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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Food Exploration And Discovery

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 851113722
CA · NTEE K01
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kristin Ritzau, Executive Director / CEO ($87,580) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 417 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Kristin Ritzau — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

417 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 417 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$14 total compensation of comparable organizations → $536,723 $87,580
$14,92310th
$39,19225th
$63,386Median
$88,31475th
$117,74990th
$87,580This org · 75th
p10$14,923
p25$39,192
p50$63,386
p75$88,314
p90$117,749
$87,580

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to CA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Freedmen Heirs Foundation Inc MD$463,088 Executive Dir. $165,050 $178,698 2024
Joyce Uptown Foodshelf Inc MN$462,537 Director $62,271 $73,362 2023
Food 4 Farmers Inc VT$461,633 Executive Director $81,606 $95,123 2024
Adams County Emergency Food Bank CO$461,512 Executive Director $76,014 $86,903 2023
Fish & Loaves MI$461,198 Executive Director $75,000 $92,297 2023
Rockland Farm Alliance Inc NY$465,500 Executive Dir. $86,538 $90,559 2024
Better Health Better Life Inc MD$465,583 Executive Director $67,472 $73,051 2024
Berkeley Student Food Collective CA$460,899 Secretary $58,101 $59,817 2023
Hope-net CA$465,680 Executive Director $61,442 $63,257 2023
The Rice Foundation VA$460,703 President/ Ceo Thru 12/15/23 $52,730 $58,961 2024
Irvington My Brothers Keeper Inc MD$466,068 Secretary $69,648 $77,634 2023
Pickerington Food Pantry OH$466,338 Executive Di $74,420 $91,282 2024
Sharefest Will County IL$460,087 President Director $5,333 $6,072 2024
Community Bread Basket Inc WV$467,093 Program Administrator $27,366 $35,327 2023
The Oakland Institute CA$467,352 Executive Director $130,000 $133,840 2023
Topss OH$459,037 Executive Director $51,931 $63,698 2024
Trinity County Food Assistance CA$458,531 Executive Dir. $44,000 $44,000 2024
Murrysville Christian Concern PA$458,493 Key Employee/board Member $65,000 $75,067 2024
The 1017 Project OR$468,316 Executive Director $46,500 $50,009 2024
Vanburen Council For Human Services CA$468,514 Daniels $41,000 $41,000 2024
Organiceye Inc WI$457,331 Executive Director $142,806 $172,717 2024
Lamar County Food Pantry Inc TX$469,326 Executive Director $61,311 $73,123 2023
Its Going To Be Ok Inc TX$456,742 Ceo $14,700 $17,532 2023
Fort Worth Food & Wine Foundation TX$470,466 Director/executive Directo $69,615 $83,026 2023
Huerta Del Valle CA$455,615 Ceo $66,473 $64,760 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to CA cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)84th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted77th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted70th

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Kristin Ritzau) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 417 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (K), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $87,580 is reasonable (approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.