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MEALS FOR GOOD INC
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 830779118 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE K30 · Food, Agriculture & Nutrition · Small ($100K-$1M) · mealsforgood.org
revenue
$258K
expenses
$150K
net assets
$154K
employees
0
program ratio
96%
mission · from form 990

Meals For Good, Inc operates with a dual mission: to support underfunded food pantries with grants for fresh produce, and to provide New Yorkers who are food insecure, with vouchers for local supermarkets, thereby giving people the agency and respect to choose their own foods, while also helping to support the local economies.

profile · synthesized from sources

Meals For Good Inc addresses food insecurity in New York City through a dual approach: providing grants to underfunded food pantries for fresh produce from local and regional farms, and distributing supermarket vouchers and Health Bucks to individuals and families in need. The organization emphasizes client choice, cultural appropriateness, and dignity in food access, while also supporting local economies and farmers. It partners with community-based organizations across the five boroughs, particularly in high-poverty areas and among populations excluded from public benefits.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $4K
    THE NYC EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, PART OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE ADMINISTRATION, HELP US LOCATE THE MOST UNDERFUNDED FOOD PANTIRES. AFTER A VISIT TO EACH OF THESE PANTIRES TO ENSURE THEY CAN STORE AND DISTRIBUTE FRESH PRODUCE, WE THEN WORK WITH THEM TO ORDER THE PRODUCE THEY NEED. WE ORDER MOSTLY FROM LOCAL AND REGIONAL FAMILY FARMS TO HELP SUPPORT OUR FARM FAMILIES AS WELL AS THE FAMILIES WHO WAIT ON PANTRY LINES. WE HAVE ALSO STARTED GIVING INCENTIVE GRANTS TO PANTRIES - EXTRA MONIES TO TRY A NEW PRODUCT THAT IS SEASONALLY AVAILABLE AND MAY BE MORE FAMILIAR TO FAMILIES FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES WAITING ON LINE FOR FOOD.
named programs · 5 · from sources

What they call their work

Food as Medicine Initiative
Pilots voucher distribution to people with diabetes visiting free clinics to study how access to healthy food improves health outcomes
Health Bucks Distribution
Distributes $2.00 coupons redeemable at NYC farmers markets and food box sites to low-income families, particularly in Harlem, to increase access to fresh, local produce and support local farmers
One-Year Voucher Study
Provides 30 families with vouchers for a full year to assess long-term impacts on food security, health, and financial stability
Pantry Produce Grant Program
Provides grants to underfunded food pantries to purchase fresh produce from local and regional family farms via GrowNYC, ensuring clients receive culturally appropriate and nutritious food
Supermarket Voucher Program
Provides vouchers for local supermarkets to food-insecure New Yorkers, especially those ineligible for SNAP, allowing them to choose their own groceries; expanded to Brooklyn and East Harlem with high redemption rates
activities · 5 groups

What they do

  • Food Distribution and Hunger Relief 5 activities
    • Assesses and strengthens capacity of underfunded food pantries
      Identifies underfunded food pantries in New York City through collaboration with the Human Resource Administration, conducts site visits to evaluate storage and distribution capacity, and purchases fresh produce from local and regional farms to supply them.
    • Distributes fresh food through community fridges
      Operates free refrigerators in underserved neighborhoods, including Harlem and the South Bronx, to provide open access to fresh produce and groceries for food-insecure individuals.
    • Distributes fresh produce and groceries through direct partnerships and events
      Supplies fresh, healthy food—including whole chickens, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and shelf-stable items—to thousands of families in Harlem and other underserved communities via direct distribution events in partnership with local organizations and elected officials.
    • Increases access to fresh produce through Health Bucks coupons
      Distributes thousands of $2 Health Bucks coupons redeemable at over 144 farmers markets and food box sites across New York City, enabling low-income families to select culturally preferred fruits and vegetables.
    • Supports food-insecure households with holiday and emergency meals
      Delivers holiday meals and grocery vouchers to families in domestic abuse shelters and other crisis situations, including 52 families with 118 children in Central Harlem and 30 families in East Harlem shelters.
  • Food Policy Advocacy & Nutrition Education 1 activity
    • Advocates for food access policies and reports on food insecurity
      Reports data on food insecurity in New York City, including impacts on children and pandemic-related shifts, and advocates for systemic change through initiatives like calorie posting, Green Carts, and Health Bucks expansion.
  • Local Food Systems Development 1 activity
    • Creates and scales community-specific food insecurity programs
      Develops and implements programs in partnership with businesses, governments, and nonprofits—including restaurant surcharge initiatives, grocery voucher programs, and fresh produce grants—to address food insecurity in New York City and support similar models nationwide.
  • Agricultural Grantmaking and Funding Programs 1 activity
    • Funds food pantry programs to expand access to local fresh produce
      Provides grants and incentive funding to underfunded food pantries to purchase fresh produce from local and regional farms and to trial seasonally and culturally appropriate food items.
  • Direct Financial Assistance to Individuals 1 activity
    • Provides grocery vouchers to families and individuals in high-poverty areas
      Partners with community-based organizations to distribute supermarket and grocery vouchers—functioning as real money—to families, seniors, and vulnerable populations in high-poverty neighborhoods such as East Harlem and Brooklyn, with multilingual support and high redemption rates.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$258K
Contributions & grants$258K100%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$150K
Program expenses96%
Admin / overhead4%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$135K
Largest expense lineProfessional Fees
balance sheet
Total assets$154K
Cash$154K
Investments$0
Liabilities$0
Net assets$154K
Liquid reserves12.3 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +149.8%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

