2021-03-31-accounts

Annual Report Review and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021

Company registered number: 02673194 Charity registered number: 1018643

Foreword

My foreword to Sustain’s last Annual Report reflected on a time when the first Covid-19 lockdown had only just begun. Sustain’s staff team had rapidly relocated to working from home, pivoting their work to play their part in helping the nation respond to the pandemic. We extend a huge thank you to funders and supporters for their flexibility, humanity, understanding and additional grant-making, including to the groups and communities we work with, during this very challenging period.

The work of the Sustain team and alliance members has been intense, influential and admirable across the whole year. I pay tribute to all that you and they have done to support food aid providers, smaller food producers, businesses and local authorities to access the money, support and food they need, and to get this to the people who needed it the most. Hard times require bold action. This year, for the first time, Sustain also participated in legal proceedings against government for failing to extend free school meal provision for hungry children during the school holidays – a campaign memorably won with a winning kick from Premier League footballer Marcus Rashford.

During the year, campaigners from the Black Lives Matter movement and Extinction Rebellion took to the streets calling loudly for action on racial justice and a more concerted response to the climate and

nature emergency. We took these calls to action seriously and have incorporated two cross-cutting themes into our revised Sustain Strategy, to be published this year, aiming to ensure that action on diversity and racial justice, and on the climate and nature emergency, are integrated into all that we do. As a first step and signal of intent to change, we were delighted to welcome many more people from diverse ethnic backgrounds to Sustain’s Council of Trustees in December 2020.

All of this took place against a backdrop of other disruptive changes relating to Brexit, weakening food standards and plans for new trade deals. Working intensively in the new Covid-19 world of online organising, Sustain’s team convened important policy and campaign work on the Agriculture Bill and Fisheries Bill, as well as responses to key developments such as the National Food Strategy and implementation of the government’s Obesity Strategy. It is hugely impressive that our project and campaign coordinators have managed to pull off so much during this period, with Sustain once again demonstrating – arguably more than ever – how powerful and influential it is to work in alliance.

Professor Mike Rayner Chair of Sustain’s Council of Trustees

Trustees during the financial year covered by this report:

Cobi-Jane Akinrele (elected 18/12/2020) Professor David Barling (stood down, 18/12/2020) Lucy Bjorck (elected 09/12/2019) *Josie Cohen (elected 12/12/2018) David Edwards (elected 18/12/2020) Jyoti Fernandes (elected 18/12/2020) Mollie Gupta (elected 18/12/2020) Dr Kawther Hashem (elected 18/12/2020) Bridget Henderson (re-elected 12/12/2018)) Clare Horrell (stood down, 18/12/2020) Andre Kpodonu (elected 18/12/2020) **Katharine Jenner (re-elected 09/12/2019) Shefalee Loth (elected 18/12/2020)

Jo Lewis (elected 09/12/2019) *Raksha Mistry (elected 18/12/2020) Laura Mackenzie (stood down, 18/12/2020) Professor Mike Rayner (re-elected 12/12/2018) Stephanie Slater (re-elected 09/12/2019) Shaun Spiers (stood down, 18/12/2020) Chris Stopes (stood down, 18/12/2020) Alison Swan Parente (elected 12/12/2018) Keith Tyrell (re-elected 12/12/2018) *Nick Weir (elected 18/12/2020) Victoria Williams (re-elected 23/11/2017) Deirdre (Dee) Woods (elected 09/12/2019)

Note: Those marked with an asterisk () share the trustee role between two people in their organisation as a leadership development opportunity. One in each pair marked with a double asterisk (*) is the nominated Trustee registered with Companies House and the Charity Commission.

Company registered number: 02673194 Charity registered number: 1018643

Registered office: The Green House, 244-254 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9DA Auditors: Goldwins, 75 Maygrove Road, West Hampstead, London NW6 2EG Bankers: The Co-operative Bank, PO Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP and Triodos Bank, Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AS

Our year in numbers

Our projects, campaigns, partnerships and policy work contributed to the following over the year April 2020 to March 2021:

Judicial Review 1 champions free school meals for hungry children

£500m secured to address the Covid food emergency

food poverty 84 alliances in the Food Power network

Sustain Trustee 5 role-shares created for leadership on diversity

Over 30,000 people view Sustain social media ads and films

farmers 1,145 support food standards in Agriculture Bill

2.6m signatures and 260,000 MP letters back food standards campaign

families benefit from increased Healthy Start voucher value

London Councils measured on food responses, resilience and recovery

170 people attend ELMs session at Oxford Real Farming Conference

Over 1,000

community food growers attend Capital Growth training

1

sell-out Sustain Annual Conference promotes great food ideas for a green economy

#RealBreadWeek posts from 44 countries on Instagram

Government 1 confirmation of 9pm watershed for junk food adverts

75% of local authorities revealed not to include food in climate emergency plans (yet!)

Find out more about Sustain’s success stories and achievements at: www.sustainweb.org/about/working_together_our_success_stories/

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Covid-19 food emergency

The past year has been an extraordinary and traumatic period, yet also a time in which the world is waking up to the need for a fair, healthy, sustainable and resilient food system. Sustain worked with alliance members, local authorities, funders and many others to respond to the Covid-19 food emergency. Together, we helped to make the nation’s response to food poverty a defining characteristic of the Covid-19 pandemic, with parliamentarians from all of the main political parties joining our call for a legal Right to Food.

Campaigning by Sustain and colleague organisations won over £500m of government funding, allocated to address emergency food needs for people experiencing food poverty – helping children, parents, schools and local authorities. We also brought our first ever legal challenge against the UK Government for its initial decision not to extend free school meal vouchers over the school holidays. We supported successful calls for long-term solutions to holiday hunger and an increase in the value of Healthy Start fruit and veg vouchers for pregnant women and new parents on a low income, whilst also calling for retention of the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme.

Throughout periods of lockdown and Covid restrictions, Sustain provided support to food

partnerships, food poverty alliances, local authorities, markets, community bakers and food businesses across the UK, helping them to share good practice in both short-term food provision and longer-term healthy and sustainable food neighbourhoods. We also helped them to raise their concerns with policy-makers. We launched a meals on wheels campaign to make the case for nutritious, dignified and integrated services to help older and disabled people to eat well.

Working with the Greater London Authority, we adapted our long-standing monitoring and reporting of London councils’ action on food to include emergency responses and action to tackle the root causes of food poverty, starting to build a roadmap to food resilience for the future.

We used our position at the heart of a network of food poverty alliances and community organisations to facilitate the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) to provide ‘Food Power for Generation Covid’ grants to food poverty alliances around the UK, to strengthen the local response to the food crisis. We also helped other funders distribute funds and provide emergency support to the people we work with. Our accounts this year reflect the amounts that we acted as a conduit for in this way.

My heart is full! Who could have predicted so much joy and positivity during such a harrowing time. A testament to the incredible folks that make up our network.”

Alisa Graham-Brown, Programme Officer Sustainable Food Places

----- Start of picture text -----
Supporting the
local response
Sustain priorities: local
authorities; food partnerships;
community and voluntary sector
Resilient
food system
Defending our Securing food
food supply for everyone
Sustain priorities: Sustain priorities:
farmers, fishers; national policy;
diverse outlets, economic and clinical
jobs and enterprises vulnerability; physical
and mental health
----- End of picture text -----

Diagram illustrating Sustain’s role in addressing the food emergency caused by Covid-19, compounding by existing structural poverty, inequalities and lack of resilience.

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Reminded that food is good for the mind as well as the body, we helped community food gardens to stay open, providing green oases and fresh fruit and veg. This developed into a project helping gardens in several cities across the UK grow tonnes of fresh food for neighbours struggling to access food – solidarity through good food. We also won support for a new peri-urban farming initiative, Fringe Farming, to boost veg production and resilience for the future.

All this experience put Sustain in a good position to submit numerous briefings, and give evidence in person, to several parliamentary Select Committee inquiries into the impact of Covid-19. We have also become a co-investigator in the Sheffield University Food Vulnerability During Covid-19 research project and facilitated the involvement of four food poverty alliances in the research.

The Sustain team stepped up to the challenges of Covid-19 with extraordinary commitment, energy, camaraderie and campaign efforts. We did what we could to help keep food and money flowing; to highlight hunger and get it addressed; and to champion policies that respond to the emergency whilst working towards a better food future as part of a fair, green and resilient recovery.

Thank you for your inspirational work which led to the Government’s recent U-turn announcement of a Covid Winter Support Scheme, the extension of its Holiday Activities and Food Programme and an increase in the value of Healthy Start vouchers. It is largely due to your efforts, and those of other campaigners who have brought this issue to the public’s attention, that the Government has reversed its position.”

Letter from the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to Sustain’s Children’s Food Campaign, November 2020

National government; local authorities; Local Resilience Forums; funders

----- Start of picture text -----
Sustain alliance Two-way flow; advice,
secretariat and information; funding;
coordination role policy; good practice
----- End of picture text -----

Civil society groups; enterprises; food partnerships; community groups

Diagram that we used to communicate Sustain’s unique role in addressing the Covid-19 food emergency

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Good food production

We want to see food produced in a way that is fair and sustainable. Fair for farmers, fishers, workers, animals and which sustains the land, biodiversity and natural resources for now and generations to come.

Sustain remained resolute in coordinating efforts to demand high standards for food, safety, animal welfare, the environment and workers. We helped rally large-scale political engagement to influence key elements of legislation and policy governing the UK’s approach to farming, fishing and trade as our country continued the process of leaving the EU.

We coordinated a huge campaign on amendments to the milestone Agriculture Bill, securing crossparty support and extensive media coverage. The resulting Agriculture Act includes several changes Sustain campaigned for, including on fair dealing and the inclusion of agroecology. We also worked extensively on the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme that promises farmers ‘public money for public goods’, championing proper integration of agroecology in farm subsidies and other farm support.

Working with the Green Alliance, we established the Future British Standards Coalition to shape and influence the Government’s Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC). The Government conceded to put the Commission on a statutory footing and its first report helpfully advised there should be no backsliding on standards; that it is possible to maintain bans and remain WTO compliant;

and supported a transparent and democratic UK leadership role on climate and nature.

We helped keep trade and food standards highprofile; corralling supermarkets to shun low standard food imports publicly; publishing our Trick or Trade report on the impact of trade on child health; helping the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics keep up pressure for antibiotics stewardship; and publishing a joint report with Pesticide Action Network UK on threats to pesticide standards from trade deals; including lobbying over 500 MPs and holding meetings with senior politicians and officials.

