Wayside Food Programs
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 222806424
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Portland, ME, USA
- Phone
- 2077754939
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Congregate Meals
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,016,062
- Expenses
- $1,084,042
- Assets
- $2,230,978
- Liabilities
- $364,832
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- John S Leeming (President)
- Mark Ayers (Vice President/Secretary)
- Mary Zwolinski (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Mary Zwolinski (Executive Director): $94,869 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of Wayside is to increase access to food for those in need in Southern Maine by providing a system for community based volunteers who serve prepared meals where such meals are needed, and by collaborating with other hunger agencies in developing an efficient network for the collection and equitable distribution of food.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Community Meals Program helps people access nutritious meals in their own neighborhoods through partnerships with churches and community centers, reaching residents of Greater Portland unserved by existing resources. Neighborhood settings are familiar and reduce the stigma often associated with asking for help. Wayside prepares meals at a central kitchen, shared with Portland Public Schools. The meals improve current conditions by supporting healthy eating habits and reducing food insecurity. Over time, these programs decrease risks for chronic diseases and reduce the financial burden of conditions like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease upon the community.Wayside's Food Rescue Program provides food to pantries, soup kitchens, and service agencies in Cumberland County. In 2024, Food Rescue distributed approximately 2,004,000 lbs of food through partner agencies. Wayside's Community Garden Program partners with a Portland Housing Authority site for low-income seniors & disabled adults to facilitate garden workshops and built garden beds, a compost bin, and a cold frame. A lawn donated by a South Portland homeowner became a vegetable garden for the Community Meals and Mobile Food Pantries.The Cupboard Collective Lakes Region Food Transportation Service was designed to increase accessibility of healthy food in communities outside Greater Portland. Wayside makes bimonthly deliveries of rescued food, T.E.F.A.P. food & food from Good Shepherd Food Bank to pantries in Bridgton, Naples and Casco.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 76% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.8%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 78.7%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -6.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.06; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84.8% of revenue deployed · 78.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $854K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $95K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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: 3 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.