Texas Center for Local Food

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
834492979
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Elgin, TX, USA
Phone
5124961244
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,335,331
Expenses
$1,078,092
Assets
$324,011
Liabilities
$210

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michelle Akindiya (President)
  • Dr Sheri L Smith (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Sue Beckwith (Executive Dir.): $76,612 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Texas Center for Local Food provides education, research, and technical assistance to create regional food systems in Texas that support prosperous family farms, healthy Texans and vibrant rural economies.

What it reported doing in 2025

Enrolled 353 unique students in TXFED Courses, our peer to pear learning platform. Added and maintained a total of 458 total businesses to the Texas Local Food Directory - the most extensive directory in the state. Hosted 576 total attendees in our Farm Business Services training in person / online. Conducted 58 1-on-1 technical assistance consults for producers in which $409,838 funds were awarded to clients as a result of our work. Developed Learning on the Land - a Texas Farm Based Education Handbook to guide farmers on how to host profitable and engaging events. Helped generate $112,103 in SNAP funds spent at partner farmers markets. Partnered with a cohort of 7 farmers markets to produce a total of 40 family engagement events, focused on increasing the sale of agricultural products at markets. Taught 258 students about local food and agriculture through the Farm to Kids Program. Created a disaster response communication network Texas Farm Emergency Response Network (TX-FERN). Hosted 200 attendees at the Bastrop County Local Food Fair.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 85% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.1%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 99.2%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: $42,871.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 100; 100th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.3%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.3; 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: 7.1%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 31.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 47.5% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.1% of revenue deployed · 99.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $77K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.