By Brett McKay
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Investigative Journalism Foundation
Food banks in Saskatchewan have been struggling to cope with rising demand and a decline in funding. Two are now facing another hurdle: the loss of their status as registered charities.
The CRA revoked the charity status of Food Banks of Saskatchewan, an association that receives and distributes donations to the province’s 36 registered food banks, and the Melville and District Food Bank in September and June, respectively, for failing to file their tax returns.
Failure to file is the most common reason for revocation of charity status, according to the CRA. Once a charity registration is revoked, the organization no longer qualifies for tax exemptions and can’t issue official donation receipts.
Michael Kincade, executive director of Food Banks of Saskatchewan, said the organization’s charitable return was completed last October, but it wasn’t submitted by their accounting firm as expected.
“We were under the impression this was addressed when we first became aware of the problem earlier in the year. When CRA notified us that the return had not been received, we immediately followed up with our auditor and were advised it would be submitted,” Kincade said.
“However, we were recently informed that the filing was still outstanding and our charitable status had been revoked temporarily until the filing was received,” he said.
Kincade said they are working with the CRA and auditors to get the charitable status reinstated as quickly as possible. In the meantime, he said the association is continuing to work with its member food banks across Saskatchewan.
Food insecurity is a growing concern in Saskatchewan, and food banks throughout the province have reported an increase in people coming to them for help.
In August, more than 26,000 people were served by the Saskatoon Food Bank, more than any other month in the organization’s history. Regina’s food bank also saw a 12.6 per cent increase in the number of people it served this summer compared to the same period in 2025.
The food bank in Melville, Sask., the province’s smallest city, is entirely volunteer run and largely relies on individual donations and business partnerships to keep its door open. Since losing its charity status in June, the food bank has continued to serve patrons in the community, but it is unclear whether the organization has made any progress in getting its charity registration reinstated.
The Melville and District Food Bank did not respond to requests for comment about the revocation of its charitable status by the time of publication.