2022-03-31-accounts

Michael Roberts Charitable Trust Developing lives, enriching community

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Annual
Report
2021-22
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Our Vision Statement	2
Introduction by Chief Executive Officer	3
Thank you & farewell Michael Roberts	4
Maybury Open Door	5
Harlow Foodbank & Bounty Club	6-7
Bump-to-Five	8
The Changing Minds Project	9
Tackling hardship in Harlow - A tough year	10-11
Our collaborations	12
MRCT Staff and Volunteers	13
Our Community Partnerships	14-15
Acknowledgements	16

Our vision is that everyone can belong and participate in their communities, knowing that they are significant, valued, included and wanted.

Our vision is that no one should go hungry, or without the means to bring up their children, heat their homes or live in dignity.

In that position should know that they are supported by those around them until things are good again.

Our vision is fueled by the belief that nobody is excluded, unwanted or overlooked by God, whose love is revealed through Jesus.

Guide to images on front cover:

Guide to images on front cover: Left to right—Bounty Club pick up at Brakes | Foodbank recipient at St Paul’s |SES Christmas Party at Paringdon Sports Centre | Bump to Five at HTS River Way receives a Christmas donation from The Rent Guarantee Company | Maybury Open Door welcomes newcomers to their Christmas Party in Momples Road | Bump to Five donations supporting newly arrived Afghan refugees at Harlow Hotel | M18 Foods accept a new donation point in East Road | Church of Pentecost donating food to the Store House at Housham Hall Farm | Church Langley Tesco Christmas collection | MRCT Sale of Stansted Airport donated items at North Weald Market.

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This past year saw a slow and steady emergence from the shadows of Covid.

e report here on the actions we took to lessen its impact on those most vulnerable: whose W livelihoods hit rock bottom or resilience struggled in lockdown. In this year we kept our focus tohelp those most affected.

Trustees and wonderful Hon Treasurer Rob Carrington drive us forward with an inspiring consistency,dedication and vision. They ask all the tough questions that keep us sharp - thanks again! But alongside that, it is hard to quantify just how many people help their neighbours through MRCT. The thousands of people who drop an item into the Foodbank basket, the Facebook supporters that pass on our requests for help, the hundreds of community advisors who come in to our settings to support clientspartners, the businesses who give us surplus food, the and the amazing churches who lend us their premisesand people: St Paul’s, Harefield and the Salvation Army.

As a result our projects, our work, and our budgetscontinued to grow. We hope you will be gladdened to see all we are now doing to help Harlow and the villages.It has been a truly collective effort thanks to our amazing supporters and partners. Thank you! Our focus is relatively simple: we want people to live in dignity, knowing they are cared for and valued. And might offer that back, creating a cycle of hope. when they have got the strength to do so, we hope they

Fundamental to that comes the support of those who small or large, many anonymous, many collective likeregularly donate money, whether monthly or annually, churches and businesses. At the end of every year our books balance and our faith increases. Thanks everyone!

This cycle of care and hope came into sharp relief when Michael Roberts, the man whose name we bear, passed away in March this year.

Not many people knew who Michael was. Many assume that he was the wealthy benefactor behind our charity. But that couldn’t be much further from the truth...

This is the generosity that we hope Harlow will recogniseas essential to building a strong and prosperous town, with kind and welcoming neighbours, friendly villages, safe places for our children to grow up and good-hearted governance .

Michael was a man born with Down’s Syndrome who had next to no money, was mostly brought up in care -needing institutional support for daily living. Michael’s speech was hard to understand, and yet his warmth,empathy and unreserved appreciation of those around him left everyone who met him feeling good about life. His faith, optimism and cheeky humour regularly lit up a room, without the need for words.

and optimism: a faith that the goodness in others andAll of these things take warmth, generosity, trust, hope the goodness in ourselves belong together, and can overcome.

For being part of this we thank our God and You.

Together we make love and dignity happen. What a great thing!

We are proud to carry Michael’s name forward through the impacts of our many projects. On the next page weprofile his life and contribution to our ongoing work. We hope that our actions proclaim the values and beliefs that Michael held, and communicated… with or withoutwords. We hope that we can be as infectious as he was in making this world a better place! Thank you for inspiring us so much, Michael Roberts, rest in peace. MRCT may be growing, but our work continues to be delivered effectively thanks to the selfless giving of those who work alongside our small staff team every day. Like a well-oiled machine the support of around 100 volunteers a week makes it all happen. We and Harlowowe them a great debt of gratitude. Similarly our

Andy Thornton

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The Michael Roberts Charitable Trust, has been running for nearly 25 years now.

n that period we have achieved things that could never have been imagined when our Co-Founders I Gary & Teresa Knott stepped out in faith to establish the charity. Typical of Gary & Teresa was their decision to name itafter one of their inspirations: someone whose generosity and openness had inspired them hugely: Michael Roberts. We are often asked who Michael Roberts is? People assume he was a rich man who generously gave money to those in need: the type that more normally have acharity named after them.

But in some ways Michael was the opposite.

He was a man born with Down’s Syndrome, with nosignificant money to his name. His speech was quite unclear, but in his own way he generously handed out much more than money: he beamed out love, joy andhappiness – in unreserved quantities. In him Gary & Teresa saw the image of the God that they all loved,emblematic of what the charity would go on to do.

In March ‘22, we are sad to say, Michael died at the age of 62.

Michael shared much of the journey of MRCT and we are forever grateful to him.

The picture here shows him in Poland in 1999 where at aged 40 heaccompanied a delegation from MRCT to visitfacilities in Poland. Care centres were being set upafter that country had

tragically failed the needs of those orphaned anddiscarded. So many with learning difficulties and severe physical disabilities were found neglected, deprived of sensory stimulus. Michael’s presence transformed the visit as his vitality showed what was possible for those overlooked and considered incompetent with Down’s Syndrome there.

MRCT joined in the response to thatby setting up an activity programme and sensory room in an existing residential home, not a new centre and employing and training Polish care workers to run it. This initially helped ‘The 31 people behind the door’ but the ethos then

spread further to help

We made a video of that journey – ’31 People Behind the Door’ – revealing the disturbingsituation that was given a significant boost through our earlier work. You can watch it here. (QR)

Michael was also a core member of our Living Stones Drama Group. Heloved acting, relishing his role as the snooty Bishop in the parable of the Good Samaritan. You can see this here (QR) in another archive video which captures this extraordinary group in the 1990s.

Michael went on to become a founder member andregular attendee of Maybury Open Door He is remembered with great fondness by those who recall hiseffusive thankful speeches to guests who came to the centre – even though the content was very hard to discern. He was just ‘a very kind, happy man’.

We are proud to keep Michael’s name alive; honouring the joy that he brought to the world. He was the kind of person that easily gets overlooked. Yet so many were moved to tears when they met him, discovering something very precious through his immediacy and uninhibited empathy for them.

It is a comfort to picture Michael and Gary having a good catch-up in heaven, now that Michael has found hisvoice. Michael out of his wheelchair, talking effusively about those great years, and how The Maybury OpenDoor continues to bring to life their shared belief that everyone has something great to bring to this world. We all have a light to shine and share!

Thank You for a life beyond words, Michael Roberts. We celebrate you – at home now with the God you loved so much: fully free.

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Maybury Open Door is our drop in centre which operates 3 days a week in two church venues in the town.

returned after being confined to home, showed strongOur research throughout the year, when regulars indications of the part Maybury previously played in their lives. Regular attendees felt that the lockdown had affected their sleep patterns, concentration levels, fitness and confidence to socialise. These lost faculties bounced back over the weeks they returned to Maybury although for some the impact is slower than others. After a second disrupted year we would particularly like to thank our staff team and our regular volunteers for their dedication and flexibility. This project more than any other has needed to respond to the changes in ournational life, and their constant concern for our regular attendees has been outstanding.

aybury supports a wide range of adults including the elderly, people with a disability M or learning difficulties, homeless, isolated people and others who just need to venture out and meet new friends.

In a year dominated by Covid restrictions Maybury slowly got back to some of the old routines. We could open for longer hours, operating not just as support groups, but as a drop-in again. Christmas Parties were held at Harefield Church and St Paul’s with guest singers and a communal meal - just before the new variant arrived and closed us down again for January.

Towards the end of March facemask regulations could be regular games and pastimes could return, and thoughslackened and visitors could circulate more. All the life in general had been harder, with attendees unable to talk face-to-face with Doctors, Psychiatrists or others in aposition to help them, the Maybury team provided a place to feel safe and belong.

Similarly the funders who helped us create extra resources: The All Churches Trust, Harlow Health CentresTrust and partner churches at Harefield and St Paul’s have been wonderful.

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Special thanks...

Our thanks go again to the amazing staff and volunteers do without the club. who have made Maybury such a special place for old friends and new, every week.

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2021-22 saw our food projects work closer

n the year previous to this, we saw an unprecedented hiatus with the complete lockdown at the arrival of ICovid. This year saw some let up in the first few months, until winter when numbers at the Foodbank slowly rose again.The activity in our Store House was very different from the previous year. We were inundated in 20/21, yet in21/22 donations to us decreased but the demand increased.

Unlike the previous year when we were able to help outmany other charities around the town, we had to stay focused on maintaining our stocks to ensure that the Foodbank honoured its commitment to voucher holders. We supplemented this with an increasing amount of fresh food from the Bounty Club, so that recipients received the standard package plus a choice of fresh fruit andvegetables - thanks to Brakes and Bidfood who continue dates left on them.to give us the pick of fresh items with around a week’s

those in need, despite the restrictions.special appeal and used their ingenuity to gather food for By Christmas the message was getting through that we were regularly having to buy food to support the dwindling levels of stock in the Store House, and our appeals in the town’s supermarkets received great support at what turned out to be a highly demanding Christmas period.

Our voucher count at the end of the year was around 83% on the previous (thankfully fewer needed our support) although it has subsequently risen to the same level inthe 22/23 financial year as we report.

gave their time over the year to gently persuade theirWe want to thank our volunteers (young and old) who shoppers to remember their neighbours at that time. Our ongoing thanks to Tesco and ASDA for welcoming us into their stores, and more than anything, the people of Harlow who have dug deep in support of their neighbours.

schools and businesses: where fewer attendees and restrictions on handling items led to lower giving at Harvest. We were grateful to many who responded to our

What does 182 tonnes of food look like? Here is our Storehouse. When full it willhold around 40 tonnes on 110 palettes stacked to 4 foot high. We are emptying it around once every 3 months.

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How many times do people use the foodbank in a year?

his is a question we are often asked. Some think that Tpeople become dependent on us—getting food fromus and spending the equivalent money on the ‘wrong kind of things’. Others think we will refuse to give any morefood after they have been three times.

Our philosophy is that we are here to make sure that peoplecan remain resilient and feel supported in times of crisis. Every food parcel is literally a gift from their neighbours, saying ‘we’re on your side’. Our job is to pass that on in the spirit it was given...

On the left here is our analysis of number of vouchers given per client: broadly similar to previous years. As you can see, for most people the number of times they visit is one. Some (a tiny percentage) come over ten times , though seldom in a row… usually because they have hit hardtimes more than once in the year.

Foodbank food given out 2020—21 108 000 k , g

And for those who do numbers… the average is 2.16 times.

7,045 individuals fed via 3,620 packages

83% of food given in the previousexceptional year

74,000 kg fresh food to the Foodbank, Harlowschools & charities

2,932 children getting 4 days’ food portions

From fresh, to fridge, to Foodbank

Our ability to extend the work of the Bounty Club got a boostthis year with a grant from the Sainsbury Foundation for a new industrial fridge, followed by two smaller recycled ones from Phoenix Resources.

Alongside our refrigerated pick-up van we can now keep temperatures low throughout, storing fresh meat as well as fruit and veg. This has helped us extend our fresh foodoffering into a new kind of Bounty Club in 22/23 operating for non-Foodbank families who can pay a £2.50 weekly membership for a large bag of food.

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What an amazing year unfolded!

ast year we reported on our preparatory work to launch a facility to support families L by collecting and redistributing essential items for children: newborn to five years of age. After our first appeal for items to redistribute we quickly filled the area in the Store House assigned for the project. The public were unceasingly generous with items, and it was clear that we needed more space as requests for support started coming in.

	Most requested items: Clothes 200 Nappies 171 Toiletries 90 Formula 65 Buggy/pushchair 44 Cot 37 Shoes 25 Bedding 24 Bouncychairs 22 Highchair 21 Moses basket 15 Blankets 13 Stairgate 12 Feedingbotles 12 Steriliser 10 Changingmats 9 Toys 6 Changingbags 6 Slings/ carriers 5 Bath 4 Playmat 2 Bed 1 Bunk bed 1 Walker 1 Chest of drawers 1 Babymonitor 1 Bibs 1 Grand Total 799

To our great delight HCT, Harlow's environmental service company who hadhelped us to store overflow food during Covid, agreed that we could operate from a large area in their premises. All items were shipped down to there and sorted to be packaged up by our volunteers.

200 referrals. These came from a number of agencies and professionals around the town as well as some self-referrals: either people who had found our servicethrough the grapevine, or been given information on how to get support when they attended the Foodbank. Figures have since stabilised at around 50-60 referrals a month: three times our initial forecast.

The most common items that we are asked for are clothes, nappies and other small items—but as the table here indicates, by June this year we have given out a huge variety of items in hundreds of bundles All of these items have been donated to us by members of the public, often from well outside Harlow, wanting to help other families.

Some of these items are surprisingly large, and can be a complete game-changer we dropped off a cot and other items to afor families. An example would be the day man who was separating from his wife and moving into a permitted development in the town. We learned that unless he had that equipment his baby would not have been able to come and visit him. But now we had helped keep the family together. What started as a physical item became a child knowing their two parents…

Bump To Five launched in September 2021 supported by HTS

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The Trussell Trust exists to end hunger, not run Foodbanks: what's the difference?

upported by Trussell Trust we have embarked on a 3 year project to ‘Change Minds' about the need Sfor Foodbanks.

You may think this means we want to get more food out to people. Of course, if they need it we do. But we would prefer people to not be going hungry.

We want to end hunger. If that means helping feed people, as a last resort we will.

So the Changing Minds project has begun its 3 yearplan by simply collecting the stories of people coming

to the Foodbank. “What has led to you coming here today”, our researcher Emma asked hundreds of people.

Around 70 sat down with her and told their stories in you a flavour of common threads. The stories aredetail. We can’t tell you who they are, but we can give painful if you have the heart to put yourself in their shoes.

In that sense, we hope people will begin to wonder how a rich country like ours can tolerate leaving people so vulnerable?

“At 56, I’ve gone from working, having a home, having a wife, everything, to being here at the foodbank. It feels very shameful.”

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“ I make some clothes and I love cooking. I stretch everything I get as far as I can. I’m hoping to sew some Christmas bits and sell them on Facebook, to help out, but at the minute I’ve added up my bills and I either pay my direct debits or my children have a Christmas. I’ve got£33 after they’re all paid. I don’t know what to do, really.

• When we were moved into our place in one of the permittedNow I’m here at the foodbank I feel like a zero. developments in Harlow we didn’t have anything – no

• furniture or kitchen utensils. I had to buy all new school uniform and a TV. I have no one to turn to. All my money is gone.

“Despite being terminally ill, even if I’ve been hungry, and even if I have to go out to work through it all, my children and my family will be fed and warm. The trip to the foodbank has saved us.” All my money is gone.

“When your circumstances change, like mine have, it greatly impacts all of your life, and leaves you with a bleak future. You lose friends because you lose the ability to socialise. Friends and family fall away.”

“ It’s £5.60 for a day ticket for all three of us to travel Travelling in Harlow is really expensive. to two different schools. The bus only comes once an hour. I seem to spend most of the day waiting for a bus.

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The chemo really had a big affect on my wellbeing – it has changed my personality and I find myself really realistic and stop cracking the whip. I want to be activeshort tempered. The government should be more and enjoy life but I feel that we are pointed towards things that will eventually lead us to feel bad. I’d like to do more to help people, because I think in life, that’s all we can do. I looked after my family members from the I have been a carer for 30+ years – age of 13. I worked all through covid but last May it all became too much and I had to stop. I’d been working for seven days a week, juggling family commitments and it doctor signed me off for a while and then I just had towas all too much. I just couldn’t do it anymore. The leave. I’ve gone from £600-700 a week to £258/month on Universal Credit.

Next year these stories will be used to create a greater understanding of the predicaments of people who use ourFoodbanks, through creating materials for Schools, Churches and Businesses. We believe that many of the public have little insight into the reality of life for those who come to us, and commonly believe false myths that lead to blame or an absolution of our collective responsibility to care for each other.

Would you prefer to be in a country that had no need of Foodbanks?

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Costs going up, benefits losing pace, things don't look good... ast year we printed this graph of the relationship Lbetween levels of benefits and the cost of living. It shows how the levels of benefit support have continued to drop in real terms, year on year, leaving dependents in an increasingly fragile position. As our Changing Minds stories show, they are vulnerable todestitution should life deal them any unexpected knocks. As a charity we don’t take a party-political stance, but recognise that numbers like these representcollective decisions made at government level, well beyond our control.

But this uplift didn't happen. In March the increase for April was set at worrying 3.1%. We contacted our MP Robert Halfon who kindly wrote to the Secretary ofState responsible for benefits to express our concern and forwarded us back his reply: the benefit level rise is customarily benchmarked at the level of inflation in the previous September, which was 3.1%. Yet that waswhen the inflation level had been kept artificially low by state intervention in the economy during Covid. Other factors compounded the situation in the town such as the removal of price caps on house rentals causing rent levels to rise for many. The war in Ukrainehas compounded this, leaving us in financially perilous territory. We hardly need to mention ‘the cost of living crisis’ on this page as it is everywhere on our TV screens right now.

We are members of the Harlow Poverty Alliance, a broad network of voluntary and statutory agencies working in Harlow. We meet monthly to discuss how we can help reduce local poverty and support thoseaffected by it.

It is currently chaired by our CEO, and the Alliance felta strong concern for those in the town as the financial year drew to a close. Why? Predictions of inflation rising by 10% started to be benefits were already floundering after the £20 a weekbroadcast. We were aware that our neighbours on uplift during COVID was removed. If people were struggling then, what would happen if inflation added benefits? They would clearly need a 10% uplift just to10% to the living costs of those dependant on standstill.

Looking at the coming year

The current trend for the Foodbank in 2022/23 indicates that 9-10,000 visitors will come in this year. This is 20% more than last year's 7,000. But alongside this we expect to distribute a further 15,000 low cost food bags to around 2,000 families at the Bounty Club, stopping them from slipping into crisis. This pattern of inflation racing ahead of incomes will affect us all. At times like this we often say ‘we are all in this together’ but those nearest the breadline are ’in it’ more than others and we willcontinue to work for them. However, there are only a few options that can be considered at this point:

• Improving incomes

• Reducing expenditure• Providing a safety net for those made destitute

• Collaborating with others to ensure that support is there for people trying to withstand the many secondary impacts of poverty such as metal health issues.

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What are we doing in response to this?

Advocacy to decision makers for those in poverty

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School Uniform
Exchange
Bump to Five
In-house financial
caseworker at
Harlow Foodbank
Reducing
expenditure
The Bounty
Club
Participation in
Levelling Up agenda In-house financial
Supporting those caseworker
in poverty
Harlow Foodbank
Support against Maybury
Safety nets against impacts of poverty Open Door
destitution
Bump to Five
Harlow Harlow
Poverty Signposting and Community Hub
Alliance wider partnerships
Active Essex School Communtity
Holiday Clubs Embrace Pantry
Improving
incomes
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• Come and join the conversations led by the Harlow Poverty Alliance—seeking grass roots ideas along withwider collaborations across the region.

How might you help?

• Consider how you / your institution, business, organisation might play your part to support those most affected at this time

• Pray for / cheer on the Harlow Poverty Alliance -helping all agencies to share their information, work together, innovate and destigmatise poverty. The sooner people access help and address any mounting problem, the better.

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MRCT is committed to working in partnerships. From the Foodbank which works alongside hundreds of voucher writers from agencies around the town, to one-off projects, we want to create the best outcomes for people in and around the town by working with all those with similar concern and hope.

Heart 4 Harlow

This is the joint churches’ movement in the town. There are many affiliate to this community who come together to pray andaround 45 churches in Harlow and neighbouring villages, and collaborate on projects that help different groups in the area. Heart 4 Harlow members have been wonderfully supportive of MRCT over the years, we really treasure this.

This past year we supported the Heart 4 Harlow Awards: held inthe Playhouse in April. These celebrated the great contribution of individuals and organisations to the social fabric of the town: from sports clubs to Chaplains, recognising the unique gifts that got us through the time of Covid. For more information on Heart 4 Harlow please see www.heart4harlow.org.uk

The Harlow Community Hub

This was the name for the Council-run emergency support service set up at the start of Covid. When the pandemic began todecline we were aware of its great benefit. Many were affected when the Job Centre were told they could no longer write Foodbank vouchers. Where could people turn? Thankfully Rainbow Services gathered a coalition of agencies and received support from Harlow Council to continue to promote a wide range of support, advice and signposting services to our constituents: from Foodbank vouchers to Mental Rainbow Services |Citizens Advice Harlow | Harlow Health to fuel vouchers and beyond. Core partners are: Volunteer Centre | MIND in West Essex | ISS | MRCT

Harlow Poverty Alliance

Our CEO is Chair of this group which commenced during Covid and has since grown to incorporate most groups across the town who address issues related to poverty: currently 25 in total. The Alliance launched an inaugural conference in June ‘22 bringingmore people together in support of those affected by poverty. Although not in the year we report on here – this event attracted a large audience and amassed widespread support, consolidating much that we had done over the previous year. A report from itis available in the news section of our web site.

The Trussell Trust

increased exponentially over the past few years. This has brought enormous benefits to our work, informing us of wider trends as well as directly funding projects to extend our impact, such as the Changing Minds Project and more recently in 2022 giving us the funding to host a Finance Caseworker in the Foodbank.Everyone attending the Foodbank will now be given the option to have direct support in assessing their financial situation: from correct levels of income and benefits to debt and budgeting advice. This is a fantastic boost to our work!

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Andy David Margaret

Patrick Adrian Marc

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Trevor Clair Suzie
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Karolina Michael Liz

Moira Fernanda Emma

Head Office

Andy Thornton– Chief Executive Officer, Company Secretary David Evans – Director of Community Services Margaret O’Donovan – Director of Operations

Harlow Foodbank

Patrick Coppeard – General Manager, Harlow Foodbank Adrian Smith – Assistant Manager (Bank), St Paul’s Satellite Marc Edmans – MRCT Logistics & Operational Assistant

Bounty Club

Trevor Stanesby – Bounty Club Coordinator

Maybury Open Door

Clair Forway – Community Worker Suzie Raraty – Community Worker Karolina Sadowska – Community Worker Michael Raven – Assistant Community Worker Liz Bellworthy – Community Worker - Bank Worker Moira Luff – Community Worker - Bank Worker

Bump-to-Five

Fernanda Champness —Bump to Five Project Manager

Changing Minds

Emma Batrick — Research and Campaigns – Changing Minds

MRCT Trustees

Jeanette Ehlers (Chair) Pat Balkwill Gary Pattimore David Norkett Teresa Knott (Co-Founder and Trustee) Matt Parsons

Honorary

Robert Carrington – Honorary Treasurer

MRCT has ten times more volunteers than staff. It is impossible to stress how much our achievements depend on their hard work and good will—thanks so much to every one!

Our volunteers help with all the projects that you have read about, and we are always looking for more.

From sorting food or baby’s items to picking up, working at Maybury, helping with a Supermarket day for a few hours every 6 months to being involved in a project or campaign group, there are so many ways to help us help others! Check out the volunteers page on our web site for full details of how, where and when you might get involved!

www.mrct.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer-3/

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MRCT’s work is a tremendous feat of collaboration from so many people who bring their goodwill to help people across the town. We are thankful to all those listed here (and we hope we haven’t forgotten any!) for playing their part in supporting Harlow and the surrounding areas with us in the past year.

The Bounty Club operates a refrigerated van picking up three days a week from food wholesalers in order to get fresh food to individuals and organisations who support communities in need. This also enables us to give fresh food to recipients at our Foodbank. Picking up this food also avoids thousands of Kgs of fresh food going to landfills every year, redirecting it to those who otherwise could not afford it.

Bidfood provide a wide variety of surplus, short dated, soft drinks and fresh food for us to redistribute across the town. Through doing this they help schools, disadvantaged people and local agencies.

Brakes provide a wide range of surplus, short dated fresh food and meat, allowing us to access their stock and choose what we can distribute to partners, schools, individuals and the food bank.

Harlow Foodbank stops people going hungry by acting as a resource for frontline professionals who are supporting those in crisis across the town. Over 200 professionals and organisations can write vouchers which authorise their clients to pick up enough food for at least four days. Individuals can also ask the food bank for help, and they will always be helped and at the same time referred to a supportive agency to address the causes of their lack of money for food.

St. Paul’s Church in the town centre hosts our food bank for four days a week. We could not operate without their fantastic support for us and for the people of Harlow. They are true allies and show constant flexibility and cooperation in our mission. Thanks so much! The Salvation Army in Harlow are our second wonderful delivery partner. They operate the Foodbank on Wednesdays (until Christmas 2021 a day when Saint Paul’s church was not open) deploying their team member Lorraine Evans and resources as true partners in our mission to support those in need. We are so grateful to them! UK Salads have provided an assortment of fresh salad items each week which we can then distribute to clients at the food bank. their consistent support has helped thousands this year. High Trees Packers’ consistent generosity has enabled us to provide a supply of fresh potatoes through the food bank year on year. This is a hugely valuable resource to people in need.

Greenways Eggs continue to provide our food bank in Harlow town centre with a supply of fresh eggs each week which helps to complement the range of non-perishable food we give to all our food bank referrals. Thanks again to Jenny Fish for her great support. Special thanks again to Tesco who have not only allowed us to pick up a huge amount of food from all the supermarkets around the town but they also top up the amount given by donors in the store with a further 20% of financial contribution to help with our running costs. They, and their customers have been phenomenal this year. Thanks too to Sainsbury's for faithfully providing a place for their customers to contribute donations of food to our food bank, day in and day out. Thanks for keeping them safe when they overflowed many times this year! Many thanks to Asda and their fab Community Champion Gemma in the Water Gardens for such warm cooperation in providing a basket for donations from their customers. Again, this year these overflowed and fresh ones were provided when full. Lok’n’Store have supported our work since we opened in 2009 come up currently providing a drop off point for food donations throughout the year. This has been a consistent and fantastic resource, thanks so much! Poundland have been an invaluable community partner since 2017. Providing a wide range of non-perishable foods, toiletries, household items, sweets and drinks, these add important extras to local people in crisis.

SES Group provided a hugely generous party for Harlow children who might not have had a present last Christmas. We acted as a go-between with local agencies who knew who they might be, and the staff team at SAS group went chose, bought, wrapped and gave out presents (and more) at a special event which also supported recently arrived Afghan refugees.

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Land Sherriff’s bought beautiful Body Shop cosmetic gifts for mum's (often the most overlooked) who came to the Foodbank – a very thoughtful treat… they also lend us their big vans for special occasions and come to volunteer in our Store House! Thanks Tyler, Vanda and team.

Thanks to iRead books for donating thousands of childrens, puzzle and colouring in books as bonus items for the FoodBank and also to other agencies we partner with across the town.

Maybury Open Door operates their drop in in two centres across the town. We thank our hosts St Paul’s and Harefield Churches who so warmly and committedly work with us to provide this enduring safe space for attendees.

Based on the edge of town, the store house hosts our offices as well as a copious two-storey storage space for food and other items that are donated to us.

We cannot thank our partners, Lawsons builders, enough for sponsoring our vans, for renovating our store house by installing office spaces for the whole organisation, and this year by donating 72 steel girders that now underpin the 1st floor making it strong enough for the kind of quantities of food we are now storing and redistributing. Lawson’s have given us a free van and forklift and service the forklift for us. This family-run business exemplify generosity and social responsibility and have inconspicuously changed so many lives in our town.

We are deeply grateful to Harlow Council and also to the Mulberry Trust for underpinning the costs of running the Store House.

We would like to thank Bristol Street Motors who diligently support us by offering free services and cost price repairs to our fleet of 3 vans. They keep us on the road!

Bump to Five takes in essential items for children, new-born to five years old, and sorts them into bundles of requested items, dispatching them to families who need them. These are mostly referred to us by caring agencies and professionals around the time, and some ae self-referred from the Foodbank.

HTS continue to support us by lending us storage space for the Bump to Five project. This is a perfect space nearer the town centre so that stored items stay warm and dry, as do the volunteers who work so hard there.

The Michael Roberts Charitable Trust is the parent organisation that runs the projects operated above. Founded in 1997 by Teresa and Gary Knott, the Trust has flexibility to respond to a wide range of needs in Harlow and the surrounding areas.

We would like to thank the Trussell Trust, our associates in running the food bank. The Trussell trust runs a national network of food banks offering guidance through regional staff, materials, partnerships, data management, additional grants, networking, statistical analysis, national campaigning advice and solidarity.

We want to thank our colleagues at the Bishop Stortford food bank for our ongoing close working partnership. This allows us both to get the best out of working in neighbouring towns, sharing ideas and resources to the full.

We would like to thank all organisations in Harlow who partner with us by referring those in need to the food bank. These partnerships go much deeper than writing vouchers: we are in constant touch with frontline staff who advise us on the best way to respond and collaborate in addressing the needs of those facing poverty in Harlow.

In particular we would like to thank Rainbow Services, Harlow’s central support charity for the other charities and agencies in the town. We thank them for their leadership in the voluntary sector, in the Community Hub and the consistently warm-hearted support they give when we need a friend!

15

All Churches Hope Beyond Fund (funding support) Laing Family Trust (Maybury Open Funder) ASDA (food collection point) Land Sherriff’s (Christmas gifts for mums) Bidfood, Harlow (surplus fresh food supplies) Lawsons (Whetstone) Ltd (vehicle and equipment donations, Bishop’s Stortford Foodbank (foodbank partner) office rebuild) Brakes, Harlow (surplus fresh food supplies) LoknStore (foodbank delivery point) Bristol Street Motors (van servicing and repair) Masonic Charitable Foundation (Foodbank donation) Burnt Mill Academy (student supermarket collections) Mayfield Farm Bakery (bread and rolls donations) CAF Resilience Fund (funding support) Mulberry Trust, Harlow (significant funding support) Church and School partners (general and harvest food donations) Phoenix Resources Harlow (free use of town centre premises) Church Langley Church (funding partner)) Poundland Distribution Centre Harlow (food, toiletry and Church of Holy innocents, High Beach (funding partner) household donations) Create Identitee (MRCT clothing) Rainbow Services (community partner) Customers at Mecca Bingo Harlow (Christmas Foodbank Robert Halfon MP Donations) Rodect Pest Control (pest control partner) Essex Alliance of Local Councils (funding support) Rotary Club of Harlow Tye (funding support) Essex Community Foundation (funding support) Sainsbury’s, Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford (foodbank collection Free Cakes for Kids (celebration cakes for foodbank client’s point) children) Sainsbury’s at Neighbourly (Foodbank Fridge) Freshwaters Church (funding partner) Salvation Army, Harlow (foodbank satellite centre on Front-Line Professional Agencies (community partners) Wednesdays) Gateway Freedom Church (funding partner) Santander (foodbank delivery point) Greenways Eggs (egg donations) SES Group (Christmas gifts for children) Halifax (foodbank delivery point and cash collection boxes) St Paul’s Church, Harlow (discounted use of building) Harefield Church, Harlow (free use of building) Stansted Airport (London) (food, toiletry and gift donations) Harlow Autos Ltd (Foodbank van revamp) Stuart & Kathryn Tinney, Housham Hall Farm (landlords) Harlow Council (Store House funding support) Tesco, Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford (foodbank collection point Harlow Health Centres Trust (funding support) and cash top-up) Heart4Harlow (community partner) The Rent Guarantee Company (Christmas Donations) High Beach Church, Epping Forest (regular funding partner) Trussell Trust Foodbank Network (foodbank partner) High Trees Packers (potato donations) UK Salads (salad donations) HTS Group, Harlow (storage space and waste disposal) Waitrose, Bishop’s Stortford (foodbank collection point)

Michael Roberts Charitable Trust

Store House, Unit 8, Housham Hall Farm, Harlow Road, Matching Tye, Harlow CM17 0PB Tel: [phone] Email: [e-mail]

www.mrct.org.uk Registered Charity No: 1065006 Registered Company No: 3439299

REGISTERED NUMBER: 03439299 (EnglAnd & W*lu) CHARITY NUMBER.. 111651106 ortoft e Trustees and UDaudlt d F" clal Statem ts or the Year Ended arch 2022 lehael t8 Charitable ru Imlted b Guarantee

The Miehael Roberts Charitable T￿&t Limlted b Guarantee ontent& of the Flnancial Statements eAr ended 31Jt March 2022 Pa8¢ Charity Infom￿tiOn Report of the Trnstees Statement of Finoncial Activities Balance Sheet Thiste¢ Ststement Noles to the Financial Sthtements Income and Expenditure Account Annual Review Statement 10

The Michael Roberts Charltable Tr Limited b Cuarantee Chari rm*twn ear ended ]1￿ March 2022 TRUSTEES: J Ehlers [ch￿"t of Trystees) P Ba]kwill TAKnott D C Norkett G Pattiinore M Parsons {appointed 241h November 2021) NB.. Trustees are &lso Directors of the Company REGISTERED OFFICE: Unli 8 Housham Hall F&mi Harlow Road Matching Tye Harlow CM17 OPB RECISTERED COMPANY IYUMBER.. 3439299 (England And Wal¢B) ACCOUNTANTS: Pigram & Co 43 Blueb¢ll Drive Stansted Esscx CM24 8XP REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1065006 BANK: Barclays Bank PIC 14 The Water Gardens Centre H&rlow Essex CM20 1 AN Page I

The Michael Roberts Charitgble Trust imited b Guarantee ort of the Trustees For the ear ended I" March 2022 The Trustees. who are 8190 Directors of the Charity for the purpose of the Companies Act 2006. preseni their reprt iogeiher with the financial statement5 of the Coinpany for the yoar ending 315¢ March 2022. PIUNCIPAL ACTIVITY The principal a¢tlVlty of the Company in the year under r¢view was ih&t of a Christian Chatity, working in the community with a wide range of people. including people with a learning I phy8ic81 disAbility, people vulnerable and I or isolated through homeles￿esS or being vuln¢Tably housed and people in crisis with emergency food. The Comparty also worked with local fresh food ¢ompanies assisting them to r¢duce th¢ir surplus food by picking it up and redistributing it into the lo¢al community to front-line piofes5ional care agencies. The governin￿ document is the Memorandum ond ArtiLl¢s of Asso¢ia¢ion of the CoMp￿y. All Trustees offer themselves for eleclion at the forthcomin¥ Annual G¢neral Me¢¢ing. Thi$ r¢porl ha$ been prep￿¢￿ in accordonce with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relatin8 to small ¢ompanie$. ON BEHALF OF THF BOARD . Andr¢w Thornton Dated.. Page 2

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The Michael Roberts CharltA Lfimited b GuArantee eTrll Balance Sheet As at 31" March 2022 31. Msreh 2022 31" M•rch 2021 Notes FIXED ASSETS Flxtureg & FltdMgJ Cost Less." Depreciation 6.242 6,242 20 26 Motor vehlclel Bounty Club Van C05t Foodbank Van Cost L¢5s'. Depr¢¢iation 13,500 13,431 26.931 13,5(KJ 13,431 20 26 CURRENT ASSEVS Debtors- rent deposit Debtois- Gift Aid Cgsh at bank and in hand 3,750 1,408 21U 858 3,750 716 242259 CVRRENT LIABILITIES 216,016 246,725 Amounts fallin8 due within one year ]YET CURRKNT ASSETS 214 312 235 087 NET ASSETS 214 235 IJ3 UND UNRESTRICTED FUNDS Gener21 114,208 137,011 RESTRICTED FUNDS F¢)odbank Storehouse Upkeep 8torchou% RentlUtilit1¢5 Bump to 5 Bounty Cliib Redundancy Re5erv¢ Maybury Open Dijor Changing Minds 61.229 62.470 5,776 1.574 1,621 10 1,723 26,554 26,554 10,720 214 235 113 This page fornis part of these financial statements Page 4

Tbe Mlchael Roberts Charitable Trust LiJnAted b Gu4rantee Tr tees St* For the ea ement ende 31" M4reb 2022 The charity 18 enti¢led to exemption from audit under sectio￿ 477 of the Conipani¢s Act 2006 for the year ended 31# March 2022. The meinbers have noi requir¢d the Company to obiain an audit of its financial staiemenis for the year ¢nded 31 March 2022 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilitl¢8 for.. (al ensuring that the c.ompany keeps accounting records which comply with Sections 386 and 387 of th¢ Comppnies Act 2006 dnd Ib) preparing financial gtatements which give a tNe and fair view of the state of affairb of the Company a8 at the end of each financial yepr and of its profit or 1085 for each fJnan¢ial y¢ar in accordanc¢ with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which oth¢rwise comply with the requirements of the Companie8 Act 2006 relating to fu￿ncial st8Lements. 80 far as applicable to th¢ Company. Th¢$¢ financial statements have been prepared in Ac¢ordance with the special provision8 of Part 15 of the Companies Aet 2006 r¢latin¥ to Small ¢ompat]i¢¥. The financial ststements were approved by the Trustees on 6th July were signed on their b¢half by.. ette EtLl¢rs This page fonns part of these financial stat¢ments Page 5

The Mlchael Roberts Charit8ble Trust Limlted b Guarantee Note$ to tbe Flnanelxl Statements for the ear ended 31" March 2022 STATUTORY INFORMATIO The Michael Roberts Charitable Trusi is a private company, limited by guarante¢. registered in England and Wales. The company'8 registered number and regisier¢d addr¢&8 can be found on the Charity 1t1forn￿t10n page. ACCOUNTING POLICIES B•sls of preparlng the flnAnclal sttemeDts These financial statements have been prepared in accordance wtth the provisions of Section IA "Small Entities" of Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK And Republic of Ireland" and the Companies Act 2006. The financial ststement8 hE4V¢ been prepared under the historical ¢08t convention. Turnovtr Turnover represents donaiioD8 and gift5, as analysed in the Statement of Fin4n¢ial A¢tivitiei, Measur￿ at the fair value of the COD8ideration received or reeeivable. excluding discounts, rebates, value added tax and other $ales taxes. T4nglble tlxed asJ¢ti Depreciation 18 provid￿ at the following annual rates in order to write off each 988¢t over its e8timated ustfvl life. Fixtures and fittings Computer equipment Motor v¢hicle$ 25/0 on reducing balance 25D/c on reducillg balanc¢ 33. 30/0 on cost Txatlon The Company 15 a registered charity as defined by the CharititB Act 1960 and as such no taxation ha8 been provided for in these A¢count$. Hlre pur¢h*se leaslng ¢ommltm¢ntJ Renials paid under opcraiing lease8 arc charged to profi¢ or10&8 on a str&i¥ht-line basis over the period of the lease. EMPLOYEES AND DIRECTORS Thc av¢r8ge number of cmployees during the year was 6. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS es Com Flttl Vehl lej COST: At I" April 2021 Additions At 31rt Mareh 2022 TtstAI 6,242 26,931 615 33,788 6,242 26,931 615 33,788 DEPRECIA TION: At I, April 2021 Charge for Year At 31. March 2022 6,216 26,931 615 33,762 6.222 26,931 615 33,768 ET BOOK VALUE At 31" March 2022 20 20 At31°March2021 26 26 This page forn)$ part of th¢s¢ financial statem¢nts Page 6

