Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Nc Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581457912
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Winston Salem, NC, USA
Phone
3367845770
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Food Banks, Pantries

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$102,400,620
Expenses
$94,174,460
Assets
$41,195,407
Liabilities
$10,187,455

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERIC A AFT (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIC A AFT (CEO): $256,673 total reported compensation
  • CAROLYN BREESE (VP PHILANTHR): $162,404 total reported compensation
  • JOSH FULLER (VP FINANCE): $161,395 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide food assistance through a network of partners, while educating and engaging our communities in the elimination of hunger and its causes.

What it reported doing in 2024

Second harvest food bank donated product: donated products are acquired from a broad range of sources (receipts: 41,745,778 pounds for 06/30/25) and distributed (distribution: 41,935,986 pounds for 06/30/25) from second harvest food bank's 130,000 square foot distribution facility. The distribution program helps more than 302 partner agencies provide 492 separate feeding programs that feed those facing food insecurity within an 18-county service area. All partner agencies may pick up food from the warehouse. Many counties in our service area also have the option of using the rural delivery program. Second harvest food bank staff and board members advocate and educate target audiences, increasing visibility of hunger issues in our communities through marketing, public relations and government relations programs. Backpack program: the backpack program is a program of feeding america and aims to address childhood hunger in rural and urban communities by providing school children at risk of hunger with backpacks full of nutritious child-friendly foods to take home over the weekend during the school year. As of 06/30/25, second harvest food bank operates 81 program sites in collaboration with selected partner agencies and schools. Second harvest food bank provides backpacks, food, and oversight of the program by our partnerships and impact staff. Day-to-day coordination is handled by partner agencies of second harvest food bank and the schools to which they are matched. Participating schools have 50% or more of students receiving free or reduced-price school meals. Partner agencies pick up food from second harvest food bank and recruit and coordinate volunteers to fill the backpacks for delivery to selected schools each friday. School teachers and administrators determine which children will participate. Parental consent is required for each child and student names are kept confidentially at the school. Food purchase program: second harvest food bank purchases nutritious food products from vendors and makes these products available for purchase by participating partner agencies. The organization shops for food products from various sources, leveraging our buying power to obtain the best value. This program allows participating agencies to obtain food products at a lower cost than the average retail cost. The product mix is narrowly focused, consisting of staple items most often purchased by the partner agencies such as spaghetti, soup, macaroni and cheese, beans, milk, and rice. Any net gains from food sales to partner agencies are reinvested into this program. The food purchase program is an innovative approach to providing nutritious food products needed by the partner agencies. Direct distribution: direct client distribution of food, including fresh produce, which utilizes refrigerated trucks to provide food to people in need in underserved locations in our eighteen-county service area. The program made 191 distributions totaling 1,014,234 pounds in the fiscal year ending 06/30/25. Nutrition services: second harvest food bank's nutrition services team is committed to improving the nutrition and health of our most vulnerable neighbors through the promotion and implementation of evidence-based nutrition education. We offer a wide range of programming for our partner agency network, from cooking classes and summer feeding activities to food demonstrations and community garden workshops. Additionally, we provide snap outreach to help eligible individuals and families access vital food assistance, offering guidance through the application process and connecting them with resources to ensure they receive the benefits they need. 1,041 fns applications were submitted by second harvest food bank and partner agencies during the fiscal year ending 06/30/25. Farm fresh nourish: the farm fresh nourish program is a farm-to-pantry initiative that connects local farms and food pantries to expand use of fresh, local produce to pantry neighbors t

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 91% 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: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 96.4%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $50.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • 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: 99.6%; rating input score 100; 42nd 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; 77th 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%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.7% of revenue deployed · 96.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $90.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $257K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 303 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 267 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • 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.