Our new peri-urban Fringe Farming project, with Landworkers’ Alliance and Shared Assets, established commitments in London, Bristol, Sheffield and Glasgow to improve access to land for food growing. Meanwhile, our Capital Growth network in London grew to over 3,900 community gardens, with over 1,000 people attending over 40 training sessions online and in person, and our new Growing Connections toolkit supporting age-friendly gardening. We also launched the Good to Grow network with partners across the country hosting events to promote community food growing.

We launch Future Community Harvest British Standards Briefing with Shared Urban Harvest online launched, helping Coalition, responding to Assets: Food production festival welcomes Sustain alliance campaign gardens grow more Government’s Trade and potential in London’s over 700 community steps up during final stages food during Covid-19 Agriculture Commission urban fringe food growers of the Agriculture Bill May June July August September October Supermarkets corralled Toolkit: Growing Sustain signs up in support MPs vote against 50 gardens (London, to state publicly they Connections guide of cross-party Climate and sustainable fish Manchester, Reading) support British food to age-friendly food Ecological Emergency Bill labelling and grow 4 tonnes of standards in trade growing published procurement food for people in standards need during Covid-19

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“Famous farmers lobby MPs in Brexit battle for food standards.”

The Times, 30 October 2020

“1,000 farmers demand MPs uphold food standards in vote.”

Farmers Weekly, 4 November 2020

“Big thank you for all your help with the campaign over the past weeks and months - you’ve been absolutely invaluable to getting the food standards campaign in the media and all of the behindthe-scenes pressure too.”

Cath Elliston, Jamie Oliver Group

Photo credit: x

Milestone win:

Agriculture Act passed, featuring our key asks: ‘public money for public goods’, agroecology and fair dealing

1,000 farmers sign up to Sustain’s campaign to protect British food standards

Report: overuse of farm antibiotics in countries UK seeks trade deals with

October

January

December

November

Channel 4 Dispatches We protest as ‘Dirty secrets of Trade Bill rules out American food’ features protecting human our Toxic Trade report health in trade deals

2.6m petition signatures; 260,000 MP letters on food standards campaign

Sustain runs several sessions at Oxford Real Farming Conference (online)

Report: Trick or Trade, how trade deals could undermine UK obesity strategy

February

March

New: peri-urban Capital Growth’s digital Fringe Farming storytelling project begins project starts work to promote food growing with 4 cities

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Good food economy

We want to see fair supply chains support a flourishing diversity of supply, manufacturing, retail and catering enterprises – at home and overseas – that create good jobs and livelihoods; helping agroecological farmers and sustainable fishers to thrive and making good food the easiest choice.

When Covid-19 lockdown began, we witnessed how much was being done to support supermarkets and relatively little for smaller fishers, farmers, food businesses, street markets and neighbourhood shops – often serving disadvantaged communities. We worked with sector leaders and trade associations to help their voices be heard by local authorities and government, and to help them pivot their work to stay open and to secure local food supplies. We ran webinars, produced popular briefings and helped disseminate pioneering good practice, which we were pleased to see replicated due to this work. We are now pleased to see such work influencing recovery and resilience plans for helping the food system ‘build back better’ postpandemic.

In partnership with the Greater London Authority (GLA), we supported five London councils to run Good Food Retail projects; and worked with the Impact Hub Kings Cross Feeding the City programme and Urban Food Awards to support sustainable food businesses. We shared examples with councils, national government, funders and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and hosted a well-attended national webinar on the role of LEPs in building a green food economy.

Home bakers remembered the love of Real Bread during lockdown, with our Real Bread Campaign recipes and resources proving more popular than ever. We also supported Real Bread bakeries with wellreceived peer advice on re-opening, re-building and retaining customers during the pandemic. The annual Real Bread Week was the biggest yet. Throughout the year, we also continued to rally parliamentary support for an Honest Crust Act to protect bread standards.

Our Sustainable Fish Cities campaign is now in its tenth year, having won pledges to use only verifiably sustainable fish from caterers that serve over one billion meals per year. This year, we supported local areas to adopt sustainable fish measures. For example, Aberdeen achieved two stars towards becoming a Sustainable Fish City for local authorities, schools and hospitals, affecting 2 million meals in secondary schools alone.

Sustain’s planning specialist worked with planners involved in childhood obesity trailblazer areas to identify how local authorities can coordinate to create a healthy food environment. Sustain’s sustainable farming specialists continued to press for the Groceries Code Adjudicator to adopt new supply chain codes of practice.

Briefing: Directing Covid-19 public Aberdeen achieves Urban Food Report: How wholesalers funds to support 2 stars towards Award winners Webinar: Good food jobs to can help keep people healthy and becoming a announced for food help people get a foothold fed during Covid-19 accessible food Sustainable Fish City change-makers on the job ladder April May June September November We help fishers 65% of markets Over 5,700 Webinar: How food Webinar: Engaging find outlets for close: We launch Instagram posts partnerships can with Local Enterprise Covid-disrupted campaign to help from c.60 countries engage with the English Partnerships on food catering supplies them stay open during Sourdough planning system system change through Covid-19 September

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“Real Bread Week puts bread, bakers and the industry as a whole centre stage.”

Jennifer Burgos, Dough & Daughters, Wales

“Thanks for the excellent work you’re all doing supporting businesses at this difficult time.”

Unpackaged Ltd, a London Food Link network supporter

For photo credits, please see page 23.

Milestone event: Sustain’s sell-out annual conference promotes great food ideas for a green economy

Ian Mearns MP calls for parliamentary debate on loaf labelling and marketing laws (EDM 1523)

Survey launched: London Mayoral How have food Webinar: How councils candidates enterprises can support a good challenged to adapted since food economy by take action the pandemic? retailer engagement on food

November

December

January

February

March

Sustain publishes 10 food lessons for future emergency planners

Greater Manchester spatial framework promotes our healthy food places vision

Real Bread Campaign webinar: Baking a better career

Our 12th annual Netflix documentary Real Bread Week is Seaspiracy prompts celebrated across many downloads of the UK and 40 Fish Cities resources other countries

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Good food for all

We want to see healthy, sustainable food accessible and affordable to all, through a diverse array of outlets, and for it to become unacceptable and expensive to market unhealthy, unethical and unsustainable produce, over the alternative.

Covid-19 saw millions of people struggling to access the food they need, compounded by existing poverty and inequalities. Sustain’s extensive response is described in an earlier chapter.

The Food Power network of food poverty alliances, facilitated by Sustain, grew to over 80 members. Alliances proved vital to responding to the food crisis as well as championing action on the root causes of food insecurity. Several local areas initiated Right to Food campaigns with our help, including calling for support for marginalised people such as asylum seekers and people with no recourse to public funds. Our Older People’s Food Campaign worked with allies to maintain and expand support for meals on wheels services.

Our Response, Resilience and Recovery report on action on food by London Councils was wellreceived, directly influencing creation of the London Food Roots Incubator. This is a London-wide training and funding programme helping food poverty alliances tackle issues of common concern.

unhealthy food advertising on television before the 9pm watershed to protect children’s health. Sensing a sea-change in policy and public mood, we pressed ahead with calling for the £1.4bn Sugary Drinks Industry Levy to be ring-fenced to improve children’s health, securing promising cross-party support.

After our success last year with helping the Mayor of London adopt city-wide restrictions on unhealthy food advertising, we have been working with dozens of local authorities to adopt similar policies, with Bristol Council becoming the second city to do so. Our Veg Cities Campaign worked with Sustainable Food Place to champion the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme. We also continued to host and support a dynamic community of Healthy Start practitioners and, working with others, successfully campaigned for an increase in the value of the vouchers to help low-income families.

As the campaigns lead partner for Sustainable Food Places, we supported food partnerships to run Good Food Movement and Fizz Free February initiatives.

Sustain’s Children’s Food Campaign celebrated a milestone win this year – after a decade of campaigning, the Government agreed to ban

Via the FoodSHIFT 2030 project, we helped communicate and share learning between partners working on similar food system issues across Europe.

Milestone win: Sustain works with After a decade Covid-19 meals on Good Law Project Over 100 people attend of campaigning, wheels guidance to launch legal Food Power gathering Government confirms Government launches published for local challenge on school online to discuss Covid-19 9pm watershed for consultation to ban authorities and caterers meal vouchers food responses junk food adverts online junk food ads April May June July October November We send lessons from Research on London’s We air children’s views National Food Strategy part 1: Our e-action calls Greenwich on food for meals on wheels on child-friendly recommends expansion of for sugary drinks tax vulnerable people in services before and characters promoting free school meals, Healthy money to be invested Covid-19 to all UK Local during Covid-19 food and drink Start vouchers and holiday in child health Resilience Forums food provision

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“You’re a brilliant example of a charity that achieves a lot and brings together people across all parties to work on these issues.”

Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Select Committee in Parliament

“We have really benefitted hugely in Hampshire from all the work being done at Sustain to share evidence, guidance and best practice. We try not to miss any of the webinars!”

Farihah Choudhury, Hampshire Public Health

Photo: Keats organics training, credit: Mayya Hussein

We report on London councils’ action on food: Response, Resilience and Recovery

November

Food Power distributes Generation Covid grants to food poverty alliances to help families access food

Milestone win:

Government announces increase in Healthy Start voucher value

Sustain helps to establish a Buckinghamshire Food Partnership

Sustainable Food Places supported with local elections campaign toolkit

Bristol City Council restricts unhealthy food marketing with our support

Liverpool becomes England’s first Right to Food city

January

February

March

Report: Refreshing Fizz Free February London Food Roots Investment in Children’s campaign promotes Incubator initiated Health: using the sugar reduction for to support 10 food sugary drinks tax to health and climate partnerships improve school food

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Climate and nature emergency

Sustain declared a Climate and Nature Emergency, committing us to putting climate, nature and the just transition at the heart of all our work. We have responded to, or joined others in responding to, numerous inquiries and initiatives, championing urgent attention on reversing climate change and restoring nature in key policy, finance and legislative initiatives described throughout this report.

We have put special efforts into developing the case for Building Back Better, presenting the jobs and economic case for a healthier food system that delivers on climate and nature objectives. We have championed this with government, MPs, local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships, and as part of our advocacy work with the National Food Strategy team.

With world leaders due to meet in Glasgow in November 2021 for the crucial COP26, but we have grown increasingly alarmed that there is little sign of food and farming on the agenda for carbon reduction and nature-based solutions. We have supported Sustain’s sister alliance Nourish Scotland in their work with IPES to develop the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration and to champion this with cities in our networks.

