It’s too bad that the apparent careless management of its former executive director is creating problems for Just Food, an agency that has had a significant positive impact in the community.

After learning that $50,000 in federal payroll taxes had gone unpaid, the Just Food board arrived at “a mutual agreement” with Jeremy Farmer to accept his resignation from the agency he had led since 2011. Two days later, Farmer submitted his resignation from the Lawrence City Commission, which is set to receive a report today on “irregular expenses” incurred by Farmer and charged to the city.

In addition to the payroll tax issue, questions have been raised about an income tax return that Farmer filed with United Way of Douglas County as part of Just Food’s funding application. It appears that the form he submitted was never filed with the Internal Revenue Service and, according to an attorney representing the Just Food board, is an incomplete “draft” that may be revised before it is filed with the IRS.

So far, the Just Food board has had to engage both an accountant and an attorney to deal with issues and questions related to Farmer’s actions. Assuming those professionals aren’t donating their services, that’s money that most would agree would have been better spent addressing the agency’s mission of providing food for local residents in need.

It’s uncertain what impact the questions being raised will have on Just Food’s reputation. In the short term, the situation is casting doubt on the agency’s past management, but hopefully the board will be able to quickly respond to the situation and take the necessary steps to keep Just Food operating and ensure its long-term health.

As previously reported in the Journal-World, Farmer’s Facebook biography claimed he “propelled Just Food from the fringes of obscurity to being among the leaders of social change in Lawrence.” Despite the self-aggrandizing tone of that description, many local volunteers deserve credit for the success of Just Food. Notable among those is the late Ann Weick, who served as dean of the Kansas University School of Social Welfare and was instrumental in founding the agency.

This is an embarrassing situation for Just Food and points once again to the important responsibility that volunteer boards have in supervising the operation of non-profit agencies. Just Food has done good work in the community and we hope it will be able to quickly get its operations back on track.