Farm Cafe Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
451272884
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2012, Form 990-N 2011
Location
Boone, NC, USA
Phone
8283861000
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$557,914
Expenses
$634,971
Assets
$427,175
Liabilities
$2,950

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELENA DALTON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELENA DALTON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $63,373 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Operation of a local cafe which allows any person to eat a healthy and nutritious meal, regardless of means or ability to pay for the meal.

What it reported doing in 2025

Our mission is to build a healthy and inclusive community by providing high quality & delicious meals produced from local sources, served in a restaurant where everybody eats, regardless of means. F.a.r.m. Full circle is a food recovery and redistribution program of f.a.r.m. Cafe. We collect imperfect fruits and vegetables, over-ordered food items, and other products at risk of going to waste from local grocers, farmers, and small businesses. Each week, volunteers prepare ready-to-eat meals, meal kits, and other value added products using recovered foods. These products are distributed in two ways. A weekly selection of meals and side dishes are available on a donate-what-you-can basis at f.a.r.m. Cafe. Secondly, we distribute fresh produce, prepared meals, and meal kits to nonprofit and faith-based organizations directly serving food insecure individuals in our community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 96
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 94.9%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $54.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.8%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.67; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 94.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $603K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $63K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.