CROS Ministries

What CROS Ministries does

CROS Ministries (legally Christians Reaching Out to Society, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit hunger-relief organization founded in 1978 by United Methodist churches in Palm Beach County, Florida, and now operating as an interfaith collaborative. The organization runs four core programs: a network of seven food pantries and a mobile food pantry distributing bags of food across Palm Beach and Martin Counties; the Caring Kitchen hot-meal program (since 1993) offering congregate meals and homebound meal delivery in the Delray Beach area; a gleaning program that recovered 460,245 pounds of fresh produce from local farms in the 2024/2025 season; and children's programming including a summer day camp (CROS Camp). In 2025, CROS served 121,561 individuals through its food pantries and 55,896 meals through the Caring Kitchen, with 27% of pantry recipients being children and 12% seniors. Mobile distribution operates at four sites (Haverhill, Riviera Beach, Wellington, Greenacres), and homebound delivery reaches up to 120 residents across five Delray Beach-area zip codes.

The organization is led by CEO Ruth Mageria with a Board of Directors chaired by Ken Treadwell (elected January 2025, succeeding Dr. John Conde), and operates from a Lake Worth Beach headquarters/warehouse with roughly 11–50 employees. Revenue is sourced from individual donations, foundation grants (Bank of America Neighborhood Builder $200,000 in 2018, Publix Supermarket Charities, Jim Moran Foundation, Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Children's Service Council of Palm Beach County, Allegany Franciscan Ministries, Quantum Foundation, and others), corporate sponsorships tied to signature fundraising events (Hustle to End Hunger 5K, Raise Your Glass to End Hunger, Jeans & Jerseys, Do Good Delray), and planned-giving endowments held at the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties and the Florida United Methodist Foundation. Service delivery is volunteer-intensive and channeled through community partnerships with churches, eight farm growers (e.g., Roth Farms), the Solid Waste Authority mango grove, the Palm Beach County Food Bank, and United Way of Palm Beach County.

There is no proprietary technology platform; operations are explicitly described as not technology-focused, and the organization publishes annual financials and IRS Form 990 (2024 available) but does not disclose specific revenue figures in available materials. The 2019 Nonprofits First Hats Off Award placed CROS in the $500,000–$2.49 million operating-budget tier. The organization holds Nonprofits First "Accredited with Excellence" status and was named 2024 Nonprofit of the Year by the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Name

CROS Ministries

Legal name

Christians Reaching Out to Society, Inc.

Website

https://crosministries.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CROS Ministries is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit hunger-relief organization founded in 1978 that operates seven food pantries, a mobile food pantry, the Caring Kitchen hot-meal program, and a farm gleaning program serving food-insecure individuals and families across Palm Beach and Martin Counties in Florida.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hunger Relief and Food Assistance Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Community Food Services (62421), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD)

Keywords

• Food assistance services
• Hunger relief programs
• Food pantry operations
• Community food distribution
• Fresh produce gleaning

Headquarters

HQ city

Beach Lake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Monetary donations from individuals, families, businesses, and congregations who support the organization's mission to feed the hungry.
2. Grants and Foundation Support: Funding from foundations including Bank of America (Neighborhood Builder $200,000), Publix Supermarket Charities, Jim Moran Foundation, Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Children's Service Council of Palm Beach County, Allegany Franciscan Ministries, Quantum Foundation, and others.
3. Corporate and Event Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorships for events like the Hustle to End Hunger 5K, Jeans & Jerseys, and Raise Your Glass to End Hunger.
4. Planned Giving and Endowments: Endowment funds with the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties and Florida United Methodist Foundation for long-term sustainable support.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CROS Ministries operates an interfaith hunger relief program providing food to the hungry and food insecure in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Florida. The organization runs a network of seven fixed food pantries, a mobile food pantry, the Caring Kitchen hot-meal program (congregate meals and homebound meal delivery), and a Gleaning program that recovers surplus fresh produce from local farms and the Solid Waste Authority's mango grove. All food assistance is provided free of charge to recipients.