board members · 1
  • CATHY NONAS — Treasurer
relationships · 25

Who they work with

  • Brotherhood/SisterSol Partner — Conducted a joint survey of 250 pantry clients to identify unmet food needs.
  • City Harvest Partner — Collaborates with City Harvest, which distributes free food including potatoes to pantries.
  • City University of New York Partner — Provided Health Bucks to participants in the CUNY Food Justice Leadership Fellowship, supporting young adults facing food insecurity due to pandemic-related job loss.
  • Field Trip Partner — Collaborated with chef JJ Johnson’s Field Trip to provide holiday meals to families in domestic abuse shelters.
  • Food Bank Partner — Partners with the Food Bank, which provides free food such as potatoes to pantries.
  • Go!Healthy Children’s Aid Partner — Distributed Health Bucks during virtual farmers market tours and through the Go!Healthy Food Box program to low-income families in East Harlem.
  • GrowNYC Partner — Partner organization through which food pantries purchase fresh produce from local and regional family farms using grant funds from Meals For Good.
  • Harlem Grown Partner — Teamed up to deliver holiday meals to families in domestic abuse shelters and help pack and distribute bags of turkeys and fresh produce.
  • Harlem Restoration Tenant Project Partner — Distributed Health Bucks during farmers market tours coordinated by a social worker, alongside nutrition education and recipe sharing.
  • Human Resource Administration Partner — Collaborates to identify underfunded food pantries in New York City and supports distribution of fresh produce.
  • Indivisible Harlem Partner — Collaborated to distribute fresh produce and groceries to 400 families, support Thanksgiving distributions, and deliver holiday meals to families in shelters.
  • Indivisible Harlem Partner — Collaborated to raise funds and distribute groceries to at-risk families in Harlem.
  • Mt. Sinai School of Medicine Network — Assistant clinical professor
  • NYC Health Department Government — Served as senior advisor
  • National Black Leadership Commission on Health Partner — Used Health Bucks as an incentive to encourage participation in census outreach and voter registration events near farmers markets in Harlem.
  • National Institutes of Health Government — Member of committee to update Obesity and Lifestyle guidelines
  • St Michael’s Church Partner — Provided space for organizing and packing food boxes in Harlem.
  • The Brotherhood/Sister Sol Partner — Distributed Health Bucks to families receiving food boxes and participating in youth market activities in Central Harlem.
  • USDA Government — Recognizes USDA as the primary entity collecting national data on food insecurity.
  • Violence Intervention Program Partner — Distributed Health Bucks to survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Harlem, accompanied by nutrition education and recipes.
  • West Side Coalition Against Hunger Partner — Contributed traditional food items such as peanut butter to the grocery boxes distributed in Harlem.
  • businesses Partner — Partners with businesses to create tailored programs addressing community food insecurity, such as restaurant surcharge initiatives and grocery voucher systems.
  • community based organizations Partner — Partners with community-based organizations in high-poverty neighborhoods to distribute grocery vouchers.
  • governments Partner — Collaborates with government entities to design and implement community-specific food security programs.
  • non-profits across the country Partner — Supports adoption of voucher programs by nonprofits in communities nationwide.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Client-Choice Voucher Model
    methodology: client_choice
    By providing supermarket or grocery vouchers instead of pre-packed food, we increase dignity and autonomy, which in turn improves engagement and utilization of food resources because individuals can select foods that match their dietary needs, preferences, and cultural traditions.
  • Culturally Appropriate and Community-Tailored Access
    methodology: culturally_appropriate_food_access
    By designing food access programs in collaboration with communities and tailoring offerings to reflect cultural and dietary preferences, we improve utilization and trust because programs that respect lived experience and local context are more effective than standardized, one-size-fits-all models.
  • Food-Is-Medicine Approach
    methodology: food_is_medicine
    By targeting food-insecure individuals with chronic conditions like diabetes and providing them with vouchers to purchase healthy food, we treat nutrition as a clinical intervention, improving health outcomes because access to nutritious food functions as preventive or therapeutic care.
  • Local Food Systems Integration
    methodology: local_food_systems_integration
    By sourcing fresh produce from local and regional family farms, we strengthen regional food economies and improve access to nutritious food because integrating agricultural support with food insecurity relief creates mutually reinforcing community health and economic outcomes.
  • Open-Access Distribution to Reduce Barriers
    methodology: open-access_food_distribution
    By placing free refrigerators in underserved neighborhoods, we reduce logistical and social barriers to food access because proximity, anonymity, and ease of use increase the likelihood that individuals will obtain and use available food resources.