Campus Food Bank

What Campus Food Bank does

Campus Food Bank Society is a registered Canadian charity founded in 1991 by the University of Alberta's Graduate Students' Association, making it the oldest university food bank in Canada. The organization provides free supplementary groceries and food access programs to University of Alberta students, faculty, staff, and alumni within five years of graduation, with a client base dominated by graduate students (66%) and international students (73%). Since transitioning from a traditional hamper distribution model to a client-choice grocery store model in October 2022, clients shop for themselves and receive approximately one week of groceries per visit, accessible every two weeks.

The organization's product surface extends beyond core grocery distribution to include a weekly free breakfast program (Wednesdays at SUB and Campus Saint-Jean), a monthly grocery bus route to NoFrills in Old Strathcona, an anonymous 24/7 community pantry at Rutherford Library accessible via ONEcard, and depot services for the WECAN Food Basket Society's $15 produce and $20 meat monthly baskets. Operations are supported by a small paid staff of approximately 10 plus a structured volunteer pipeline, with program booking handled through Google Calendar and client registration via Google Docs on a Squarespace-hosted, multilingual website (10 languages).

The revenue model is diversified across recurring student union fees (approved via referenda), government and community grants, individual and corporate donations, food drives, and ancillary donation channels including SkipTheDepot recyclables refunds and ONEcard balance donations. The organization does not receive operational funding directly from the University of Alberta; it is independently governed by a board with student union representation, certified as a Good Food Organization by Right to Food, and is a member of Food Banks Canada adherent to their Ethical Food Banking Code. Distribution is exclusively physical and regional, anchored at SUB 1-81 in Edmonton, Alberta.

Name

Campus Food Bank

Legal name

Campus Food Bank Society

Website

https://campusfoodbank.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Campus Food Bank Society is an Edmonton-based registered Canadian charity and the oldest university food bank in Canada, providing free supplementary groceries, breakfast, and food access programs to food-insecure University of Alberta students, staff, and recent alumni via a client-choice grocery store model and multilingual outreach.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Food Assistance

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food Services (624210), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community-Owned / Nonprofit Grocery Stores (CRAHALAB), Nutrition & Dietetics Services (EDALAFAH), School Feeding & Social Protection Partnerships (Conditional Cash Transfers, etc.) (EDADALAL)

Keywords

• Campus food bank
• Charitable food assistance
• Student food security
• Community food relief
• Supplementary groceries

Headquarters

HQ city

Edmonton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Student Fees: Funding from graduate and undergraduate student unions through referenda and fee allocations.
2. Government Grants: Operational funding from government sources.
3. Community Grants: Funding from community organizations and foundations.
4. Donations: Monetary donations from individuals, corporations, and community organizations. Food donations from individuals, food drives, and local producers. The organization receives no operational funding from the University of Alberta.
5. SkipTheDepot Partnership: Partnership with SkipTheDepot allows supporters to direct recyclables refund funds to the Campus Food Bank.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Campus Food Bank provides free supplementary groceries to University of Alberta students, staff, and recent alumni experiencing food insecurity through a client-choice grocery store model, with each visit supplying roughly one week's worth of food every two weeks. The offering is supplemented by multiple ancillary programs including a weekly free breakfast, a monthly grocery bus, a 24/7 community pantry at the library, a WECAN Food Basket partnership, and an annual Trick or TrEAT food drive. Multilingual outreach in 10+ languages extends access to international student populations.

