nova Scotia's provincial food bank umbrella. It distributes approximately 7 million pounds of food annually through 130+ member agencies, combining emergency relief with policy advocacy addressing food insecurity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Bank and Hunger Relief Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Emergency Food Assistance & Nutrition Response (BPADADAE), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Food bank services
• Food distribution
• Hunger relief
• Emergency food assistance
• Community food security

Headquarters

HQ city

Dartmouth

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Monetary donations from individuals, either one-time or recurring (monthly giving program called give12). Donations support the food distribution network and advocacy efforts.
2. Corporate and Retail Donations: Food donations from retailers, farmers, and corporations. Non-monetary gifts-in-kind of food products.
3. Online Donations via CanadaHelps: Partnership with CanadaHelps to process online donations and issue electronic tax receipts.
4. Hunters Helping the Hungry: Wild game meat donations from hunters, with matching donations from Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers & Hunters ($1 per kg up to $1500).
5. 50/50 Raffle: Lottery raffle events (not tax-deductible) that generate revenue for the organization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Feed Nova Scotia collects donated and rescued food across Nova Scotia and redistributes it through 130+ member food banks, meal programs, and shelters, moving roughly 7 million pounds of food per year. Beyond physical food distribution, it operates grant programs (Prototype Grants up to $25,000 and Community Food Sovereignty Grants up to $20,000) and runs advocacy work focused on income supports, food access, and food sovereignty, along with donor-supported programs such as Hunters Helping the Hungry.

Product overview

Feed Nova Scotia operates as a provincial food bank network organization rather than a technology product company. The core offering is a food distribution network supporting over 130 member food banks, meal programs, and shelters across Nova Scotia. The organization provides approximately 7 million pounds of food annually. Beyond food distribution, the portfolio includes grant programs supporting community food initiatives (Prototype Grants up to $25,000 and Community Food Sovereignty Grants up to $20,000), the Hunters Helping the Hungry program, a 50/50 raffle program, advocacy initiatives focused on income/food access/food sovereignty, and the First Voice Advisory Council for community input. Supporting infrastructure includes an online donation platform, a member network portal for partner organizations, and a partners network for collaborative initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Provincial Food Distribution Network Centralized collection, warehousing, and redistribution of donated and rescued food to 130+ member food banks, meal programs, and shelters across Nova Scotia, moving roughly 7 million pounds of food annually.
• Prototype Grant Program Grant funding of up to $25,000 available to Nova Scotia community organizations to pilot and test new, innovative approaches to addressing food insecurity at the local level.
• Community Food Sovereignty Grant Program Annual grant funding of up to $20,000 per year for communities across Nova Scotia to take ownership of local food systems and address food sovereignty in their regions.
• Hunters Helping the Hungry Donor-supported program that engages hunters in Nova Scotia to donate locally sourced meat, increasing the supply of protein available through Feed Nova Scotia's distribution network.
• Policy Advocacy on Hunger and Food Sovereignty Advocacy program addressing three pillars — income supports, food access, and food sovereignty — delivered in coordination with peer organizations such as Feed Ontario and Food Banks Canada.
• Food Bank Finder Online resource that helps individuals across Nova Scotia locate the nearest food bank, meal program, or shelter offering food assistance.
• Online Donation Platform Online donation service accepting individual, corporate, and planned-giving donations (including via CanadaHelps) to support Feed Nova Scotia's food distribution, grant, and advocacy programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,994,561 pounds of food distributed in 2025

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Food Banks CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeed Nova Scotia is one of ten provincial organizations that belong to Food Banks Canada, a national charitable organization representing the food bank community across Canada. This membership provides standards, resources, and national coordination for food banking.
• Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers & HuntersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartners in the Hunters Helping the Hungry program, where the Federation donates $1 per kg of wild game meat donated (up to $1500) to Feed Nova Scotia.
• Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change (Environmental Health & Food Safety Branch)minorOthersGovernment department partner in the Hunters Helping the Hungry program, providing regulatory oversight for food safety of donated wild game.
• Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (Wildlife Division)minorOthersGovernment department partner in the Hunters Helping the Hungry program, supporting the wildlife resource management aspects.
• CanadaHelpscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegistered Canadian charity partner that processes online donations for Feed Nova Scotia and issues electronic tax receipts to donors.
• JustFOODminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner contributing funding to support additional HRM projects that align with the JustFOOD Action Plan for the Halifax Region, specifically for Feed Nova Scotia's grant program.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ontario Association of Food Banks: Provincial umbrella for food banks in Ontario, analogous in function to Feed Nova Scotia's provincial coordinating role.
• Calgary Food Bank: Alberta-based food bank that distributes food through partner agencies and direct programs. Comparable mission and hub-and-spoke distribution structure.
• Moisson Montréal: Major Quebec food bank that collects, sorts, and distributes food to a regional network of affiliated agencies. Same food-bank operating model with a provincial/multi-regional reach.
• Second Harvest (Toronto): Canada's largest food rescue organization, redistributing surplus food to nonprofits. Adjacent but comparable peer focused on food recovery logistics and agency-network distribution.
• Greater Vancouver Food Bank: Regional food bank serving Greater Vancouver through a member agency network. Closely comparable in role, scale, and operation to Feed Nova Scotia's provincial mandate.
• Edmonton Food Bank: Edmonton-based food bank with a centralized warehouse model distributing to a network of agencies. Direct operational peer in provincial/regional food redistribution.
• Winnipeg Harvest / Harvest Manitoba: Manitoba-wide food distribution and emergency food-relief charity. Equivalent role as the principal provincial food bank organization.
• Daily Bread Food Bank (Toronto): Large metropolitan food bank in Toronto operating a hub-and-spoke distribution model to a member agency network. Direct functional peer in food collection, storage, and redistribution to community agencies.

Broad incumbents

• Food Banks Canada: National umbrella organization of which Feed Nova Scotia is a member. Comparable as the coordinating body for the Canadian food-bank network, setting standards and representing provincial members.

Emerging players

• FoodShare Toronto: Toronto-based food justice organization combining food distribution with education, advocacy, and food-systems work. Comparable to Feed Nova Scotia's combined relief-plus-advocacy model, though operating in a different jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/feednovascotia
• Facebookfacebook.com/feednovascotia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/feednovascotia

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Feed Nova Scotia