PLATINUM2024

Spoonfuls Inc.

Delivering Food with Purpose

Newton, MA   |  www.spoonfuls.org
GuideStar Charity Check

Spoonfuls Inc.

EIN: 27-1810597


Mission

Through food recovery and distribution, education, and advocacy, we work to address the health, environmental, and economic impact that wasted food has on people and the planet.

Ruling year info

2010

Founder & CEO

Ms. Ashley Stanley

Main address

189 Wells Avenue Suite 100

Newton, MA 02459 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

27-1810597

Subject area info

Community food systems

Basic and emergency aid

Natural resources

Population served info

Economically disadvantaged people

Adults

Children and youth

Ethnic and racial groups

Immigrants and migrants

NTEE code info

Food Service, Free Food Distribution Programs (K30)

Emergency Assistance (Food, Clothing, Cash) (P60)

Natural Resource Conservation and Protection (C30)

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The USDA estimates that between 125 and 160 billion pounds of food in the United States goes unsold or uneaten each year, representing a staggering 30% to 40% of the food supply. At the same time, 34 million Americans are experiencing food insecurity, including more than 550,000 Massachusetts residents. Spoonfuls addresses these twin issues by recovering good food that would otherwise go to waste and providing it to people who don't know where their next meal is coming from.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Food Recovery and Hunger Relief

Spoonfuls addresses the twin challenges of food waste and food insecurity. Our innovative approach is to establish partnerships with grocery stores, farms, and other food retailers to recover excess food that would otherwise go unsold or uneaten and deliver it on the same day to a network of nonprofits that provide it to people in their communities struggling to obtain enough to eat. Spoonfuls promotes health equity by focusing on recovering and distributing foods that are critical to good health, with 65% composed of fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy. We have invested in a fleet of refrigerated trucks to maintain the cold chain and enable same-day pick-up and distribution of perishable food.

Spoonfuls operates in Greater Boston, MetroWest, Hampden County, and Worcester County. Each year, Spoonfuls recovers and distributes more food than it did the previous year. In 2023, Spoonfuls recovered a record 4.3 million pounds of food that benefitted a record 370,000 people.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Adults

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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

Adults, Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

Food Recovery and Hunger Relief

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of food donation partners

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults, Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

Food Recovery and Hunger Relief

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Spoonfuls' goal is to minimize the human and environmental impact of wasted food by recovering good food that would otherwise go to waste and providing it to people experiencing food insecurity. We deliver food with purpose, with our triple bottom line focused on people, planet, and the economy:

People -- we ensure perfectly good food that is otherwise destined for composting facilities or landfills ends up instead on the dinner tables of people experiencing food insecurity.

Planet -- When food goes to waste, all the energy and water it took to grow, harvest, transport, and package it is also wasted.

Economy -- Spoonfuls provides an alternative to traditional waste disposal methods that keeps the value in food. The value of the food we recover and distribute is more than $9 million each year.

The food Spoonfuls recovers and distributes is perfectly good to eat but is taken off the shelves for a variety of reasons. For example, produce may no longer meet the store’s aesthetic standards, such as when fruit develops slight blemishes; food may be nearing its expiration date; it may have packaging misprints, such as upside-down labels; or the store may simply have ordered too much of a particular item.

Spoonfuls focuses on recovering a majority of fresh, healthy fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy, the foods most important to good health but also the foods most difficult to obtain for those experiencing food insecurity. We do not “warehouse” food for later distribution – our temperature-controlled trucks are empty when they leave in the mornings and they are empty when they return at the end of the day, ensuring the perishable food we recover ends up on people’s dinner tables while it is still fresh, healthy, and delicious.

Spoonfuls’ food recovery and hunger relief operation is built on establishing close partnerships with grocery stores and other food retailers that provide us with food donations, and the nonprofit organizations that distribute this food to people in their communities experiencing food insecurity.