We undertook a study of climate emergency action plans by local authorities across the UK and were dismayed to find that food and farming are missing there too, with about half of action plans containing no meaningful mention of food or farming. We therefore began extensive work to turn pledges into action by creating the Every Mouthful Counts Toolkit, for use by local authorities and the Sustainable Food Places Network. We also integrated food in the climate and nature emergency into our Response, Recovery and Resilience report with the Mayor of London, which is influential with London’s 33 boroughs and councils and local food strategies. We aim to support local authorities to play their part in addressing the climate and nature emergency through decisive and measurable action on less and better meat in food procurement; more and better plant-based foods; sustainable land use including peri-urban market gardens; support for agroecological farmers and food businesses; and designing out food waste. We will work with partners to ramp up local authority participation over the coming year.

annual conference brought together farmers, food businesses, researchers, civil society groups and government policy leaders from across these sectors, to share insights into how we can boost the economic recovery through sustainable food and farming.

One of the most popular sessions at the conference was an inspiring quick-fire session with specialist speakers from our alliance and networks introducing good food ideas that can reduce carbon, provide good jobs and generate benefits for local communities. These included:

• Agroforestry for integrated agroecology and carbon sequestration.

• Local supply chain infrastructure to make the economics of agroecology work.

• Organic farming for productivity in food, jobs and nature.

• Market gardening for community, biodiversity and better health.

• Dynamic food procurement to support good livelihoods in agroecological food production.

• A return to use of waste food for animal feed, for climate gains and viable pig and chicken production.

• Community food hubs to help values-led food trading to thrive.

• Good food investment zones to help values-led food enterprises gain support.

• A ‘build back bluer’ plan to let fish stocks recover and boost UK GDP by £600m.

Recordings of the conference are available at: - https://www.sustainweb.org/webinars/annual conference-2020/

Sustain’s well-received annual conference in December 2020 focused on putting food and farming at the heart of the nation’s green economic recovery post Covid-19. Food, farming, and fishing sectors have the potential to deliver more jobs and better livelihoods and are central components to the UK’s environmental recovery plans. Our

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Food, diversity and anti-racism

Sustain staff, colleagues, alliance members and many others in the food system have a profound commitment to equity and justice. As part of this, we want to ensure that what we do – and how we do it – promotes diversity and inclusion across a wide range of characteristics. We are also explicit that Sustain is an anti-racist organisation that is consciously working to remove oppressive and exclusionary attitudes and practices. We recognise there are entrenched and structural causes of inequality and want to play a part in tackling these, and to be allies to those leading the way. In particular, we recognise the extent and depth of racial inequality and racial injustice in the food system and want to do what we can to help address this.

This year, we challenged ourselves to think about how we can change ourselves and the organisation, as well as to use our privileged position to influence change more widely.

Sustain has undertaken a root-and-branch overhaul of the way we address and promote diversity internally. These are baby steps and this is work in progress. We will publish a more detailed annual progress report, but in summary we have:

• Set up a core Diversity Working Group, with sub-groups tasked with improving our policies, systems and ambitions on key issues.

• Run numerous learning sessions for the staff team, and through the Food Learning Forum with other third-sector groups, to engage our hearts and minds in the issues.

• Supported four members of staff – including Sustain’s Chief Executive – to participate in the Anti-Oppressive Practice programme for leaders of non-governmental organisations in the food and farming sector, convened by Feedback.

• Created 5 role-share Trustee places to provide people from diverse backgrounds at an early stage of their careers with opportunities for experience in the third sector.

• Updated our HR and other policies to include language and considerations that can help overcome barriers to participation.

Thinking about our projects, campaigns and communications, we have, for example:

• Published an internal toolkit for inclusive campaigns; and an external Diversity Style Guide on how we will promote, describe, portray and create platforms for diversity.

• Commissioned work within the Capital Growth food-growing network to research leadership by Black people and People of Colour in food growing, and how to help cultivate better opportunities for access to land, skills, resources and to influence wider societal change.

• Recruited new ambassadors for the Real Bread Campaign, providing a platform for their work, with an emphasis on diversity of experience, background and culture.

We have also challenged ourselves to ‘think big’ in terms of exposing and unlocking structural injustices in the food and farming sector, and have begun consulting with our Trustees, advisors and others on what role Sustain could play.

Sustain will: “Cultivate

opportunities for a wide range of people to be involved in and have their voices heard through Sustain’s work and our spheres of influence.”

Diversity as a priority theme in Sustain’s Organisation Development Plan, 2020-21

• Made changes to our recruitment processes to improve opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to see, be attracted to and gain interviews for vacancies.

• Hosted two young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds as paid interns, as part of the EcoTalent programme run by Feedback.

• Allocated budget from core funds, for example to cover payments and expenses for contributors who might otherwise struggle to participate.

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Who we work with

As an alliance, Sustain is as strong as its membership. Alliance membership is open to national organisations that do not distribute profits to private shareholders and which operate in the public or their members’ interest. The organisations must be wholly or partly interested in food or farming issues and support the general aims and work of the alliance.

*Those marked with a star were welcomed this year as members of Sustain – agreed by Sustain’s Council, with ratification by Sustain’s membership either confirmed or pending

Sustain alliance members

Action on Salt Action on Sugar Alexandra Rose Charity Aquaculture Stewardship Council Association of Public Analysts Baby Milk Action Behaviour Change Beyond GM Bio-Dynamic Agriculture Association Bio-Dynamic Agriculture College British Association For the Study Community Dentistry British Dietetics Association

Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Caroline Walker Trust Centre for Agroecology Water and Resilience (CAWR) Centre for Food Policy

Centre on Population Approaches for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention Chartered Institute of Environmental Health City to Sea Commonwork Trust Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Network Compassion in World Farming The Country Trust* Diabetes UK Eating Better E.coli 0157 (formerly HUSH) Faculty of Public Health Fairtrade Foundation Family Farmers’ Association FareShare Farms Not Factories Feedback First Steps Nutrition Trust Food Foundation Food Matters Food Systems and Policy Group, University of Hertfordshire FoodCycle Forum for the Future

Friends of the Earth

Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (South West)

Gaia Foundation Garden Organic Global Justice Now GM Freeze Growing Communities (and Better Food Traders) Health Education Trust

Hubbub Hyperactive Children’s Support Group Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) Keep Britain Tidy The Kindling Trust Landworkers Alliance Magic Breakfast Marine Conservation Society National Federation of Women’s Institutes

National Trust New Economics Foundation Open Food Network Oral Health Foundation The Orchard Project Organic Farmers and Growers Organic Research Centre Organic Trade Board Pasture-Fed Livestock Association People Need Nature Permaculture Association Pesticide Action Network UK Plantlife International Rare Breeds Survival Trust The Real Farming Trust Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, Chefs Adopt a School Trust Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) (covers RSPCA Assured) School Food Matters School of Artisan Food

Shared Assets

Slow Food in the UK Social Farms and Gardens Soil Association Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK) Sustainable Food Trust Sustainable Soils Alliance Think Through Nutrition This Is Rubbish Traidcraft Exchange Unchecked Unison Unite - Agricultural Workers Group Vegetarian Society Women’s Environmental Network World Cancer Research Fund World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms

Sustain alliance observers

Agricultural Christian Fellowship Allergy Alliance Child Poverty Action Group Community Food and Health (Scotland) Food Ethics Council GMB (Britain’s General Union) Green Alliance Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) Marine Stewardship Council Natural England Nourish Scotland Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) Which? Wildlife and Countryside Link WWF – Scotland WWF – UK

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Sustain works closely with, for example: colleague alliances and initiatives working on cross-cutting food, farming, fishing, environmental and social policy – including: the Alliance to Save our Antibiotics; Eating Better Alliance; Food Research Collaboration; Green Alliance; Food, Farming and Countryside Commission; Green Care Coalition; Obesity Health Alliance; Sustainable Soils Alliance; Trade Justice Movement; and Wildlife and Countryside Link. Our connections and work with such organisations is described in more detail here: https://www.sustainweb.org/about/sister-allianceswe-work-with/.

Across the UK Nations, we work with sister organisations: Food Sense Wales; Nourish Scotland; and a range of colleagues in Northern Ireland. We also work with over 80 UK towns, cities and regions and their Sustainable Food Place partnerships and/or food poverty alliances; the London Food Board; and we communicate regularly with over 60,000 people and tens of thousands more via social media.

Sustain coordinates the Food Learning Forum, working with food-sector organisations in receipt of Lottery funds, to tackle issues of common concern. Further, we work with 7 municipalities, 7 NGOs and 7 research institutes in 12 European countries, with Sustain playing the communications and learning role in a Europe-wide programme called FoodShift2030 to promote healthy and sustainable food systems.

Interested in becoming a Sustain member?

If your organisation is interested in becoming a Sustain alliance member or observer, download an application form at: www.sustainweb.org/ membership or email the Sustain team on sustain@ sustainweb.org to speak to Chief Executive Kath Dalmeny or Deputy Chief Executive Ben Reynolds for a conversation about how to get involved. When you submit an application, this is reviewed by the Sustain team and we may ask you for further information or clarification; we will make an initial assessment and take it to the next quarterly Sustain Council of Trustees meeting with a recommendation (the Council is elected by Sustain’s members). If they approve your application, it will then be taken to the next Sustain members AGM for ratification.

If your work is local or international rather than national, or you are an individual or represent a company or other profit-making organisation, you may prefer to get involved with a specific project or campaign, get on one or more of our mailing lists, publicise your healthy and sustainable food and farming events on our events calendar, or join a project or campaign advisory Working Party. Get in touch and we’ll help you decide how best to join in and share your unique perspectives.

Find out about Sustain membership here: www.sustainweb.org/membership/become_a_sustain_member/ Join one or more of Sustain’s mailing lists here: www.sustainweb.org/email/

It is really superb what Sustain does. Sustain is a magnificent mix of holding the powerful to account and engaging and intervening in the real dynamics of the food system to make a difference. You all are so brilliant and push for what’s right so consistently. I am full of admiration. Keep going.”

What a moment we’re living through! All at Sustain have been doing phenomenal work through the crisis. It’s a privilege to be a member.”

Aoife Allen, Hubbub, a member of the Sustain alliance

Professor Tim Lang, Centre for Food Policy

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Report on internal developments

Sustain’s governance

Covid-19: working from home

Sustain is governed by its membership, which is open to national organisations that do not distribute profits to private shareholders and thus operate in the public interest. Members must be wholly or partly interested in food and/or farming issues and support the general aims and work of the alliance.

When the first Covid-19 lockdown arrived, all Sustain staff moved rapidly to working from home. Staff adapted impressively quickly and smoothly to the new arrangements and helped each other with both practical and compassionate support to manage the impact on work and personal circumstances.

Sustain’s membership usually meets once a year in a general session at the Annual General Meeting, and many members also attend a range of specialist policy and project working party meetings, which are usually chaired by a Sustain Council member, as well as specialist events tackling issues of common concern.

