Pie Ranch

What it reported doing in 2024

Pie ranch, inc. ("pie ranch") is a unique food system education and advocacy nonprofit organization and a thriving, sustainable farm on the southern end of the san mateo county coast. Pie ranch cultivates a healthy and just food system from seed to table through food education, farmer training, and regional partnerships. Pie ranch's programs help to increase the supply of and demand for local, sustainable food and farmland in our region; create improved conditions for small-scale organic farms to succeed; and build a healthier and more just regional food system that will preserve the precious land that sustains us all. Through our food education programs, we aspire to grow the next generation of food systems leaders in their home communities. This program has two components: our youth education program is an experiential outdoor education program that brings pre-k through 12th grade students on field trips to our coastside farm for enjoyable, interactive learning experiences that inspire an ethic of good environmental stewardship. The program serves around 1,000 youth per year, at least half of whom live in economically-disadvantaged households and/or attend title 1 schools. Around 65% or more of program participants are youth of color. Students in the program connect with the natural world, and learn how clean air, water, soil, and healthy foods impact their lives by engaging in organic farming and gardening, cooking, community building, and lessons about nutrition and food justice. The program aims to educate and empower the next generation of environmental stewards, consumers, social-justice advocates, and community leaders through hands-on outdoor learning and leadership-building experiences. A part of the youth program, pie ranch youthcorp is a program currently open to san mateo county youth (16 and up) who can gain work experience and earn 17 an hour for engaging in work projects at pie ranch with guidance from staff (and parent/guardian permission). Students learn hard and soft work skills, including timely and responsible communication regarding availability and schedules, punctuality and arriving ready to work, completing timesheets, group facilitation, kitchen skills, woodworking, and working with farm tools. The program takes advantage of pie ranch's open spaces and enables mental health. It also enables youth to build back social and emotional health by interacting with others, as well as engaging in physical work and healthy movement outdoors. Our public programs directly reach a growing and diverse cross section of around 3,000 adults and youth per year from around the bay area through tours, educational events and programs, workshops, and monthly open farm days where the public is invited to volunteer, take part in a guided farm tour, and share in an evening potluck and barn dance. We also host around 40,000 visitors a year to our roadside farmstand. This program was paused in 2020 at the start of the covid-19 pandemic and resumed in early 2022. At the start of the covid-19 pandemic in march 2020, pie ranch pivoted to compiling and distributing local, organic produce boxes to bay area families experiencing food insecurity through the farm fresh food relief initiative or food hub program. This was a collaborative effort among a network of bay area farms and food justice nonprofits to get good produce off the farms and into the community. Concord based food justice nonprofit fresh approach secured the group a grant from the usda to continue the project on a large scale- pie ranch was churning out 800 produce boxes a week for families in need. In august 2020, the usda decided to take their funds elsewhere and the farm fresh food relief initiative as we knew it disbanded. Pie ranch's current food hub program is derived from this initiative. From 2020 through 2022, pie ranch has continued to purchase produce from farmers affected by the pandemic and distribute on a smaller scale, mostly to our pescadero community an

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 57.9%; rating input score 58
• Program expense ratio: 74.3%; rating input score 74
• Fundraising efficiency: $6.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd 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: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Limited
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 22.1%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.48; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings