Student Lunchbox Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 852482031
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2021
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3109551216
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Food Banks, Pantries
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,413,875
- Expenses
- $2,409,509
- Assets
- $1,154,787
- Liabilities
- $50,928
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Karlen Nurijanyan (Chief Executive Officer)
Highest reported compensation
- Karlen Nurijanyan (Chief Executive Officer): $70,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Student LunchBox, Inc. (SLB) is a charitable organization established in 2020 to empower college excellence through comprehensive basic needs support. Using innovative resource recovery initiatives, SLB addresses food insecurity and hunger by providing nutritious meals and essential supplies to economically disadvantaged college students across Los Angeles County, enabling them to focus on their education and reach their full academic potential.
What it reported doing in 2025
Student LunchBox, Inc. (SLB) advanced its mission to promote academic success by providing consistent food and basic needs support to college students across Los Angeles County. In 2025, SLB recorded 153,395 student visits, serving 53,671 unduplicated students across 17 partner campuses while distributing 992,180 pounds of food, equivalent to 826,817 meals, and $314,974 worth of clothing, toiletries, household goods, and other necessities. This work provided meaningful financial relief, supported students' mental and physical well-being, reduced stigma around seeking assistance, and strengthened their ability to remain focused and persist academically. SLB's food recovery efforts also produced measurable environmental benefits, conserving an estimated 66.41 million gallons of water and preventing approximately 490.48 metric tons of CO2e emissions. The organization also received 11,341 hours of volunteer service, representing nearly $455,227 worth of contributed support and significantly strengthening its ability to serve students efficiently and responsibly.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 93% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.5%; rating input score 99
- Program expense ratio: 98.7%; rating input score 99
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- 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 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0.2%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.48; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 57.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 37.8% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 33.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 98.5% of revenue deployed · 98.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $70K · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 46 of 47 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 15 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.