Product overview

CROS Ministries (Christians Reaching Out to Society, Inc.) is a non-profit food ministry providing food for the hungry and food insecure in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Florida. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected hunger relief programs: Food Pantries (seven fixed locations plus mobile distribution), the Caring Kitchen (congregate meals and homebound meal delivery), and Gleaning (produce recovery from farms). The programs work together to ensure access to nutritious food through direct distribution, hot meal service, and fresh produce recovery. The organization also runs children's programming including a summer camp, and hosts fundraising events like the annual Hustle to End Hunger 5K.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Pantries A network of seven food pantry sites at fixed locations (Delray Beach, Lake Worth Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Belle Glade, Indiantown, and additional sites) distributing bags of food free of charge to families and individuals facing food insecurity in Palm Beach and Martin Counties. Multilingual services available in English, Spanish, and Creole.
• Mobile Food Pantry Mobile distribution program bringing food assistance to underserved communities at rotating sites including Haverhill, Riviera Beach, Wellington Community Center, and Church in the Palms Greenacres. Reaches residents in previously unreachable areas of Palm Beach County.
• Caring Kitchen Hot meal program serving congregate meals Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and Delray Beach Elks Lodge #1770, with Friday hot meal distribution. Also delivers five meals per week (twice weekly delivery) to up to 120 homebound residents in select zip codes in the Delray Beach area.
• Gleaning Program Produce recovery program that rescues fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms, cull-lines, and the Solid Waste Authority's mango grove in Lantana. Recovered produce is distributed to local food pantries and meal programs, providing nutritious produce that would otherwise go to waste.

Quantifiable outcome

• 121,561 individuals received food assistance from seven food pantries in 2025 (27% children, 12% seniors)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Roth FarmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoth Farms is one of eight growers who partner with CROS every gleaning season, allowing volunteers to harvest surplus vegetables including green leaf and red leaf lettuce. Their partnership enables produce recovery that would otherwise go to waste to be distributed to those in need.
• Palm Beach County Food BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCROS works with the Palm Beach County Food Bank as part of the hunger relief ecosystem in the county. Board member Gary Woodfield has served as board director and past president of the Food Bank.
• Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSolid Waste Authority allows CROS to glean mangoes at their mango grove in Lantana during the summer season (August-September), recovering produce that would otherwise go to waste.
• Florida Conference of The United Methodist ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCROS Ministries is one of eight Outreach Ministries of the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church. Bishop Tom Berlin visited the organization in 2023 to learn about their mission and impact. District Superintendent Rev. Vidalis Lopez serves as Ex-Officio on the CROS Board.
• Church in the PalmscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChurch in the Palms hosts CROS Mobile Food Pantry distribution site on Saturdays from 8:30-10:00am at their location in Greenacres, serving the western communities of Palm Beach County.
• Whole Foods Market Delray BeachminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWhole Foods Market Delray Beach designated January 30 as CROS Ministries Day during their store opening week, with 1% of net sales benefiting the organization.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Treasure Coast Food Bank: Regional food bank serving the Treasure Coast including Martin County — directly overlapping CROS's Martin County footprint. Operates mobile pantries, gleaning, and partner agency distribution with a comparable model.
• Feeding South Florida: Regional Feeding America member food bank serving Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties. Competes for corporate donor dollars and food sourcing in overlapping territory and operates similar pantry distribution and gleaning programs.
• Farm Share: Florida-based food bank and produce recovery nonprofit operating statewide. Comparable gleaning/recovery and distribution model, sourcing surplus agricultural product for distribution to food-insecure households — direct functional overlap with CROS Gleaning.
• Palm Beach County Food Bank: Direct regional peer operating the county's primary food bank. CROS board member Gary Woodfield previously served as its board president, evidencing tight ecosystem overlap. Both distribute food through pantries and partner agencies across Palm Beach County.
• Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches: Operates homebound meal delivery in Palm Beach County — directly overlapping CROS's homebound delivery program (serving up to 120 residents in select zip codes). Closest comparable on the homebound-meal delivery vertical.
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach: Regional faith-based nonprofit operating food pantries, meal programs, and emergency assistance across Palm Beach County. Overlaps with CROS's interfaith, pantry-and-meal distribution model and competes for similar corporate and individual donor segments.
• Boca Helping Hands: Boca Raton-based nonprofit providing food pantry, hot meals, and mobile outreach to food-insecure residents in southern Palm Beach County. Closely comparable operating model (pantry + kitchen + mobile) in adjacent geography.

Broad incumbents

• Food for the Poor: Large Florida-rooted interfaith nonprofit distributing food and humanitarian aid nationally and internationally. Broader geographic and program scope than CROS but similar interfaith operating model and donor base in Florida.
• Feeding America: National umbrella network that supports regional food banks including Feeding South Florida and Treasure Coast Food Bank. CROS's gleaning program uses Feeding America's meal-equivalency equations, evidencing ecosystem alignment; provides indirect funding and sourcing infrastructure.

Others

• United Way of Palm Beach County: Strategic ecosystem partner and financial supporter of CROS that administers the Food Finder referral map and On the Table civic initiative. Indirectly comparable as a regional anti-hunger convener rather than a direct food distributor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/crosministries
• Facebookfacebook.com/CROSministries
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cros-ministries

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CROS Ministries