For food retailers, partnering with Spoonfuls provides an opportunity to reduce food waste, give back to the community, and ensure good food that would otherwise go unsold is instead helping to alleviate food insecurity in Massachusetts.

For our nonprofit partners, Spoonfuls' deliveries of good, healthy food at no cost are a reliable and consistent source of fresh food for the people they serve. Our service is free, enabling our nonprofit partners to provide fresh food options to people while spending less of their limited budgets on purchasing food for distribution.

Our focus is on fresh, perishable fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy, which are some of the most frequently wasted foods as well as the most expensive and out-of-reach for those for those experiencing food insecurity.

Since 2010, we have diverted more than 32 million pounds of good, nutritious food from the waste stream and provided it to our neighbors in need.

Spoonfuls prioritizes reliability, efficiency, and relationships, which are the pillars that support Spoonfuls’ primary goal: diverting perfectly good food from the waste stream and providing it to people who do not have enough to eat. Spoonfuls has developed unique capabilities in undertaking this work:

– We have particular expertise in logistics management, a critical capability in coordinating food collections and distributions involving 280 partners.

– We have built a network of 91 food retail partners that provide donations of excess food, and 189 nonprofit partners that distribute this food to people in their communities experiencing food insecurity.

– We have built a professional, 15-member, Serv-Safe-certified frontline Food Recovery Team instead of relying on volunteers, ensuring consistency and reliability.

– We have developed an efficient, sustainable, scalable, and replicable operating model that enables Spoonfuls to thoughtfully and successfully expand into new regions and communities.

– We have assembled a fleet of ten refrigerated food recovery trucks (including one backup vehicle).

Since its founding in 2010, Spoonfuls has grown from a single truck serving Downtown Boston to nine food recovery and distribution routes in Eastern, Central, and Western Massachusetts: five in Greater Boston, two in MetroWest, and one each in Worcester County and Hampden County. Every year since its founding, Spoonfuls has recovered and distributed more food than it did the previous year. In 2023, we recovered/distributed a record 4.7 million pounds of food; our goal in 2024 is 5 million pounds.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • 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

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, 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 engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve

Revenue vs. expenses:  breakdown

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info
NET GAIN/LOSS:    in 
Note: When component data are not available, the graph displays the total Revenue and/or Expense values.

Liquidity in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

2.20

Average of 2.49 over 10 years

Months of cash in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

1.3

Average of 1.8 over 10 years

Fringe rate in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

23%

Average of 17% over 10 years

Funding sources info

Source: IRS Form 990

Assets & liabilities info

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial data

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Spoonfuls Inc.

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

Spoonfuls Inc.

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

Spoonfuls Inc.

Financial trends analysis Glossary & formula definitions

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

This snapshot of Spoonfuls Inc.’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.

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Business model indicators

Profitability info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation $130,733 $1,262,854 $619,521 $282,736 $243,565
As % of expenses 1.7% 14.4% 6.3% 2.4% 1.9%
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation $30,066 $1,156,686 $496,012 $135,947 $81,540
As % of expenses 0.4% 13.0% 5.0% 1.1% 0.6%
Revenue composition info
Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) $7,815,305 $9,696,774 $11,326,279 $12,396,242 $12,456,171
Total revenue, % change over prior year 12.4% 24.1% 16.8% 9.4% 0.5%
Program services revenue 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Membership dues 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Investment income 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%
Government grants 0.0% 0.0% 2.2% 1.4% 0.7%
All other grants and contributions 99.6% 99.1% 97.5% 98.5% 98.5%
Other revenue 0.4% 0.9% 0.3% 0.1% 0.5%
Expense composition info
Total expenses before depreciation $7,608,572 $8,769,420 $9,812,733 $11,781,423 $12,979,943
Total expenses, % change over prior year 19.0% 15.3% 11.9% 20.1% 10.2%
Personnel 14.8% 16.7% 19.0% 21.7% 21.5%
Professional fees 1.2% 1.0% 1.5% 3.0% 3.0%
Occupancy 1.0% 0.9% 0.8% 0.9% 1.2%
Interest 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0%
Pass-through 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
All other expenses 82.9% 81.3% 78.6% 74.4% 74.2%
Full cost components (estimated) info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Total expenses (after depreciation) $7,709,239 $8,875,588 $9,936,242 $11,928,212 $13,141,968
One month of savings $634,048 $730,785 $817,728 $981,785 $1,081,662
Debt principal payment $0 $0 $317,145 $144,032 $0
Fixed asset additions $188,503 $246,142 $0 $184,655 $395,851
Total full costs (estimated) $8,531,790 $9,852,515 $11,071,115 $13,238,684 $14,619,481

