Food Paradigm
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 934157882
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2024–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- Apex, NC, USA
- Phone
- 9193424053
- Rating
- 64
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Food Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $80,892
- Expenses
- $75,193
- Assets
- $26,115
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Thursall Celle (Co-Executive Director and Board President)
- Karla Wilson (Co-Executive Director and Board Secretary)
People named in this filing
- Thursall Celle (Co-Executive Director and Board President)
- Karla Wilson (Co-Executive Director and Board Secretary)
- Beth Espitia (Board Treasurer)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Food Paradigm is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Its primary exempt purpose is to promote equitable food systems by providing education, training, and resources that empower individuals and communities to access, grow, and understand nutritious food. The organization conducts programs that include food literacy education, youth leadership development, community-based workshops, and partnerships with local schools and organizations to support food justice and sustainable food practices.
What it reported doing in 2025
Two part-time contract program coordinators dedicated 100% of their time to program activities, including research, menu development, project planning, troubleshooting, and development of nutrition education materials for student ambassadors. One coordinator developed six weeks of new menus for Method Child Development Center, serving approximately 100 students and 10 staff. The remaining program work focused on research, planning, and preparation for a pilot program at RISE SE Raleigh Charter School, serving approximately 500 students and staff.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 34
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 32.6%; rating input score 33
- Program expense ratio: 35.1%; rating input score 35
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 7%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 69.2%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 55% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 19.3% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 32.6% of revenue deployed · 35.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $26K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 33/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 35/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.