Operation Food Search
Legal name: Operation Food Search Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 431241854
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Aug 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- St. Louis, MO, US
- Phone
- (314) 451-1950
- Rating
- 91
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Food Banks, Pantries
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $43,705,584
- Expenses
- $40,087,832
- Assets
- $37,826,358
- Liabilities
- $11,249,932
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
22 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KRISTEN WILD (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- KRISTEN WILD (PRESIDENT & CEO): $200,966 total reported compensation
- JULIE MANN (CFO): $142,875 total reported compensation
- ELLEN REED-FOX (CDO): $134,566 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Operation Food Search is a nonprofit organization that works to heal hunger in the bi-state region by distributing food and necessities through community partners.
What it reported doing in 2024
The out of school meals program ensures that children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. Ofs distributed more than 800,000 meals through our out of school meals programs. Our summer meals program provides thousands of children with meals through sites throughout the st. Louis region during the summer months. Our afterschool refuel provides children with a meal after the bell rings, either at school or at partner locations such as libraries. These meals provide the fuel needed for children to be successful for the remainder of the day. Operation backpack provides weekly sacks of kid-friendly food to help students get through the weekend when school meals are not available.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 86% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 96
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 54
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.9%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 94.6%; rating input score 95
- Fundraising efficiency: $34.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 8.3%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.94; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.3; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.8%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 9 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 86.9% of revenue deployed · 94.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $37.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $201K · 22 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.