Sustain Council members are elected by the membership (and a minimum of one third of the Council must stand down each year) to form a governing body of up to 15 Trustee places. All Trustees declare any relevant financial interests when they are elected, and at the beginning of each quarterly meeting, and these interests are publicly available on Sustain’s website. Sustain’s Council of Trustees meets quarterly to guide the work of the alliance, subject to approval by the members. As the Trustees are drawn from Sustain’s membership, all of whom are third-sector organisations, they are already familiar with structures and governance in this sector.

This year, in December 2020, Sustain’s AGM business was held wholly online, with the prior approval of our auditor, in line with procedures for extraordinary circumstances and advice from the Charity Commission. At the December 2020 Sustain AGM, of the 16 serving members (two as a role-share, so 15 places), five existing Trustees stood down. We created five potential ‘role-share’ positions as opportunities for diversity in leadership development; clearly signalled our intention to welcome people from diverse backgrounds; and attracted a large number of applicants.

After Sustain’s first ever contested election, in December 2020, Sustain’s Council of Trustees are 20 people filling 15 trustee places; some as role shares for leadership development: two-thirds (66%) women; one third (33%) Black people and People of Colour, as well as individual and intersectional representation from people of Jewish, Muslim, Christian and non-theist heritage, and people with diverse gender identities and long-term health conditions or disabilities.

We moved to working through Zoom and MS Teams, and introduced systems such as buddy groups and regular check-ins to ensure that people felt supported and any emerging issues could be dealt with in a collegiate and supportive way. We spoke openly about mental health to reassure people that there would be no stigma for talking about the personal impact of lockdown. Several members of staff were either shielding, or had family members medically vulnerable to Covid-19, so we were abundantly clear that maintaining everyone’s safety and well-being was paramount.

As Sustain was able to remain operational, we did not make use of the Government’s furlough scheme during 2020. In 2021, the introduction of a flexible furlough arrangement helped several Sustain staff members manage difficult childcare arrangements on a part-time basis in the third lockdown, when schools were once again closed.

Sustain’s Trustees and Chief Executive declared an ‘extraordinary period’ enabling active risk management, responsive decision-making and managed flexibility in our budgets, staffing and working practices. This enabled us to evolve new ways of working for the pandemic period whilst not setting unhelpful precedents and unmanageable expectations for the future. However, we acknowledged that the shift to more working from home was likely to be an expectation longer term, ran a staff consultation, and have put in place a new flexible Working from Home policy that can be implemented post-pandemic.

Sustain’s Finance Team worked with the Senior Management Team and IT staff to establish robust systems for ensuring that our financial transactions would be fully secure. We introduced new sign-off procedures with in-built double and triple checks for authenticity. This investment has served us well. In the wider world, there has been a notable upsurge in hacking attempts, phishing and fraud. However, Sustain has weathered these risks and has so far not experienced any serious breach. We remain vigilant and these matters are reviewed regularly as part of risk management, including at Trustee meetings.

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Quarterly meetings of Sustain’s Council of Trustees were held wholly online throughout the year. In line with Charity Commission guidance, Trustees noted at each meeting that the arrangements enabled satisfactory discussion and scrutiny of the matters to be addressed. Meetings were well attended and were a source of great support throughout the pandemic.

We continued to pay for Sustain’s office premises as if they were occupied. Trustees helped us to monitor what other organisations in our sector have been doing, and any guidance on how other similar organisations were managing and keeping costs under control. Our landlord, Ethical Property Company, remained open to discussion of options and kept the service charge to a minimum. As Covid restrictions lifted, several staff and teams chose to return to the office, which has proved a very welcome – if partial – return to normality. We have following government guidance and good practice for Covid risk management throughout, in consultation with the staff team.

Covid-19: influencing change

It soon became clear that Sustain’s expertise, connections, campaign instincts and coordination skills in the food and farming sectors were needed more than ever. This necessitated Sustain pivoting somewhat from our planned work and throwing the energies of several key staff and teams into tackling the challenges that the pandemic posed to our food and farming system. Structures such as the Food Power and Sustainable Food Places networks, and our links to government, local authorities and community food groups proved their worth in this regard, and Sustain rapidly became a go-to organisation for intelligence and support on a range of food security issues.

We extend the most enormous thank you to our very considerate funders for understanding the need for us to pivot our work and granting us the flexibility to do what we needed to do. Several also stepped up with additional grants for the people and communities we work with, to ease the burden of the frontline response to the Covid food emergency. We are proud of the role Sustain has been able to play in both campaign work and helping to disseminate such funds (with these amounts reflected in our accounts for this year), whilst at the same time keeping up our pressure on government to ensure that disadvantaged people could access social security and welfare assistance payments, free school meal and Healthy Start vouchers, as well as the food they need. The national emergency required both charitable and structural responses.

In many ways – whilst tired and somewhat battered, in common with our fellow citizens – Sustain has emerged from the experience stronger and more resolute than ever.

Organisation restructure

The combination of working from home, significant work on post-Brexit legislation, and a raft of new demands on our time and expertise due to Covid-19, necessitated a thorough restructure of Sustain’s working arrangements.

Sustain’s Deputy Chief Executive led on restructuring Sustain’s work into a number of teams and themes, as indicated in the diagram on the next page. Whilst this transition continues to be a creative work in progress, it has proved an efficient and productive way of organising our work and bringing clarity to certain roles and processes. It also paved the way for the structure of our new Sustain Strategy and Organisation Development Plan, which we continued to develop throughout the year.

Sustain staff, volunteers and interns

Across the year, we welcomed several new members of staff to the Sustain team as well as extending several people’s contracts to keep them in work during this challenging period, and to maintain services to our members and beneficiaries. We congratulate new arrivals for fitting in so well, despite the difficult circumstances, and soon becoming part of the Sustain family. We also fulfilled a long-standing ambition, which was to hire project officers to work alongside our Head of Public Affairs and Head of Sustainable Farming, to take these areas of work to a new level.

We benefited from the work of many volunteers participating in food growing activities with communities, as well as supporting Sustain’s campaign work. We also employed two paid interns from the EcoTalent programme run by Sustain alliance member Feedback, for 18-24-year-olds from diverse backgrounds to gain work experience in non-governmental organisations in the environment sector.

Training and skills remained an important theme throughout the year – both for our staff and our wider networks. We ran an internal programme of training and skills shares, and supported the wider network with a host of well-received webinars, trainings and sessions of the Food Learning Forum to help third-sector organisations address issues of common concern.

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Sustain alliance member and observers

Around 100 national organisations working on healthy, fair and sustainable food, farming and fishing

Sustain Council of Trustees, elected from Sustain membership 15 Trustee places; 20 people (5 as role-shares) Communications Team Senior Leadership Team (SLT) Finance and Admin Team Head of Digital; Communications Chief Executive; Deputy Chief Head of Finance; Finance & Admin Coordinator; Digial Officer Executive; Programmes Director Officer Executive Assistant

Line Managers Group

Currently ten experienced members of staff (including SLT members) who manage or supervise staff and project delivery, as well as leading on specialist policy, projects and campaigns

----- Start of picture text -----
Staff team
Includes project officers, campaigners, finance and administration staff, people working on
cross-cutting themes and services, and line managers. Connecting up via staff meetings; staff
consultation; Union Liaison Group; groups on development initiatives and skills-share
Parliamentary Team Local Action Team
National policy, campaigns and Local action, movement-building,
public affairs Sustainable Food Places
Strategy theme: Strategy theme: Strategy theme:
Good Food Production Good Food Economy Good Food For All
Food Co-ops
Sustainable Sustainable Real Bread Children’s Food
And Better Food Food Power
Farming Policy Fisheries Policy Campaign Campaign
Traders
Community Food
Save Our Save Our Local Supply Good Food for All
Growing + Fringe Sugar Smart
Antibiotics Antibiotics Economy Londoners
Farming
Trade and Food Good Food Sustainable Fish Food in the Green Healthy Food
Veg Cities
Standards Planning Cities Recovery Advertising
Cross-cutting strategy theme: Climate and Nature Emergency
Action on Food, Climate and Nature by Cross-cutting policy and
Less and Better Meat
local authorities and food partnerships campaign work
Organisation Development Plan (ODP)
Several staff groups develop these cross-organisational themes, with ToRs and targets.
Influence — Diversity — Supporters — Learning — Funding
Influence Diversity team Supporters Learning Funding
Strengthening the Sub-group, e.g.: HR and Increasing the number Cultivating skills for Core Development
influence, reputation Recruitment; Policies; and engagement of change-makers
and profile of Sustain Campaigns/ projects; Sustain supporters
and the alliance Supporting staff
Sustain Strategy 2021 to 2025
Fertile Future: Winning changes in policy and practice — Cultivating the movement for change
----- End of picture text -----

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Fair pay

Sustain renewed our annual commitment and licence to declare ourselves a registered London Living Wage Employer; as have our landlords Ethical Property Company, so cleaning and other staff are included. We are proud to be part of the growing Living Wage movement. Sustain also promotes London Living Wage accreditation via our Good Food for All Londoners report (this year, re-branded as Response, Recovery and Resilience) and league table of boroughs, as one of the key ways local authorities can help to reduce food poverty.

For the fourth year, Sustain’s Annual Report contains an independently audited Pay Ratio Analysis. We are pleased to report that Sustain’s Pay Ratio is between 2:1 (highest to lowest salaries) and 3:1 (highest salary to London Living Wage), well within the Wagemark benchmark of 8:1 considered to be good practice.

Policies and procedures

Bearing in mind Sustain’s growth and restructure, as well as evolving staff expectations, we recruited specialist HR Consultants CBR Solutions to help us undertake a thorough HR Healthcheck. This entailed working through template policies to record Sustain practice in a standard format that can be published on our intranet, available for staff, and able to be reviewed in a more systematic way over time. Across the year, we refreshed a large number of HR policies and procedures in this way, also paying due attention to updating language and approaches to incorporate consideration of diversity, equalities and inclusion.

We paid special attention to updating Sustain’s policy for safeguarding vulnerable adults, young people and children, especially in light of our partnership with the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) to make substantial ‘Food Power for Generation Covid’ grants to frontline food organisations working with disadvantaged communities. We also updated our Ethical Funding Policy to remind ourselves of our duty to ensure that such money should be directed to diverse communities, without discrimination, and making special efforts to reach those under-represented in our work.

Sustain’s funding

Sustain needs adequate financial and other resources to pursue our work effectively. The majority of Sustain’s income is from charitable grants from trusts and foundations, listed in this Annual Report. Project proposals and funding bids are developed by Sustain staff, in consultation with Sustain and working party members. A minority of Sustain’s income comes from alliance membership fees, subscriptions, book and publication sales and unsolicited voluntary donations from individual supporters or supporting organisations. Donations of this kind have increased this year in response to Sustain’s work on the Covid-19 food emergency. Sustain occasionally actively solicits donations from campaign supporters.

