San Diego Roots Sustainable Food

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262131406
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Imperial Beach, CA, USA
Phone
6196024721
Rating
92
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$199,876
Expenses
$343,220
Assets
$51,410
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jarrod Groves (President)

People named in this filing

  • Jarrod Groves (President)
  • Mel Lions (Secretary-Treasurer)
  • Richard Winkler (Director)

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

The organization is chartered to strengthen the local food landscape in the San Diego region; provide a local food network between the community and local farms; Educate and demonstrate sustainable farming practices to support and grow San Diego's local food economy; preserve local farms and farmers; and conserve associated wildlands.

What it reported doing in 2025

In furtherance of our Purposes and Mission, and to meet our underserved community's need to access healthy food that has been otherwise unavailable, in 2023 San Diego Roots began accepting donations under an attorney-advised, Model C fiscal-sponsorship contract with a community- organized and -led initiative to open a cooperative grocery store in the racially diverse, low-income, food-desert/food-swamp community of Imperial Beach, California, where San Diego Roots is based. Because of Imperial Beach's demographics, retail grocery chains are not interested in siting stores in the city, which is dominated by convenience stores and fast-food chains. To effect this partnership, San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project has a Model C Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement and an MOU with SunCoast Market Co-op, a registered California Cooperative Corporation, acting as its own agency and separately insured, working to open this community-owned grocery store in order to address a critical lack of access to healthy food. In 2025 SunCoast Market Co-op was pre-revenue, with an opening date scheduled for early 2026. In alignment with San Diego Roots' nonprofit Purposes and Mission, the store will prioritize sourcing produce from local farms, as well as purchasing healthy grocery products from local businesses in order to support and strengthen the local food economy. Funds to open the store have been donated primarily by small donors and local businesses. The donated funds are held in a bank account separate from the general operating account of San Diego Roots, with donations and expenses classified and recorded separately from the nonprofit's general funds. For our services, San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project is paid a commission of 5% of donations raised. During the year, San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project distributed $337,000 to SunCoast Market Co-op to help open the store.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 99
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.2%; rating input score 98

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -71.7%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.9% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $337K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.