Product overview

Campus Food Bank operates as a single-program charitable organization with multiple food access services. The core offering is the Supplementary Groceries Program (a client-choice grocery store model), supplemented by ancillary food programs including the Weekly Free Breakfast, Grocery Bus, Community Pantry, WECAN Food Basket partnership, and seasonal Trick or TrEAT food drive. The organization also provides multilingual access to serve the diverse University of Alberta community, with programs targeting food-insecure students, staff, and recent alumni.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Supplementary Groceries Program Free supplementary groceries for University of Alberta students, staff, and recent alumni experiencing food insecurity. Clients shop in a grocery store setting approximately every two weeks, receiving roughly one week's worth of groceries through a client-choice model.
• Weekly Free Breakfast Program Free grab-and-go breakfast distribution on Wednesday mornings starting at 8:30am at SUB and Campus Saint-Jean Grand Salon, including fresh fruit and granola bars while supplies last.
• Grocery Bus Program Monthly bus service transporting students to NoFrills grocery store in Old Strathcona, providing access to affordable groceries farther from campus; runs first Saturday of each month from September through May, with registration via Eventbrite.
• Community Pantry Anonymous food pantry located at Rutherford Library, accessible anytime the library is open using any ONEcard. Operates on community donations with campus groups able to adopt the pantry for a week.
• WECAN Food Basket Program Partnership with WECAN Food Basket Society offering low-cost monthly produce baskets ($15) and meat baskets ($20) for pickup at CFB. CFB serves as a distribution depot for the program, which requires a $5 yearly membership.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves clients every 2 weeks with approximately 1 week's worth of groceries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Food Banks CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampus Food Bank is a member organization of Food Banks Canada, adhering to FBC's Ethical Food Banking Code. Shares anonymized visit data annually with Food Banks Canada for their HungerCount report.
• Right to FoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CFB is a Good Food Organization of Right to Food and follows RTF's Good Food Principles for ethical food banking.
• WECAN Food Basket SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWECAN is a non-profit that purchases bulk meat and produce for monthly distribution. Campus Food Bank serves as one of many depots in Edmonton where members pick up their orders. Members pay annual fee and monthly orders through CFB.
• SkipTheDepotminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupporters can schedule recyclables pickup and direct funds from bottle/container returns to Campus Food Bank.
• Emily Chu (Local Graphic Designer)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Edmonton designer who created the 2022 rebrand suite of logos for Campus Food Bank and various programs.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Right to Food: Canadian organization certifying Good Food Organizations based on Good Food Principles. Campus Food Bank holds this certification, making Right to Food an accrediting and standards-setting peer rather than a competitor.
• Food Banks Canada: National umbrella organization of which Campus Food Bank is a member, publishing the annual HungerCount report. Comparable as the industry trade body governing ethical food banking standards that Campus Food Bank adheres to and shares anonymized client data with annually.

Regional players

• Edmonton Food Bank: Regional food bank serving the greater Edmonton area, including the same geographic community as Campus Food Bank. Comparable in mission and donor base but operates at city-wide scale rather than university-specific scope; over 20% of CFB clients also use Edmonton Food Bank.

Direct peers

• University of Toronto Food Bank: Student-run food bank serving U of T students with similar supplementary grocery programs and student-fee funding structure. Closest direct functional peer for an Ontario comparator and likely benchmark for Campus Food Bank's operations.
• Meal Exchange: A national Canadian charity dedicated to student and youth food security, supporting campus food initiatives across Canada. Directly comparable as both organizations operate in the Canadian campus food security space with overlapping donor bases and program philosophies.
• Student Food Bank (University of Ottawa): Student society-run food assistance program at the University of Ottawa offering supplementary groceries to students facing food insecurity. Functionally comparable with similar reliance on student fee referenda and multilingual international student outreach.
• Calgary Campus Food Bank: University of Calgary's student food bank providing supplementary groceries to U of C students. Comparable as another Alberta post-secondary food assistance organization navigating the same provincial minimum wage and rental affordability headwinds.
• UBC Student Food Bank: University of British Columbia's campus food bank providing supplementary groceries to UBC students. Operates in a similar regulatory environment (Canadian registered charity serving a university community) and faces comparable structural drivers around graduate and international student need.
• WECAN Food Basket Society: Edmonton-based nonprofit operating a cooperative bulk purchasing program for produce and meat, with Campus Food Bank functioning as a distribution depot. Direct operational partner and adjacent service provider serving overlapping low-income clients in the same region.

Broad incumbents

• Daily Bread Food Bank: Toronto's largest food bank serving a broad urban population across the GTA. Comparable as a much larger, more established charitable food bank that demonstrates the scale ceiling Campus Food Bank could approach if it expanded geographically or programmatically.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/campus-food-bank

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

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 Campus Food Bank