Significant developments this year relate to Sustain starting to draw down several multi-year grants supporting work on Sustain’s priorities, across a range of important themes, including sustainable farming, sustainable fishing, the green food economy and the climate and nature emergency.

These continue to mark a welcome shift in the relationship between Sustain, funders and other donors keen to invest in strategic partnership programmes driving ambitious change in policy and practice.

Due to a welcome new level of staffing and financial stability, we have been able to continue to pay much more attention to investing in Sustain’s core capacities, such as communications, policy and parliamentary engagement, influence and movement building.

Temporary uplift in turnover

This year, Sustain helped distributed grants on behalf of the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) to help address household food insecurity during Covid-19 lockdown through emergency food aid via local food poverty alliances. This was a one-off and exceptional arrangement to help play our part during the pandemic, and Sustain does not have any plans to continue directly supporting emergency food aid in this way. We managed £757k in this way, which makes a substantial difference to Sustain’s apparent turnover during this period, as noted in this annual report and accounts as a temporary financial peak above Sustain’s usual scale of operation.

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Awards won by Sustain staff

Congratulations are due to Sustain’s Head of Food Poverty Programme Simon Shaw, who was independently awarded a Churchill Fellowship grant to support work on access to food during hospital discharge, to enable people to live well at home. Simon will work with Sustain’s existing Older People’s Food Campaign alliance.

Congratulations are also due to Sustain’s Chief Executive Kath Dalmeny, who was named as one of the 20 most influential people in public sector catering, following her efforts – working with Sustain’s Children’s Food Campaign Coordinator Barbara Crowther and Right to Food Coordinator Imogen Richmond-Bishop on the legal challenge to government’s decision not to extend free school meal vouchers into the school holidays during the pandemic.

Thanks so much for all your time and dedication and that of your colleagues [at Sustain] on this case. A great example of team work unifying law, activism and political nous. The extent of the background research and briefing was really impressive. It was never going to be an easy win legally but the presence of the proceedings built on that research surely helped secure a political result and who knows what might have happened had a certain No 10 not emerged as a campaigner of equal prowess to his goalscoring. Children not going hungry over the school holidays for the first time ever is quite something”

Jamie Burton, Doughty Street Chambers, responding to the government’s decision to extend free school meal vouchers over the August 2020 summer holiday

Photo credit: Monkey Business Images

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Building our communications and influence

Sustain’s remains committed to ensuring that our work reaches far and wide, with quality outputs that are produced in a timely fashion and to a high standard. Peers in our sector note our ability to quickly respond to current events, provide detailed analysis and be seen as an expert in the field. This is a credit to both our campaign and project staff as well as our highly experienced staff members, especially our Head of Digital, Head of Public Affairs and Communications Coordinator.

December 2020 saw a watershed across the organisation in how we aim for Sustain to be perceived externally with a relaunch of all visual comms, and better practice and consistency of narrative style. This brand unification aims to amplify the voice of Sustain across all campaign communications and news services. This is backed with a suite of tools and protocols to help us better understand how we interact with our diverse audiences.

Head of Digital Gavin Dupée continues to oversee Sustain’s significant online presence, family of websites and micro-sites, and publications, with over 7,500 monitored downloads, up 88% from last year. Traffic to our website has also seen significant growth in the last year, with nearly 200,000 people having read a Sustain news item (up 53%), and over 66,000 people reading a Sustain blog, a 230% increase on last year. In addition, over 75,000 people are subscribed to at least one of our mailing lists, up 19% from last year, and a new newsletter was launched this summer to better showcase work across the whole organisation. We are also active on a variety of social media platforms where thousands more now follow Sustain’s work. In the last year we have set up further mechanisms to improve tracking of interactions on our websites, with an eye to how we can further improve engagement, facilitate peer learning and inspire involvement in the healthy and sustainable food movement.

As our official data controller, Gavin also continued to oversee upgrades to Sustain’s systems to embed compliance with new EU-wide data protection regulation, as well as online security. This proved especially important when Sustain moved to working from home and more online interactions due to Covid-19, and in the face of increased risks to cyber-security.

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What people say about us…

“Thanks for all your good work on this issue.”

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, House of Lords, who championed amendments to the Agriculture Bill

“Thank you loads for the great stuff this week on the Ag Bill, it was brilliant - couldn’t have written without your help on the issues and your marvellous and pithy quotes.”

Fiona Harvey, The Guardian

“Awesome to hear so many people got in touch with their MP… The article is actually spot on.”

Hannah Jackson (Red Shepherdess farmer) supporting work on the Agriculture Bill

“How brilliant this report is. Response, Resilience and Recovery is such a comprehensive record of the work that’s taken place on food since the beginning of the pandemic and is crammed with useful information and detailed case studies. As you know, we’re already using it to inform our work and I’m sure the same can be said for local authorities and partners across London.”

Liam Weeks, GLA Food Team

“It’s so brilliant that you are bringing people together to champion this cause and to fight for the health of older people. Food is so important at all stages of life and it is brilliant to have an advocate for that.”

Sarah Wren, CEO Hertfordshire Independent Living Service and meals on wheels alliance member

“You and the work of your colleagues have been absolutely instrumental in moving [policy on obesity prevention] forward and wouldn’t have happened without you!”

Richard Sangster, Department for Health and Social Care

“I honestly think if it was not for the work you and Sustain have done in this area the Government would not have acted, so many congrats on this step forward.”

Suliman Rafiq, Senior Public Health Manager – Healthy Lives, Luton Borough Council

“By sending campaign material like this it makes it easier for us to engage – keep it coming!!”

Sonja Woodcock, Leeds Food Partnership Coordinator, Zest Leeds (regarding Fizz Free resources)

“Thanks for the excellent work you’re all doing supporting businesses at this difficult time.”

Unpackaged Ltd a London Food Link supporter, regarding our Jellied Eel articles promoting businesses and our social media promotion

“Thank you @jelliedeelmag for featuring Migrateful in a round-up of individuals and organisations who are using food to bring communities together and to celebrate diversity!”

Migrateful

“There is almost nothing I will say that isn’t based on the invaluable Sustain resources on food poverty action plans. They are my bible!”

Jane Middleton, Labour Hunger Campaign

“Huge thank you for your support and highlighting the work of our volunteers. We really do appreciate you all!!”

Waste Not Want Not, Battersea

“Sustain is such a force to be reckoned with. You have supported so many younger people coming up in the food world who can take things on, and I hope you all feel really proud of what you have achieved and the voice you have.”

Helen Crawley, Director, First Steps Nutrition Trust

“You in Sustain are true heroes, I saw the legal action and the #uturn, well done!”

Dr. Ana Moragues Faus, Research Fellow, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Barcelona

“I thought the obesity webinar was fantastic, great job and very informative.”

Sharon Treat, Institute of Trade and Agriculture Policy

“We love what Sustain’s farming and trade campaigners have been doing, and greatly appreciate having this channel to the ELMS, parliamentary and trade work.”

Suzi Shingler, Campaign Manager, Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics

“Outstanding. No other word for it - thanks for pulling it all together - just what all our members needed.”

Tom Andrews, Director, Sustainable Food Places

“The sheer scale and range of what you are leading on is mind blowing. I do not know how you do it but we are all in a better world because you do.”

Emma Revie, Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust

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Strategic review

Throughout the year, Sustain undertook extensive activities to connect with our alliance members, working party members, and the local groups, food partnerships and food poverty alliances we work with. Insights from these connections informed both our immediate workplans and ongoing development of our new Sustain Strategy and revised Organisation Development Plan.

The new five-year strategy for the Sustain alliance, Fertile Future, is due to be launched in 2021, at a time of great change for the future of the UK’s food, farming and fishing. Sustain will also be 21 years old, symbolically marking our ‘coming of age’, with a renewed sense of agency, determination and shared purpose.

This year, Sustain brought together materials from several consultation events over the preceding year, plus insights from our restructure into teams and themes during 2020. We used this to draft the strategy to solicit further consultation and comment, and to ensure its fit with our new ways of working and aspirations on key themes for the Organisation Development Plan.

The Sustain Strategy organises our work under three key themes:

We have revised our organisational description and mission as follows, recognising Sustain’s role in both national policy change, campaigns and public affairs; and local initiatives, campaigns and movementbuilding:

• Sustain is a powerful alliance of organisations and communities working together for a better system of food, farming and fishing. We believe everyone should have access to healthy and sustainably produced food that protects people, animals and planet.

• The Sustain alliance brings together around 100 organisations nationally – and hundreds more at local and regional level – cultivating the movement for change.

• Working together, we run highly effective and creative campaigns, advocacy, networks and demonstration projects, aiming to catalyse permanent changes in policy and practice, and to help equip more people and communities with skills as change-makers.

To underpin this work, we published (internally) our Organisational Development Plan, which sets out the practicalities, targets and structures with which we plan to implement the strategy and monitor progress.

• Good food production

• Good food economy

• Good food for all

We also convened a Sustain Refresher Day with the staff team to share and reinforce Sustain’s values, how we work together and with the wider world.

The cross-cutting theme of Climate and Nature Emergency and Food Justice are also woven throughout this work.

Sustain’s Chief Executive Kath Dalmeny also gave a Sustain Strategy presentation to Trustees and the staff team, setting out what she had heard and read throughout the strategy consultation, and how this would shape Sustain’s work in the five years to come. Such materials have also proved clarifying and useful for communicating with key funders and stakeholders.

