Wayside Food Programs
Fighting Hunger. Strengthening Community.
Mission
The Mission of Wayside is to increase access to food in Southern Maine by providing a system for community based volunteers and by collaborating with other agencies in developing an efficient network for the collection and distribution of food. Wayside shall be guided in this mission by a deep compassion for our common humanity.
Ruling year
1992
Executive Director
Ms. Mary Zwolinski
Main address
PO Box 1278 135 Walton Street
Portland, ME 04103 USA
Formerly known as
Wayside Soup Kitchen
Wayside Evening Soup Kitchen
EIN
22-2806424
NTEE code
Food Service, Free Food Distribution Programs (K30)
Food Banks, Food Pantries (K31)
Congregate Meals (K34)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Wayside is dedicated to ensuring all our community members can contribute in productive and fulfilling ways. The success of community development efforts is predicated upon individuals and families ability to meet their basic needs, which includes perceiving themselves as valued and contributing members of our community. MaineHousing (2016) estimates that 62% of renter households in Portland cannot afford an average 2-bedroom apartment. These high housing costs, often force choices between housing costs and other needs. In turn, making accumulating savings and achieving greater security nearly impossible. The trade-offs that households make to stretch limited economic resources frequently compromise consistent access to enough food. In Portland, 20% of families with children have incomes below the poverty level. 37% of Households with incomes below poverty level are not receiving Food Stamps.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Food Rescue
Food Rescue salvages edible food that is not sellable for cosmetic reasons, packaging imperfections, or inventory levels. Previously, this food would go to our landfills. When donated to Wayside, the food is redirected to soup kitchens, food pantries, and other service agencies.
Mobile Food Pantries
Each month, fresh produce, meat, dairy, bread, and nonperishable items are delivered into five neighborhoods. Each household receives ingredients to make at least 12 meals per person. Neighborhood residents help to coordinate, manage records, and bring groceries to neighbors unable to get out. Residents are actively engaged in ongoing efforts to improve service delivery.
Community Meals
Since 2010, our Community Meals program has partnered with places of worship, community centers, schools, and service agencies to support vulnerable community members. Although Community Meals’ primary objective is to increase access to nutritious food, the program is distinct because it is intentionally designed to use sharing meals as opportunities for relationship building.
Kids' Healthy Snacks
Wayside gives Portland Community Policing officers healthy snacks for kids to eat afterschool or to take home. Beyond being healthy snacks, the snacks also serve as a tool to help officers develop relationships with youth and their families. Afterschool programs are new partners, using the snacks to make sure kids have the energy they need for studying and being active.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total pounds of food rescued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants, Adults
Related Program
Food Rescue
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Wayside salvages edible food that’s headed for the waste stream. When donated, the food is redirected to soup kitchens, food pantries, and other service agencies.
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants
Related Program
Community Meals
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Meals shared through our Community Meals program.
Total number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants
Related Program
Community Meals
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
UNDUPLICATED INDIVIDUALS conveys how many different individuals participated. Each participant is counted once, no matter how many times they participate.
Number of organizational partners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of meals delivered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Seniors, Families
Related Program
Mobile Food Pantries
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Meals equivalent of groceries delivered into neighborhoods through our Mobile Food Pantry program.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our programs advance the following goals:
• Reduce the amount of edible food that ends up in our landfills.
• Improve the nutritional standards of the local emergency food network.
• Increase food security and promote healthy eating habits of economically vulnerable community members.
• Support economically vulnerable community members’ progress towards self-sufficiency.
• Support the social connection of our community members.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
-Community Meals use eating together as opportunities for building community. Meals are shared at 11 partner sites providing welcoming environments to ameliorate social exclusion and high stress levels often associated with economic vulnerability. Community Meals use shared meals to foster social connections and support networks. The success can be seen in that 87% of participants report attending has helped them to create new friendships.
- Wayside reduces the amount of edible food that goes to waste by diverting surplus food and redirecting it to financially vulnerable community members.
-Wayside is committed to improving the nutritional standards of Cumberland County’s emergency food network by improving the nutritional quality of food that is donated. In 2017, Wayside increased the amount of local produce and game in emergency food network by 45% by increasing the number of farmers, home gardeners, and hunters donating surplus.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Wayside has a commercial kitchen, an 8,000 square foot warehouse with 2 loading docks, 2 walk-in coolers, 1 walk-in freezer, and 3 vehicles.
In 2014, Wayside created a board-directed investment policy to ensure the financial stability of the organization. Wayside made investments in physical infrastructure to improve warehouse cooler storage capacity and the safety of the loading docks. Investments have also been made in technology to reduce energy use and the carbon footprint of the facility.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Please see program descriptions.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Wayside Food Programs
Board of directorsas of 09/18/2023
Mr. John Leeming
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/18/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
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