Capital structure indicators

Liquidity info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Months of cash 0.6 2.0 2.1 2.2 1.3
Months of cash and investments 0.6 2.0 2.1 2.2 1.3
Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets 0.2 1.6 2.0 1.6 1.3
Balance sheet composition info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Cash $401,513 $1,493,657 $1,734,375 $2,144,433 $1,381,453
Investments $1,948 $2,630 $12,529 $20,998 $26,765
Receivables $705,533 $204,245 $1,080,951 $1,186,771 $800,237
Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) $525,731 $580,882 $607,042 $791,698 $998,363
Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) 54.3% 34.6% 44.7% 52.8% 39.2%
Liabilities (as a % of assets) 45.7% 25.1% 7.7% 21.8% 19.1%
Unrestricted net assets $156,744 $1,313,430 $1,809,442 $1,945,389 $2,026,929
Temporarily restricted net assets N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Permanently restricted net assets N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total restricted net assets $599,000 $263,500 $1,157,525 $1,489,608 $677,611
Total net assets $755,744 $1,576,930 $2,966,967 $3,434,997 $2,704,540

Key data checks

Key data checks info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Material data errors No No No No No

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents
Letter of Determination is not available for this organization
Form 1023/1024 is not available for this organization

Founder & CEO

Ms. Ashley Stanley

Ashley Stanley is a born and bred Bostonian. Since founding Lovin’ Spoonfuls in 2010, more than 22 million pounds of fresh, healthy food has been rescued and brought into the social service stream. She has created unparalleled awareness for food rescue, with dedication to addressing hunger relief, climate change, and health equity. In 2011, the Boston Business Journal named her an ‘Emerging Leader.’ In 2012, Spoonfuls was a two-time winner of the Mass Challenge competition. In 2013, Ashley was selected as one of the BBJ’s ’40 under 40’ and served as a fellow at The Nantucket Project. In 2014, Ashley was recognized by The Boston Globe as a ‘Game Changer’ and in Boston Magazine‘s ‘Power of Ideas.’ She is an Oxfam International Sisters of the Planet Ambassador, a member of TEDWomen, and a TEDx community speaker. She’s been featured on NPR and written for The Huffington Post.

Number of employees

Source: IRS Form 990

Spoonfuls Inc.

Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of officer and director compensation data for this organization

Spoonfuls Inc.

Highest paid employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of highest paid employee data for this organization

Spoonfuls Inc.

Board of directors
as of 06/14/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board of directors data
Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization
Board chair

Lisa Fall

BSTX LLC; BOX Exchange LLC

Term: 2021 - 2026

Sandy Cades

Communities For People

Ashley Stanley

Spoonfuls Inc

Andy Youniss

Rocket Software

Adam Amontea

Cafco Construction

Adam Kahn

Foley Hoag

Lisa Fall

Chief Executive Officer, BSTX LLC; President, BOX Exchange LLC

Nancy Freed

Prince Lobel Tye

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 6/11/2024

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
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or other sexual orientations in the LGBTQIA+ community
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 09/29/2022

GuideStar 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

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • 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 have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • 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 engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.

Contractors

Fiscal year ending
There are no fundraisers recorded for this organization.