Page 9 photo credits: Flin t and Fern, Corner Cottage Bakery, Swiss Bread Bakery, Mill Hill Artisan Bakery, Whisk and Rye, Natural Bread, The Bakers’ Table, The Doorstep Baker, Bob’s Bread Bakery, Angela Morris, Mrs. Mash, Ed Baker, Isobel Hands, Below Decks, Orkney Sourdough, Lace Bakes, White Mountain Sourdough, Malthouse Photography, Terri Atkin, The Bakehouse Nottingham, The Bakehouse Nottingham, Ayo Been Baking, @ljferguson2306, Iza Stuchlik, Best End Baker, Artisan Loaf, Torth Y Tir, Ed Baker, kirstie_young_ photography, Essington Farm, Real Clever Food, Cliff Lane Primary, Ipswich, Kari Martens, Peter Weston, Pauline Beaumont, Elissa O’Donohue, Hobz Bakery, The Hampshire Real Bread Co, Bakerlou, The Street Bakeshop, Curly Creek Ranch, Kenny Theysen, Cake and Positivitea, FarmED, Cook Bakes, Elizabeth Stevens, Ruth McGhie, Heyl Bakery, Sourdough Slingers, Hearth and Soul Bakehouse, Banjo’s Bread, T2Pan Sourdough Boutique, Pure Knead, Greg Ardoin, Rob Allen, Sapori & Saperi Adventures, Vinish Vivek, Paige Daley, Patrick Kelly, Eloisa Jose-Baquet, Gayathri Chaudhari, Lucy’s Loaves, Zuzana Malikova, Winfrith Bakery, Feeding Fish MicroBakery, Mike Rogers, Mike Rogers, Holly Bon Bagel, Café & Bistro V Pekárně, Buzzing Bee Baked Things, Juliet Ferrar, Emma Bowles, Philippa Fairburn, @ eduardmichelphotography, Fernhorn Bakery, Strettea Bakery, Ulla Ojanen, Panaderia Rustica, Bread & Roses, Fermenti Kitchen, The Riverside Bakehouse, Blackhill Bakery, Claire’s Kitchen, Erføcaccia, Just Sourdough, Slice of Leaven, The Cornish Sourdough Bakery, Will Whittington, Cultured Bread Bakery, Stoneham Bakehouse, Ian Reeves, Ian Reeves, Baking Bread NL, Barchester Queen’s Court, One Mile Bakery Exeter, Joan Kirschner, Leanne Chorlton, Ma Baker, Brentwood Care Centre, Jagdish Patel, Jennifer Phillip, Liam Clarke, Emma Friend, Blackbirds Micro Bakery, Sue Brown, Marianne Azar, Bread of Haven, Yasmin Ashi, Derwen College, Vranch House

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Financial review

The Council of Trustees (who are the Directors of the Charity for company law purposes) present their report and the audited financial accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021. The Trustees confirm that the annual report and financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the requirements of the Charity’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Reserves policy

In accordance with guidelines from the Charity Commissioners, the Trustees have adopted a reserves policy that should ensure that: Excluding those funds represented by fixed assets, general reserves do not exceed more than six months’ anticipated expenditure. The Trustees review amounts regularly, monitor progress in relation to target levels quarterly, and deemed in the financial year covered by this report that there were adequate funds to ensure the charity was able to meet all current, known and some estimated possible future liabilities.

Investment policy

The fund balance carried forward at 31 March 2021 was £614,090 (2020: £412,586) on unrestricted general reserves. The designated reserves at 31 March 2021 was £159,863 (2020: £0). The restricted reserves on continuing projects were £203,119 at 31 March 2021 (2020: £234,249). The full Statement of Financial Activities is set out in the accounts below.

Risk management

The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the company is exposed, in particular those related to operations and finances of the company, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to major risks. The Sustain rolling risk register and risk management process, reviewed formally at least quarterly by Trustees and Sustain’s senior management team, and additionally as necessary, considers possible risks and prudent ways to avoid such risks arising, as well as mitigation should problems occur, grouped under the following broad themes:

• Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic;

• Good governance – financial and organisational;

Under the memorandum and articles of association, the charity has the power to invest the monies of the company not immediately required for the furtherance of its objects in or upon such investments, securities or property as may be thought fit, subject nevertheless to such condition (as any) and such consents (if any) as may for the time being be imposed or required by law. At the present time, the Trustees’ policy is to maintain such monies on deposits earning a market rate of interest, in a bank or banks with ethical credentials. No further ‘social investment’ is currently planned.

• Weathering ongoing turbulence and uncertainty in UK politics, economics and international political and trading relationships, posing financial and strategic risks;

• Meeting Sustain’s objectives;

• Securing sufficient income;

• Controlling expenditure;

• Addressing staffing issues;

• Tackling challenges specific to alliances;

• Protecting Sustain’s reputation;

• Ensuring regulatory compliance;

• Avoiding or handling disputes;

• Mitigating administrative burdens.

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Trustees’ responsibilities

Company and charity law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of its financial activities for that year. In preparing those accounts, the Trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the accounts;

• prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The Trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the company has appropriate systems of control, financial or otherwise. They are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and which enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Setting staff pay

Sustain operates a fair and transparent fixed salary scale for setting staff pay, including key management personnel – the persons with authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the charity. This salary scale cannot be changed without Trustee approval. Sustain’s salary scale is grouped under four ascending grades – Administrative Grade; Grade 1 (project officer); Grade 2 (senior manager); Grade 3 (chief executive). New recruits start at the salary grade suited to their post, as advertised, and usually at entry level for that grade. Subject to satisfactory annual appraisal, staffs move up a salary level within their grade until the top level is reached. On the exceptional occasions when a new recruit has the experience and credentials to warrant appointment at a higher salary than the entry level for their grade, this offer and decision remains in line with the standard salary scale, except starting at a higher level, and with the knowledge and agreement of at least one Sustain Trustee, who has usually participated in the

recruitment process. In addition to the salary scale, salaries (and hence the levels in the salary scale) also rise in line with inflation, calculated annually on the actual inflation rate in the preceding year.

As a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity, Sustain covers normal expenses, requires evidence of such claims and expenditure and keeps good records. Sustain does not make ex gratia payments to staff, nor does it pay bonuses to staff.

Fair pay

Sustain is a registered Living Wage employer, committed to paying at least the Living Wage or the London Living Wage, as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, which reflects the cost of living. This year, we have also continued to apply a Pay Ratio analysis as part of the Annual Report process, seeking to ensure that Sustain maintains a fair pay ratio between the highest and lowest earners, benchmarked against sector good practice.

Public benefit

The Trustees are aware of Charity Commission guidance on public benefit reporting as set out in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011. They believe Sustain fulfils a fundamental public benefit by promoting both the health and welfare of people and animals, improving the environment and promoting sustainable development. How Sustain achieves these objectives is described in more detail throughout this annual report and on the Sustain website.

Auditors

So far as the directors (Trustees) are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditors are unaware. Additionally, the directors have taken all of the necessary steps that they ought to, as directors, to make themselves aware of all the relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditors are aware of that information. A proposal to re-appoint Goldwins as auditors for the forthcoming year will be put forward at the Annual General Meeting.

This report was approved by the Council of Trustees on 15 December 2021 and signed on its behalf, by:

Professor Mike Rayner

Chair of the Council of Trustees

26

Auditors’ report

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Sustain: The Alliance for Better Food and Farming (the ‘Charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, statement of cash flows and the related notes. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Opinion on financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2021 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended:

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditorʼs responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRCʼs Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to

events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditorʼs report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• the information given in the trustees’ report (incorporating the directors’ report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the trustees’ report (incorporating the directors’ report) has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

27

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Annual Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit

Responsibilities of the trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view and for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the Charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditorʼs report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that

an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

• We enquired of management, which included obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning the charity’s policies and procedures relating to:

• identifying, evaluating, and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;

• Detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud;

• The internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations.

• We inspected the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

• We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a material effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the charity from our professional and sector experience.

• We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and tested these to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.

• In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments, assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias and tested significant transactions that are unusual or those outside the normal course of business.

28

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Councilʼs website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Anthony Epton (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of

Goldwins Limited Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants 75 Maygrove Roadw West Hampstead London NW6 2EG

15 December 2021

29

Statement of financial activities

(incorporating and income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 March 2021

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2020
Unrestricted Restricted
funds funds Total funds Total funds
Note £ £ £ £
Income from:
Donations and legacies 3 50,569 21,475 72,044 128,721
Charitable activities
Health and Welfare 4 452,009 2,044,132 2,496,141 1,424,047
- - - -
Other trading activities
Investments 5 1,260 - 1,260 3,464
Other - - - -
Total income 503,838 2,065,607 2,569,445 1,556,232
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 6 8,494 - 8,494 16,544
Charitable activities
Health and Welfare 6 150,512 2,080,196 2,230,708 1,490,054
Other - - - -
Total expenditure 159,006 2,080,196 2,239,202 1,506,598
Net income / (expenditure) before net
gains / (losses) on investments 344,832 (14,589) 330,243 49,634
- - - -
Net gains / (losses) on investments
Net income / (expenditure) for the year 7 344,832 (14,589) 330,243 49,634
Transfers between funds 16,539 (16,539) - -
Net income / (expenditure) before other
recognised gains and losses 361,371 (31,128) 330,243 49,634
Net movement in funds 361,371 (31,128) 330,243 49,634
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward 412,587 234,246 646,833 597,199
Total funds carried forward 773,958 203,118 977,076 646,833
----- End of picture text -----

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 18 to the financial statements.

30

Balance sheet

As at 31 March 2021

Note £ s s e t s : 12 a s s e t s : 13 1 9 2 , 6 7 3 1 , 1 3 4 , 4 6 4 1 , 3 2 7 , 1 3 7 e s : 14 3 5 0 , 0 6 1 18 1 5 9 , 8 6 3 6 1 4 , 0 9 5 nrestricted funds rs: amounts falling due within one year r e n t a s s e t s d s o f t h e c h a r i t y : ed income funds icted income funds: ignated funds e t a s s e t s l e s s c u r r e n t l i a b i l i t i e s eral funds bank and in hand e assets a r i t y f u n d s		2 0 2 1 £ £ ~~-~~ ~~-~~ 246,495 958,104 1,204,599 557,766 9 7 7 , 0 7 6 9 7 7 , 0 7 6 2 0 3 , 1 1 8 - 412,587 7 7 3 , 9 5 8 9 7 7 , 0 7 6	2020 £ -
			- 646,833
	1 , 3 2 7 , 1 3 7 3 5 0 , 0 6 1
	1 5 9 , 8 6 3 6 1 4 , 0 9 5
			646,833
			234,246 412,587
			646,833

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions for small companies under Part15 of the Companies Act 2006.

Approved by the trustees on …………………………..15 December 2021 and signed on their behalf by

Professor Michael Rayner Chair

Keith Tyrell Treasurer

31

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 March 2021

																																																		Note					2 0 2 1	2 0 2 1	2 0 2 1	2 0 2 1									2020
																																																							£											£	£	£
C a s h			f l o w s				f r o m			o p e r a t i n g		a c t i v i t i e s																																						19
N e t	c a s h				p r o v i d e d b y / ( u s e d											i n )				o p e r a t i n g							a c t i v i t i e s																																	1 7 5 , 1 0 0								129,989
C a s h			f l o w s				f r o m			i n v e s t i n g		a c t i v i t i e s :
Dividends,						interest and rents from investments																																													1 , 2 6 0																3,464
N e t	c a s h				p r o v i d e d b y / ( u s e d											i n )				i n v e s t i n g						a c t i v i t i e s																																				1 , 2 6 0						3,464
C h a n g e i n						c a s h a n d c a s h e q u i v a l e n t s																i n		t h e				y e a r																																1 7 6 , 3 6 0								133,454
Cash			and		cash				equivalents at the											beginning							of					the
year																																																												9 5 8 , 1 0 4								824,650
C a s h			a n d		c a s h e q u i v a l e n t s							a t				t h e e n d						o f			t h e				y e a r																					20								1 , 1 3 4 , 4 6 4										958,104

32

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

• 1 Accounting policies

• a) Basis of preparation

• The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102 - effective 1 January 2015) - (Charities SORP FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

• b) Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern. Key judgements that the charitable company has made which have a significant effect on the accounts. The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

• c) Income

• Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

• d) Donations of gifts, services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated gifts, professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

• e) Interest receivable

• Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

• f) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

33

1 Accounting policies (continued)

g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

• Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

• Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charitable company in inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose.

• Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of delivering services, undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.

• Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

h) Allocation of support costs

Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned on the basis which are an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity.

Where information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is provided to potential beneficiaries, the costs associated with this publicity are allocated to charitable expenditure.

Where such information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is also provided to potential donors, activity costs are apportioned between fundraising and charitable activities on the basis of area of literature occupied by each activity.

i) Operating leases

Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

• j) Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

Office equipment 25% straight line

k) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

• l) Cash at bank and in hand Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account. Cash balances exclude any funds held on behalf of service users.

m) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

n) Financial instruments

• The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

o) Pensions

The charity operates workplace pension scheme.

34

3 Income from donations and legacies

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2020
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
£ £ £ £
Donations 50,569 21,475 72,044 128,721
Total income from donations 2021 50,569 21,475 72,044 128,721
Total income from donations 2020 26,434 102,287 128,721
4 Income from charitable activities
2021 2020
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
£ £ £ £
Grant income
Ashden Trust - 15,000 15,000 20,000
Baring Foundation - 26,473 26,473 49,966
BIG grant - 365,009 365,009 464,415
- - -
Big Lottery Fund 9,349
- - -
Centre for Ageing Better 58,832
City Bridge Trust - 31,164 31,164 -
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (various) 150,000 13,613 163,613 204,193
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund & Marine
Management Organisation - 106 106 43,579
European Union - 107,380 107,380 -
Farming the Future - 41,430 41,430 14,583
Friends Provident Foundation - 14,400 14,400 11,300
Greater London Authority (various) - 45,000 45,000 65,255
Guy's and St Thomas' Charity - 124,301 124,301 22,984
Heart of Bucks - 3,204 3,204 -
- - -
JMG Foundation 14,545
John Ellerman Foundation - 50,000 50,000 50,000
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust - 37,500 37,500 45,000
Kenneth Miller Trust - 25,000 25,000 25,000
Kestrelman Trust 20,000 - 20,000 -
- - -
London Borough of Southwark 20,735
Network for Social Change - 10,000 10,000 42,513
Rothschild Foundation - 53,000 53,000 12,000
- - -
Royal Borough of Greenwich 8,333
Royal Parks Foundation - 20,143 20,143 23,860
Samworth Foundation 50,000 - 50,000 -
Sustainable Food Places (Big Lottery Fund and Esmee
Fairbairn Foundation) - 223,448 223,448 67,244
Thirty Percy Foundation Grant 150,000 - 150,000 -
Trust for London - 57,500 57,500 66,500
Unicef - 757,461 757,461 -
Yorkshire and Humber - 23,000 23,000 -
Other income
Conference and workshops 3,000 - 3,000 9,821
Membership fees 28,012 - 28,012 26,758
Sales and publications 2,153 - 2,153 1,212
Subscriptions 48,844 - 48,844 46,070
Total income from charitable activities 2021 452,009 2,044,132 2,496,141 1,424,047
Total income from charitable activities 2020 143,229 1,280,818 1,424,047
5 Income from investments
2021 2020
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
£ £ £ £
Investment income 1,260 - 1,260 3,464
Total income from investments 2021 1,260 - 1,260 3,464
----- End of picture text -----

35

6 a ~~.~~ Analysis of expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
Cost of
raising Charitable Support 2020
funds activities costs 2021 Total Total
£ £ £ £ £
Staff costs (Note 8) 7,643 824,610 142,109 974,362 808,247
Direct cost
Payable to partner organisations - 1,020,220 - 1,020,220 464,056
Consultancy costs - 119,195 - 119,195 59,271
Volunteers - 533 - 533 2,716
Printing and photocopying - 6,579 - 6,579 11,250
Postage and distribution - 5,949 - 5,949 8,647
Travel, meeting and expenses - 6,479 - 6,479 61,081
Other charitable expenditure - 23,681 - 23,681 8,967
Support cost
Telephone and fax - - 36 36 311
Office costs - - 74,368 74,368 74,252
Audit fees - - 7,800 7,800 7,800
7,643 2,007,246 224,313 2,239,202 1,506,598
Support costs 851 223,462 (224,313) -
Total expenditure 2021 8,494 2,230,708 - 2,239,202
Total expenditure 2020 16,544 1,490,054
----- End of picture text -----

Of the total expenditure, £159,006 was unrestricted (2020: £126,498) and £2,080,196 was restricted (2020: £1,380,100).

The amount payable to partner organisations is made up of several different payments – the majority being payments passed onto Food Power partners(£975.3k); Capital Growth partners(£9.6k); and PeriUrban Farming partners (£16.5k); and acting as grant conduit for City to Sea (£18.8k).

b ~~.~~ Analysis of expenditure from previous reporting period

----- Start of picture text -----
Cost of Charitable Support 2020 Total
£ £ £ £
Staff costs (Note 8) 13,181 671,201 123,865 808,247
Direct cost
Payable to partner organisations - 464,056 - 464,056
Consultancy costs - 59,271 - 59,271
Volunteers - 2,716 - 2,716
Printing and photocopying - 11,250 - 11,250
Postage and distribution - 8,647 - 8,647
Travel, meeting and expenses - 61,081 - 61,081
Other charitable expenditure - 8,967 - 8,967
Support cost
Telephone and fax - - 311 311
Office costs - - 74,252 74,252
Audit fees - - 7,800 7,800
13,181 1,287,189 206,228 1,506,598
-
Support costs 3,363 202,865 (206,228)
Total expenditure 2020 16,544 1,490,054 - 1,506,598
----- End of picture text -----

36

7 Net income/ (expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging / crediting:

This is stated after charging / crediting:
		2 0 2 1					2020
						£	£
Depreciation						~~-~~	-
Operating lease rentals:
Property	4 0 , 4 7 1						41,430
Auditors' remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit		6 , 2 0 0					6,200

8 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:

er’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes and wages ecurity costs ancy and termination costs	2 0 2 1 2020 £ £ 8 5 7 , 6 2 2 712,599 3 1 7 - 7 5 , 2 9 3 62,272 4 1 , 1 3 0 33,376 9 7 4 3 6 2 808247

No employee earned more than £60,000 during the year (2020: nil).

The total employee benefits including national insurance and pension contributions of the key management personnel were £190,721 (2020: £185,071).

The charity trustees were not paid or received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2020: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2020: £nil).

Trustees' expenses represents the payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs totalling £100 incurred by 1 member (2020: £44) relating to attendance at meetings of the trustees.

9 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was as follows:

and Welfare t funds	2 0 2 1 2020 N o ~~.~~ No. 0 . 2 0.4 2 1 . 2 19.2 3 . 6 3.5 2 5 ~~.~~ 0 2 3 ~~.~~ 1

37

10 Related party transactions

The following declaration provides transparency on related party transactions and, as appropriate, are also routinely declared by Sustain’s Trustees at their quarterly meetings and publicly on the Sustain website.

A number of trustees and management team members hold prominent positions in other organisations.

Sustain received a grant of £223,448 (2020: £155,466) via the Soil Association, which is the overall programme manager for the Sustainable Food Places network – a programme run jointly by Food Matters, Soil Association (both Sustain members) and Sustain. Three of Sustain's trustees are a member of staff for the Soil Association and Food Matters. The Chief Executive of Sustain is a board member of Food Matters. Furthermore, Food Matters received £4,000 from Sustain for work on Bucks Food Partnership.

School Food Matters were paid £35,105 during the year. £35,000 as part of the Food Power grants programme, and £105 for vouchers to school pupils taking part in a webinar. One Sustain trustee is a member of staff at School Food Matters. Sustain’s Deputy Chief Executive is chair of the board of School Food Matters.

The Real Bread Campaign also received annual membership fees of £45 from Welbeck Bakehouse as well as the School of Artisan Foods. In addition, the Real Bread Campaign also received a donation of £1,000 from Duke of Portland Charitable Trust. A Sustain Trustee is the owner and on the board at these respective organisations.

Sustain received a payment of £2,000 from Pesticide Action Network for work on the Toxic Trade report. Two of Sustain's trustees are members of staff at Pesticide Action Network.

Finally, Sustain received £3,150 from Growing Communities in relation to our work on Better Food Traders. Sustain’s Chief Executive is on the board at Growing Communities.

11 Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

12 Tangible fixed assets

			Fixtures,
			fittings and
			Equipment		T o t a l
			£									£
C o s t
At		the start of the year	33,658	3 3 , 6 5 8
Additions in year			-									~~-~~
Disposals in year			-									~~-~~
At		the end of the year	33,658	3 3 , 6 5 8
D e p r e c i a t i o n
At		the start of the year	33,658	3 3 , 6 5 8
Charge for the year			-									~~-~~
Eliminated on disposal			-									~~-~~
At		the end of the year	33,658	3 3 , 6 5 8
N e t b o o k v a l u e
A t		t h e e n d o f t h e y e a r	-									~~-~~
At		the start of the year	-									-
All		of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.

38

13 Debtors

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2020
£ £
Other debtors 120,946 43,492
Prepayments 4,779 4,779
Accrued income 66,948 198,224
192,673 246,495
Creditors: amounts falling due within one yearreditors: amounts falling due within one yeareditors: amounts falling due within one yearditors: amounts falling due within one yearitors: amounts falling due within one yeartors: amounts falling due within one yearors: amounts falling due within one yearrs: amounts falling due within one years: amounts falling due within one year: amounts falling due within one year amounts falling due within one yearmounts falling due within one yearounts falling due within one yearunts falling due within one yearnts falling due within one yearts falling due within one years falling due within one year falling due within one yearalling due within one yearlling due within one yearling due within one yearing due within one yearng due within one yearg due within one year due within one yearue within one yeare within one year within one yearithin one yearthin one yearhin one yearin one yearn one year one yearne yeare year yeareararr
2021 2020
£ £
Other creditors 29,577 7,860
Accruals 24,095 23,206
Deferred income 296,389 526,700
350,061 557,766
----- End of picture text -----

14 Creditors: amounts falling due within one yearreditors: amounts falling due within one yeareditors: amounts falling due within one yearditors: amounts falling due within one yearitors: amounts falling due within one yeartors: amounts falling due within one yearors: amounts falling due within one yearrs: amounts falling due within one years: amounts falling due within one year: amounts falling due within one year amounts falling due within one yearmounts falling due within one yearounts falling due within one yearunts falling due within one yearnts falling due within one yearts falling due within one years falling due within one year falling due within one yearalling due within one yearlling due within one yearling due within one yearing due within one yearng due within one yearg due within one year due within one yearue within one yeare within one year within one yearithin one yearthin one yearhin one yearin one yearn one year one yearne yeare year yeareararr

15 Deferred income

Deferred income comprises of grants from the following: Ashden Trust Grant £5,000, Big Lottery Fund £87,986, City Bridge Trust £21,125, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation £50,000, Farming the Future £37,540, Heart of Bucks Grant £6,407, Kenneth Miller Trust £10,417, Rothschild Foundation £25,000, Sustainable Food Places £35,264 and Unicef £17,650.

