Greater Chicago Food Depository is a 501(c)(3) organization based in Chicago, Illinois, registered in 1978, with $241,580,413 in FY2024 revenue. CharityIndex grades it A+, and it directs about 92% of spending to programs.
Revenue (FY2024)
$241.6M
▼ 12.4% vs prior year
Food & Agriculture median: $197K
Expenses (FY2024)
$243.2M
Net assets
$207.9M
Employees
351
Measures how much of every dollar spent actually reaches programs, plus what it costs to raise $100 of donations. The worse of the two measures sets the letter (85%+ to programs is an A; under $15 to raise $100 is an A), averaged over the three most recent filings. For Greater Chicago Food Depository: 92% to programs · $4 to raise $100 earns a A+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Measures whether the organization is built to last: how many months its reserves would cover expenses (3+ months earns an A-range score, but hoarding 5+ years of budget is capped) and whether it runs a surplus or a deficit. For Greater Chicago Food Depository: 10 mo reserves · -1% margin earns a A on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Checks how the organization is run, from its own Form 990: an independent board majority, a board of five or more, conflict-of-interest, whistleblower and document-retention policies, and independently audited financials. The share of disclosed checks that pass sets the letter. For Greater Chicago Food Depository: 6 of 6 checks met earns a A+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Counts five disclosure signals: a recent filing, a mission statement, program descriptions, a listed website, and the full expense breakdown. More disclosure, better letter. For Greater Chicago Food Depository: 5 of 5 disclosure signals earns a A+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
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Our mission is to end hunger.
The greater chicago food depository provides programs to alleviate hunger among priority populations including children, students, older adults and veterans. the organization also works to address the root causes of hunger by creating pathways to thriving wage jobs and local economic opportunity. other programs include after-school and summer meals for children, food distributions for older adults, food distributions at schools, and federal benefits outreach.
Mobile responses reach populations that often don't have access to traditional emergency assistance programs. the food depository's produce mobile distributes fresh fruit and vegetables in high-need communities, while the mobile pantry provides produce, protein and shelf-stable groceries to hungry individuals on evenings and weekends. the fresh truck offers produce to food insecure patients of health clinics throughout cook county.
Revenue grew from $106.1M (FY2013) to $241.6M (FY2024) across 12 reported years.
Financial snapshot
Operating margin
-0.7%
Spent more than it raised in the latest fiscal year.
Total assets
$216.0M
Total liabilities
$8.2M
Net assets
$207.9M
Salaries & benefits
$27.8M
11% of expenses
Board members
17
17 independent
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Expenses | Net assets | Total assets | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $241,580,413▼12.4% | $243,247,145▼6.9% | $207,865,089▼2.6% | $216,023,481▼2.7% | 990 |
| 2023 | $275,870,292▲40.0% | $261,192,103▲30.4% | $213,393,392▲10.7% | $222,053,390▲8.2% | 990 |
| 2022 | $197,032,572▲9.2% | $200,244,560▲10.4% | $192,772,137▲2.8% | $205,203,000▲4.1% | 990 |
| 2021 | $180,413,430▼36.0% | $181,434,874▼23.7% | $187,538,751▼9.9% | $197,112,141▼9.3% | 990 |
| 2020 | $281,823,952▲36.9% | $237,651,241▲53.5% | $208,118,349▲34.5% | $217,303,991▲25.7% | 990 |
| 2019 | $205,874,058▲51.3% | $154,827,193▲26.6% | $154,771,915▲39.9% | $172,857,634▲34.8% | 990 |
| 2018 | $136,086,288▲11.0% | $122,289,957▲10.8% | $110,666,459▲14.7% | $128,231,670▲27.6% | 990 |
| 2017 | $122,568,737▲21.8% | $110,359,910▲2.9% | $96,505,463▲13.5% | $100,497,719▲13.0% | 990 |
| 2016 | $100,655,600▼5.2% | $107,220,248▲10.7% | $85,050,007▼2.8% | $88,921,764▼2.2% | 990 |
| 2015 | $106,149,642▲8.1% | $96,883,955▲2.5% | $87,517,747▲5.3% | $90,890,566▲5.1% | 990 |
| 2014 | $98,164,447▼7.5% | $94,495,733▼12.3% | $83,091,171▲3.1% | $86,463,341▲2.7% | 990 |
| 2013 | $106,083,315 | $107,782,196▲4.4% | $80,610,975▲1.7% | $84,229,083▲2.4% | 990 |
| 2012 | — | $103,269,929▲30.2% | $79,284,421▲21.0% | $82,290,184▲19.3% | 990 |
| 2011 | — | $79,312,281▼0.5% | $65,509,860▲2.9% | $68,951,757▲1.5% | 990 |
| 2010 | — | $79,747,254▲5.0% | $63,645,100▲11.9% | $67,913,082▲13.6% | 990 |
| 2009 | — | $75,963,466 | $56,872,301 | $59,757,743 | 990 |
Original Form 990 PDFs (the Form column) are served by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, as filed with the IRS. Create a free account to download the CSV report.
