Wakefield Food Pantry
Legal name: Wakefield Food Pantry Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 043656505
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Wakefield, MA, United States
- Phone
- 781-245-2510
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Religion Related N.E.C.
- Affiliation
- Religious (unspecified)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $733,227
- Expenses
- $822,523
- Assets
- $1,153,723
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Doreen McGowan (President)
- Maureen Miller (Executive Director)
People named in this filing
- Melissa Lowry (Director)
- Catherine Dhingra (Director)
- Nancy Delaney (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. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Wakefield Food pantry’s mission is to provide a variety of food, household necessities, and support to those in need. We strive to offer a welcoming environment and to serve others with respect, dignity, and compassion. Tour the Wakefield Food Pantry. The Board Advancement Committee identifies the needed skills of the Board and suggests potential members. The Committee is also responsible for Board member orientation and training, conducting the nomination and election process, as well as periodic board evaluation. “The pantry makes such a difference in my life as an elderly person on a fixed income. Without its help I would go days without food. Now I have healthy options to get me through the month.” “The pantry’s support and the communities’ support have made a huge difference in my family’s life and we are greatly.
What it reported doing in 2024
Distribution of 342,192 pounds of perishable and nonperishable food to approximately 740 households. Guests are allowed to receive food at least twice a month and more if needed. Households with school age children are allowed additional items during summer months when free school lunch is not available. The Pantry is open for food distribution three times each week for a total of 9 hours per week.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 95.3%; rating input score 95
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -12.2%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.4; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $784K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.