Kids' Meals Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
760330447
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
7136955437
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,765,460
Expenses
$10,377,553
Assets
$46,447,416
Liabilities
$12,230,694

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH HARP (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH HARP (CEO): $315,365 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM CURTIS MORGAN (CFO): $252,359 total reported compensation
  • JOHN GILBERT DAY (COO): $236,743 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2025

Kids meals' mission is to end childhood hunger in houston. We are the nation's only free, healthy meal delivery program for preschool-aged children. Our mission is to end childhood hunger in houston by delivering 11,000-12,000 free, healthy meals every weekday, year-round directly to the homes of poverty-stricken preschool-aged children who suffer from food insecurity and often live in food deserts. We share, annually, 1,467,279 pounds of fresh produce/pantry staples and connect families with vital wrap-around services to help break the poverty cycle. We address food insecurity for children under the age of 6 who are not only at a critical developmental stage, but cannot access school-based free meal programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49.2%; rating input score 49
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 95%; rating input score 95; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.2%; rating input score 96; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 38.1%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.48; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.8% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 49.2% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 26 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $315K · 31 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.