Balance at the beginning of the year Amount released to income in the year Amount deferred in the year Balance at the end of the year	2 0 2 1 2020 £ £ 5 2 6 , 7 0 0 322,937 ( 5 2 6 , 7 0 0 ) (322,937) 2 9 6 , 3 8 9 526,700 2 9 6 , 3 8 9 526,700

16 Pension scheme

The charity operates workplace pension scheme and has no pension liability as at the year end.

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17 Analysis of net assets between funds

General

----- Start of picture text -----
unrestricted Designated Restricted Total funds
£ £ £ £
- - - -
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets 614,095 159,863 203,118 977,076
Net assets at the end of the year 614,095 159,863 203,118 977,076
----- End of picture text -----

18 Movements in funds

----- Start of picture text -----
Incoming Outgoing
At the start resources & resources & At the end
of the year gains losses Transfers of the year
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds:
Campaign for a Better Food Britain 4,943 73,613 (71,892) - 6,664
Capital Growth 13,634 84,807 (81,030) 489 17,900
Children's Food Campaign 4,701 192,301 (182,716) - 14,286
FoodSHIFT 2030 (1,024) 107,380 (36,489) - 69,867
Food Poverty 105,189 1,215,443 (1,279,792) 2,000 42,840
London Food Link 20,263 16,825 (29,179) (2,000) 5,909
- - -
Real Bread Campaign 17,028 (17,028)
Sustainable Farming and Land Use 55,894 95,480 (125,543) - 25,831
Sustainable Fish Cities 58 106 (164) - -
Sustainable Food Places 13,560 279,652 (273,391) - 19,821
Total restricted funds 234,246 2,065,607 (2,080,196) (16,539) 203,118
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds:
Employment Liabilities - - - 109,863 109,863
Innovation and Activities Fund - - - 50,000 50,000
Total designated funds - - - 159,863 159,863
General funds 412,587 503,838 (159,006) (143,324) 614,095
Total unrestricted funds 412,587 503,838 (159,006) 16,539 773,958
Total funds 646,833 2,569,445 (2,239,202) - 977,076
----- End of picture text -----

Purposes of restricted funds

Income that is received for specific projects, as – for example – grants, donations and earned income, is accounted for as restricted funds, with expenditure usually attributed over a specific period of time. We manage restricted funds carefully, keep expenditure under regular review, and aim to keep to the specified budget. If project funds are projected to be overspent for an unavoidable reason, we take action early to reduce expenditure and/or raise more funds to cover the potential shortfall. If we continue to project and incur an unavoidable overspend, a transfer is made from Sustain’s unrestricted funds. The balances on restricted funds as at 31 March 2021 arise from income received for specific projects on which some expenditure is still to be incurred in the coming financial year. Each of Sustain’s projects is described in more detail below:

40

Purposes of restricted funds (continued)

Campaign for a Better Food Britain (includes Sustain’s work relating to Brexit): The campaign helps Sustain’s alliance to make their voices heard in important discussions about the future of the UK’s approach to food, farming and fishing, particularly with regard to health, ethics and sustainability.

Capital Growth: Run by Sustain's London Food Link network, this offers practical support to communities around London to help more people grow more food, and to have greater access to land, skills and growing spaces for community benefit.

Children’s Food Campaign: Advocates for better food and food teaching for children in schools, protection of children from unhealthy food marketing, high food standards for health and well-being, and clear food labelling that can be understood by everyone.

FoodSHIFT 2030 is an EU-funded Horizon 2020 consortium programme involving 10 city-region projects across Europe. Sustain’s role is to share experiences of campaigning and movement building on healthy and sustainable food, involving a wide range of places.

Food Poverty: Sustain’s programme of work seeking to tackle the root causes of food poverty, and encouraging policies and practices that would enable everyone to eat well. This includes:

• ~~.~~ Food Power: working with Church Action on Poverty to support towns, cities and rural areas around the UK to implement strategies tackling the root causes of food poverty.

• ~~.~~ London Food Poverty Campaign: promoting steps local authorities can take to support people and communities to address the root causes of food poverty ‘beyond the food bank’; which produces an annual league table showing London Borough good practice.

• . Right to Food: seeking to instate into UK law and good governance the Right to Food, to help our country take progressive steps towards the eradication of hunger, and towards the development of fair and balanced systems for sustainable farming and fishing that works for both food producers and consumers alike.

London Food Link: This is the umbrella for all of Sustain's initiatives in London. London Food Link (LFL) is a network of organisations and individuals in London who grow, make, cook, sell, save and simply enjoy good food in the capital.

Real Bread Campaign: The Real Bread Campaign champions locally baked, additive-free bread, finding and sharing ways to make all loaves better for us, better for our communities and better for the planet. Note: The campaign has been re-categorised as unrestricted as this more accurately reflects the funds.

Sustainable Farming and Land Use (includes the Million Better Jobs for Better Farming and Land Use campaign): The sustainable farming campaign advocates for improvements in policy and practice to support better farming livelihoods, more and better jobs in sustainable food production, fair trading practices, and the subsidies, policies and industry practices that would incentivise change towards healthy, fair, humane and environmentally sustainable food production.

Sustainable Fish Cities: The campaign to protect precious marine environments, fish species and promote sustainable fishing livelihoods, calling for fish to be bought only from verifiably sustainable sources. We show at large scale what can be done if people and organisations make a concerted effort to change their buying habits, working with UK towns, cities, businesses and institutions.

Sustainable Food Places (renamed during the year ~~–~~ formerly Sustainable Food Cities): The Sustainable Food Places Network – organised jointly by Food Matters, Soil Association and Sustain – helps people and places share challenges, explore practical solutions and develop good practice on key food issues. It encourages public, private and third-sector groups and local communities to work together to improve their food system. Sustain helps the network to run a series of campaigns, this year including SUGAR SMART, helping local authorities, organisations, workplaces and individuals to reduce the amount of sugar we all consume by winning pledges to become SUGAR SMART from councils and schools to restaurants, hospitals and independent companies.

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19 Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2020
£ £
Net income / (expenditure) for the reporting period 330,243 49,634
(as per the statement of financial activities)
Dividends, interest and rent from investments (1,260) (3,464)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors 53,822 (103,246)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors (207,705) 187,066
Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities 175,100 129,989
20 Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
At 1 April Other At 31 March
2020 Cash flows changes 2021
£ £ £ £
Cash in hand 958,104 176,360 - 1,134,464
Total cash and cash equivalents 958,104 176,360 - 1,134,464
----- End of picture text -----

21 Operating lease commitments

The charity has no future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases.

22 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

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23 Notes from 2020 accounts

a. Summary analysis of assets and liabilities by funds of previous reporting period

----- Start of picture text -----
General
unrestricted Designated Restricted Total funds
£ £ £ £
- - - -
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets 412,587 - 234,246 646,833
Net assets at the end of the year 412,587 - 234,246 646,833
----- End of picture text -----

b. Details of movement in funds during the previous reporting period

----- Start of picture text -----
Incoming Outgoing
At the start resources & resources & At the end
of the year gains losses Transfers of the year
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds:
Campaign for a Better Food Britain 53,680 149,729 (200,966) 2,500 4,943
Campaign for Better Hospital Food (44) - - 44 -
Capital Growth 21,284 106,497 (114,178) 31 13,634
Children's Food Campaign 4,687 72,985 (76,867) 3,896 4,701
Food Co-ops Network (21) 9,349 (9,593) 265 -
FoodSHIFT 2030 - - (1,024) - (1,024)
Food Poverty 111,570 603,701 (610,082) - 105,189
London Food Link 19,986 28,100 (27,823) - 20,263
Real Bread Campaign 11,913 47,543 (42,428) - 17,028
Sustainable Farming and Land Use 8,692 115,823 (68,621) - 55,894
Sustainable Fish Cities (10,114) 73,579 (65,907) 2,500 58
Sustainable Food Places 372 175,799 (162,611) - 13,560
Total restricted funds 222,005 1,383,105 (1,380,100) 9,236 234,246
Unrestricted funds:
General funds 375,194 173,127 (126,498) (9,236) 412,587
Total unrestricted funds 375,194 173,127 (126,498) (9,236) 412,587
Total funds 597,199 1,556,232 (1,506,598) - 646,833
----- End of picture text -----

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Funders

Sustain would like to thank the following funders for their financial support for our work over the course of this financial year:

Ashden Trust Baring Foundation BIG grant Big Lottery Fund City Bridge Trust Compassion in World Farming Economic and Social Research Council Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (various) European Union - Horizon 2020 Farming the Future Friends Provident Foundation Greater London Authority (various) Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity Heart of Bucks Hull City Council John Ellerman Foundation Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust Kenneth Miller Trust Kestrelman Trust London Community Response Fund Network for Social Change Rothschild Foundation Royal Parks Foundation Samworth Foundation Sustainable Food Places Thirty Percy Foundation Trust for London Unicef UK

Annual Report

For the year ended 31 March 2021

A Sustain publication

December 2021

Sustain is a powerful alliance of organisations and communities working together for a better system of food, farming and fishing. We believe everyone should have access to healthy and sustainably produced food that protects people, animals and planet. The Sustain alliance brings together around 100 organisations nationally – and hundreds more at local and regional level – cultivating the movement for change.

Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming

[e-mail]

www.sustainweb.org

Sustain, The Green House 244-254 Cambridge Heath Road

London E2 9DA 020 3559 6777

Sustain works as an alliance to achieve our shared vision of a food, fishing and farming system, in which:

• All food is produced in a way that is fair and sustainable

• There is a thriving food supply chain from ‘farm to fork’

• Healthy, sustainable diets are accessible and affordable to all

• We have a strong UK food culture that ensures food is valued and enjoyed

Sustain is a Registered Charity No. 1018643