Great Plains Food Bank
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
End hunger together.
- Income
- $40.6 million
- Spending
- $36.7 million
- Spent on programs
- 95%
- Reserves
- 3.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 71%
- Employees
- 61
- Volunteers
- 3,438
- Highest pay
- $192,898, ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 75% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 3.4 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 3% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 10% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 13% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1595% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 4 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 31% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2513 of 13 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Reports results. Its tax return states measurable results. These are its own figures and nobody has checked them.
Results it reports
- Provided food for 12.7 million meals to 160,348 people struggling with hunger.Work delivered
- Served 160,348 people struggling with hunger.Work delivered
- Served 196 partner agencies operating in 101 communities.Work delivered
- Distributed 269,572 meals of TEFAP product to low-income individuals.Work delivered
- The senior food pack program served 47 communities.Work delivered
- Partnered with 134 schools to provide 137,380 backpacks to 5,596 children.Work delivered
- Partnered with 105 schools in 61 communities to provide food for 185,003 meals to students and families.Work delivered
- Youth summer meal program provided 36,926 meals to children at 15 meal sites.Work delivered
- Mobile Food Pantry distributed food for 765,274 meals to families.Work delivered
- Worked with 9 healthcare partners at 36 sites and distributed food for 84,263 meals.Work delivered
- Distributed 63,276 prepared meals across 10 distribution sites and 3 kitchen partners.Work delivered
- 773 SNAP applications were submitted, attributed to 369,385 meals.Work delivered
Read from the return by an AI model and shown only where the wording was found in the return. These are the charity's own figures.
Programs described in its return (6)
- $25.0 million spent. STATEWIDE FOOD RECOVERY AND DISTRIBUTION: The Great Plains Food Bank (GPFB) is the only food bank serving the state of North Dakota and Clay County, Minn. Our mission is Ending Hunger Together. During FY25, the Great Plains Food Bank provided food for 12.7 million meals to 160,348 people struggling with hunger; 37% were children and 15% were seniors. The GPFB partners with hundreds of FOOD DONORS (grocers, manufacturers, growers, retailers, and community food drive partners) who donate food for a variety of reasons (overproduction, packaging mistakes, nearing a freshness date, or grown to donate). This food makes its way to neighbors living with hunger either through GPFB's DIRECT SERVICE PROGRAMS or diverse network of PARTNER AGENCIES. The GPFB serves 196 partner agencies (food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, and other charitable feeding programs) operating in 101 communities who are on the front lines providing food to our neighbors in need. Our direct service programs allow the GPFB to fill gaps in service and bring food to people in need through a variety of targeted programs. VOLUNTEERS are the backbone of our operation. Their service enables us to distribute food efficiently. Last year 3,438 VOLUNTEERS shared 11,209 hours of time with the GPFB, repackaging bulk items, packing food packages, handing out food, sorting food drive items, and performing administrative tasks. The GPFB is supported by thousands of FINANCIAL DONORS who keep our organization operational. For every $1 donated, the GPFB can distribute food for 2 meals. We rely on COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS in every corner of the state to help us design and implement community-based services that tackle both the immediate hunger needs of our neighbors, and long-term root causes of hunger. And finally, we collaborate with our NEIGHBORS experiencing hunger by regularly seeking their guidance and feedback to improve services, reduce barriers, and adapt programs to better meet their needs.
- $7.4 million spent. USDA COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMS: The GPFB operates two USDA Commodity Programs for the state of North Dakota. These programs include The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP - Senior Food Pack Program). TEFAP provides commodity products (fresh fruits and vegetables, canned fruit, vegetables and juices, dry and shelf-stable milk, cheese, canned meats, peanut butter or dried beans, cereal, rice, or pasta) to qualified emergency feeding programs such as soup kitchens, emergency shelters, and food pantries across the state. In FY25, the Great Plains Food Bank distributed 269,572 meals of TEFAP product to low-income individuals through our partner network of feeding programs.The Great Plains Food Bank Senior Food Pack Program is a commodity-based program that provides nutritionally balanced, shelf-stable food packages to low-income seniors. Seniors aged 60+ with incomes of less than 150 percent of the federal poverty line are eligible for enrollment in the program. The senior food pack program served 47 communities throughout the state of North Dakota.
- $840,619 spent. CHILD HUNGER PROGRAMS: The GPFB operates a trio of programs aimed at eradicating childhood hunger. These programs include the backpack, youth summer meals and school pantry programs.The Great Plains Food Bank BackPack Program is the cornerstone of the GPFB's suite of programs directly targeting childhood hunger. Each year, more than 33,000 kids qualify for and greatly rely on the free and reduced cost school lunch program. But on the weekends when the school lunch program is not available, many of those children struggle with inadequate food supplies. The backpack program provides a bag full of kid-friendly food to children for the weekend, ensuring children return to school Monday morning healthy and ready to learn. During FY25, the GPFB partnered with 134 schools to provide a total of 137,380 backpacks to 5,596 children. The Great Plains Food Bank School Pantry Program is simply a food pantry located in a school, ensuring families and youth in need of assistance have easy access to food and other necessities. In FY25, the GPFB partnered with 105 schools in 61 communities to provide food for 185,003 meals to students and their families. The Great Plains Food Bank Youth Summer Meals program is designed to feed low-income children over the summer when they don't have access to school meals. The GPFB operates meals sites in low-income neighborhoods to provide well-balanced, nutritious meals to any child under age 18, free of charge. During the 2025 summer, GPFB's youth summer meal program provided 36,926 meals to children at 15 meal sites across North Dakota
- MOBILE FOOD PANTRY: The GPFB semi-trucks also serve as a food-pantry-on-wheels reaching food insecure individuals living in or near underserved communities. Truckloads of highly nutritious fresh produce along with boxes of shelf-stable food products are brought into communities and are met by volunteers who unload the food directly into client's cars. In FY25, the Great Plains Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry distributed food for 765,274 meals to families across North Dakota and Clay County, Minnesota.
- ENDING HUNGER 2.0: In 2016 GPFB took the next bold step in ending hunger with a new initiative called Ending Hunger 2.0 (EH2.0). Focused on addressing the root causes of hunger through new solutions, EH2.0 goes beyond food to look holistically at the issue of hunger. It allows the GPFB to continue our core work of feeding people today through our partner network and direct service programs, while simultaneously working upstream to decrease the need and improve food security. EH2.0 works to bring sustainable, long-term solutions to hunger through advocacy, research, and community-based solutions. In 2017, we launched the Great Plains Food Bank Healthcare Initiative, putting healthy food into clinics. There is a growing trend within the healthcare realm to see food/nutrition as medicine and as treatment for many chronic diseases. In FY25, we worked with 9 healthcare partners at 36 sites and distributed food for 84,263 meals.In 2023, we launched Kitchen Coalition, which provides freshly prepared meals to neighbors. We know that not everyone facing hunger has the home, health, or ability to use the groceries our food bank offers. We work with a network of restaurants and caterers who prepare freshly prepared meals, which go to trusted nonprofits to get those meals to neighbors on a predictable schedule. In FY25, we distributed 63,276 meals across 10 distribution sites and 3 kitchen partners.
- $1.5 million spent. SNAP Outreach: In partnership with the state of North Dakota, the GPFB offers outreach to individuals who may be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. The GPFB employs 1 full-time SNAP Manager and 2 full-time SNAP Outreach Coordinators who screen individuals for benefits and offer application assistance. In FY25, 773 SNAP applications were submitted which is attributed to 369,385 meals.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 2015.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.