he Mlehael Roberts Chgrltable Tr Limlted b Gu3raDtee Note5 for the o the Financll Statements ear ended 31. March 2022 DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLINC DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 314t Mrch 22 31° M¥trch 21 T&x recoverable Rent dqx)sit 1.408 716 3.750 4.466 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 311¢ Mlrch 22 3111 M4rcb 21 Other ¢r¢ditor8 and accr￿&18 Garfield Weston Grant 1,704 1.638 1.704 RESTRICTED FUNDS A full description of th¢ regtricted funds is contAin¢d in the Repod of the Trustees. Financial dethil$ are contained in the Statemen¢ of Financi41 Activities on PAge 3. HARLOW FOODBANK HArlow Fo(Idbank received non-p¢rishable food donaiiong iotalling 103.566 K8. During the year 108,309 Kg of non-perishabl¢ food was distribul¢d to people in crisis and froni.line profe85ional ag¢ncies and at the Bo]an¢e Sheei ￿te 18.593 Kg of non-perishable food was helll for disiribution in 2022123. BOUNTY CLUB The Bounty Club received and distribulcd 74,170 Kg (Trf fresh cl)illed surplus food to front-lin¢ prof¢ssional agencies, or8anisatir)n5. foodbank clicnts and charities in Harlow during thc financial y¢or. BUMP TO FIV Comtnencing durin8 this financiAI year our lat¢st project redistributes dontttcd itcms to families with children from new-born to five yeats old. In the last six months of the year wc had thousands of items donated lo build up a stock for the coming year, and items ranging from nappies and food to clothes. buggies, cots and coi bcds support¢d w¢ help¢d 142 families on low incorn¢. around 6(P/o of which were referrcd from agencies and 40Q/o self-ref¢rred. Thi5 page fornv part of these financial statements Page 7

Mleh4el Roberts Charitable Trust Limited b Gu#rantrt In mean endi re Atcoun¢ for tbe eir e dcd 31" Mgrcb 2022 31" Marth 2022 Not 31" March 2021 Ineome VOLUNTARY SOURCES General Donations Maybury Op¢n D(K)r Harlow Foodbat)k Bump to 5 Harlow Foodbank Storehouse Upkeep Harlow Foodbank Storehouse Utilities Bounly Club Changing Mind8 42.869 27,938 115.061 2,195 2,800 26,500 612 50.448 22,157 164.893 10 9.000 26.5(KJ GROSS PROFIT 233.975 276.998 Otbcr Income Bonk Interest 90 325 90 325 TOTAL INCOME AIYD ENDOWNMENTS 234,065 277a23 Expengei DIRECT CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE Salary 149,684 114,998 COMMUNITY 8F.RVICES PROJECTS Maybury Op¢n DcM)r Harlow FoodbAnk Bump to 5 Chgnging Minds Stor¢hou8e- n¢w equiptn¢nt. rcnewals. Tefurbishm¢nt 2,557 13.405 7.012 5,280 10.822 10 206,091 129,044 PROFITI(LOSS) CARRIED FORWARD 27,974 148,279 This page does not forni part of these financial statements Page 8

The Mlehael Roberts Limited b Guarant harltable Trust come and Ex ndlt re ceount for the ear ended 31, Mareh 2022 31" March 2022 31. March 2021 Brought fonvard 27,974 148279 OTHER EXPENDITURE Rent Telephone & Int¢rnet Printing, Po$ta8e & St&tionery Motoring Costs Trainin Accounlan¢y Donations Publicity & Income Generation InsurAnce & Professional Bink Char8eB Travelling 22.225 4.386 2,405 7,989 1,570 690 1,150 2.566 4.593 22.517 2.398 1.942 3,742 663 060 1,500 2.333 5,118 101 364 48.749 41,338 (20,775) 106,941 D¢predAtlon Fixtures & Fittings Motor Vehicles NET SURPLUSI(DEFICIT) 106 933 This page does not forni part of thcse financial statements Page 9

The Mich&el Roberts Ch Limited b Guarantee table Trust Annual Review Stateme￿t The attached A¢counts for the year ended 31° March 2022 hav¢ been prepared from infom)ation. words and explanations supplied and in accordance with CU￿ent 8uidelines. No issues worthy of beiDg reported to th¢ Treasur¢r have arisen during the ye￿. l am satisfied that the deficit of Incoine over Expenditure of £20,781 repr¢s¢nts th¢ charity'8 a¢tivities for the p¢riod and that the carried foTward monetary ba]ances a8r¢¢ with th¢ bank and building soci¢ty accounts of the chority. Signed.. Dale.. Pigram & Co 43 Blueb¢ll Drive Stans¢¢d Essex CM24 8XP This pag¢ does not fonn part of the statutory financial statemenL8 Page 10

The Michael Roberts Charitable Trnst Limited b Guarantee Anjiual Review SiaiemeNt The attached Accounis for the year ended 31° March 2022 have been prepared from infomiation. records and explanations supplied and in accordance with eurrent guidelines. No issues wonhy of being reported to the Treasurer have arisen during the year. l am saiisfied ihai ihe deficit of Income over EX￿ndlIUre of £20.781 represents the charity's activities for the period and that th¢ carried foNard moneiar) balances agree with the bank and building society accounts of the charity. Signed-. Dale= &.Co 4) Blucbell Drive Stan%ted CM24 SXP This page does noi fom) pan of ihe sthiuiory financial sthtements Page 10

I CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts SÈction A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the tmsleesl members of On accounts for the year ended Charity no (if any) SI- n4orf Sgz Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the ccounls of the above Responsibilities and basis of report As the charitys trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance the requiremenls of Ihe Charities Act 2011 ("the Ad'l. I report in respect of my examination of the Tnjsl's accounts carried out under sedion 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying Out my examination. I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515}(bl of the Ad. Independent examiner's statement I have COrnFleted my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection wth the examinalion {other than that disclosed below ') v4hich gives me cause to believe that in. any material respect.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance wtth section 130 of the Charities Act.. or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records., or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities {Accounls and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accourrts give a 'lrue and fair. view which is nol a mattèr considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in Ihis ￿port in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Pleas elete the words in the brackets rfthey do not apply. Signed: Date: Name: Relevanl professional quallflcatSon(s) or body <ccA IER Oct 2018

lif any}: Address: 12 Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs lo highlight material mallers of concern (see CC32. Independent examinats'on of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examinersl- Give here brief detai15 of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018