Highest-paid: Katherine Maehr — $414,818 (0.17% of total expenses)
| Name | Title | Hours/week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katherine Maehr | Executive Director and Ceo | 40 | $414,818 |
| Jill Rahman | Chief Operating Officer | 40 | $341,509 |
| Jill Zimmerman | Chief Philanthropy Officer | 40 | $300,184 |
| Sheila Creghin | Vp of Operations | 40 | $291,454 |
| Joni Duncan | Vp of People and Culture | 40 | $285,495 |
| Mary Pelican | Vp of Finance | 40 | $284,552 |
| Joseph Rodriguez | Vp of Transportation, Warehousing An | 40 | $233,209 |
| Amy Laboy | Vp Programs & Community Partnership | 40 | $232,385 |
| Michael Seikel | Head of Technology & Transformation | 32 | $207,068 |
| Sophie Milam | Senior Policy Advisor | 40 | $206,131 |
| Salma Nassar | Vp of Research Evaluation & Business Analytics | 40 | $205,765 |
| Alexandra Sims-jones | Director | 1 | — |
| Brian Byrd | Director | 1 | — |
| Diane Schanzenbach | Director | 1 | — |
| Gil Quiniones | Director | 1 | — |
| Jennifer Vachon | Chair-elect | 1 | — |
| John Jay Shannon Md | Chair | 1 | — |
| Kelly Richmond Pope | Director | 1 | — |
| Lee Rosenberg | Director | 1 | — |
| Marc Paulhus | Immediate Past Chair | 1 | — |
| Contractor | Services | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Fluent360 LLC | Media | $414,516 |
| Ntiva Inc | Technology | $271,874 |
| Campbell and Company | Consulting Services | $168,507 |
| Lasalle Network | Temp Staffing Services | $138,475 |
| Jodi Windy | Project Management | $133,085 |
446 grants to Greater Chicago Food Depository totaling $582.5M, reported by foundations on their Schedule I filings — showing the 15 most recent.
677 grants totaling $191.2M in FY2024 — showing the 15 largest. All grants made by Greater Chicago Food Depository →
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Gap Community Center | Distribute to the hungry | $8,643,836 |
| Nourishing Hope | Distribute to the hungry | $8,469,665 |
| American Association of Single Parents | Distribute to the hungry | $5,320,002 |
| City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications | Distribute to the hungry | $5,200,122 |
| Restoration Ministries Inc | Distribute to the hungry | $4,197,861 |
| Care For Real | Distribute to the hungry | $4,118,450 |
| New Life Centers of Chicagoland Nfp | Distribute to the hungry | $4,111,111 |
| Willow Creek Community Church Inc | Distribute to the hungry | $4,105,032 |
| Mission of Our Lady of Angels | Distribute to the hungry | $3,319,777 |
| Thornton Township Foundation Inc | Distribute to the hungry | $2,425,422 |
| Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center | Distribute to the hungry | $2,369,973 |
| The Friendship Center | Distribute to the hungry | $1,946,679 |
| Beyond Hunger | Distribute to the hungry | $1,874,154 |
| Niles Township Food Pantry Foundation | Distribute to the hungry | $1,746,619 |
| Figueroa Wu Family Foundation | Distribute to the hungry | $1,598,437 |
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Data for Greater Chicago Food Depository (EIN 36-2971864) comes from the IRS Business Master File and e-filed Form 990 returns, via CharityIndex. Figures reflect what the organization reported to the IRS for each fiscal year.