Food Strong EIN 83-1580187 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Food Strong

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Builds local food systems to cultivate food justice and transform neighborhoods. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $1.0M in revenue, $648K in expenses, and $782K in net assets.Pt I

Founded
2018
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Food & Agriculture
Location
Cleveland, OH
Website
foodstrong.org
Filings
5 on file (2021–2025)
Revenue
$1.0MFY2025
Expenses
$648K
Net assets
$782K
People
14
Filings
5
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  83-1580187 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Cleveland, OH Founded 2018
Form 990 (PDF)
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Builds local food systems to cultivate food justice and transform neighborhoods.
Leadership
Sara Continenza · Executive Director · $60K
Money in and out
$1.0M revenue, $648K expenses
Bottom line
68% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$1.0M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$648K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$782K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $378K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.68 Management & general $0.29 Fundraising $0.03
Program efficiency
68%
of spending reaches programs▲ +0.7% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
18.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +92% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+37%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +346% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$1.0M
FY2025▲ +78%
Expenses
$648K
FY2025▲ +22%
Total assets
$820K
FY2025▲ +96%
Total liabilities
$38K
FY2025▲ +159%
Total revenue
$1.0M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$648K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$782K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$378K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$820K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B68%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 313
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 413

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CFood Strong
EINHdr · item D83-1580187
Principal addressHdr · item CCleveland, OH
WebsiteHdr · item Jfoodstrong.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2018
State of legal domicileHdr · item MOH
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFFood & Agriculture (K99)
Ruling yearIRS BMFAug 2018

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a13
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b13
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$60,010Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sara Continenza’s $60K as Executive Director is at the 17th percentile of top reported officer pay among 819 $1–10M food & agriculture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022
Sara Continenza$60,010$58,466$54,138
Sara Continenza$38,308

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $442K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2025.
01

Urban Restoration

Superior avenue community farm and coit road learning gardenfood strong's urban restoration work focuses on transforming land and community spaces into places for food production, education, environmental stewardship, workforce development, and neighborhood GATHERING.IN 2025, food strong continued its work at the food strong learning…

$275Kprogram expense
02

Youth Education

Food sovereignty school programfood strong's food sovereignty school program provides hands-on education in gardening, culinary arts, nutrition, environmental studies, and entrepreneurship for youth across northeast ohio.

$140Kprogram expense
03

Community Engagement

Care-a-van, workshops, and community educationfood strong's community engagement programming brings residents, families, volunteers, partners, and community organizations together around food access, health, wellness, education, and neighborhood connection.

$27Kprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$926K · 90%
Program service revenue$97K · 9%
Contributions & grants90%$926K
Program service revenue9%$97K
Investment income$2K
Other revenue$79
Total revenueLn 12$1.0M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.68 Management & general $0.29 Fundraising $0.03
Program services68%$442K
Management & general29%$187K
Fundraising3%$19K
Total functional expensesLn 25$648K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$386K
Total assetsLn 16$820K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$38K
Total net assetsLn 32$782K
Months of cash on handcomputed7.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $386K · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $648K · Less non-cash grants $393K · Cash operating expenses/yr $255K
18.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $442K · Total expenses $648K
68%
Management & General
Management & general $187K · Total expenses $648K
29%
Fundraising
Fundraising $19K · Total expenses $648K
3%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $32K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $549K
$0.06 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $926K · Total revenue $1.0M
90%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $1.0M
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $97K · Total revenue $1.0M
9%
Investment reliance
Investment income $2K · Total revenue $1.0M
+0.2%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $97K · Total expenses $648K
15%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $1.0M · Prior year $577K
+78%
Revenue CAGR
FY2021 $137K · FY2025 $1.0M
+65%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $782K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $1.0M · Expenses $648K
+37%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $820K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $782K · Total assets $820K
95%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $820K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Sara Continenza · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $60K · Total expenses $648K
9%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $236K · Total expenses $648K
36%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 68%
Overhead ratio 29%
Fundraising cost ratio 2%
Revenue growth 78%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$48K

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$1.0M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$577K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$516K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$464K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$137K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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