2024-03-31-accounts

Ending hunger together From hardship to hope

Annual report and accounts 2023–2024

Trussell is the operating name of The Trussell Trust, a registered charity in England & Wales (1110522) and Scotland (SC044246). Registered Limited Company in England & Wales (5434524).

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Our vision

Our values

Our vision is for a UK without the need for food banks.

Our mission

We exist so everyone in the UK can be free from hunger. We work together to ensure no one needs a food bank to survive. Until that happens, we provide emergency food and practical support for people left without enough money to live on.

They aren’t just feeding people – they’re lifting people up.

Compassion

We stand in solidarity with people that need the help of food banks. We put the wellbeing of people served by food banks above everything else.

Community

We believe we share the responsibility to support one another in our communities. To create change, we must work together for the kind of society we want to live in.

Justice

We are motivated by a desire to see a more just society. It’s not right that anyone is facing hunger and poverty. Everyone should have enough income to afford the essentials.

Dignity

We recognise the innate value of each individual person and seek to prioritise the other person’s needs and concerns in the spirit of mutuality and friendship – regardless of background.

John , who needed support from his local food bank

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Overview
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4 Overview

7 Welcome – from the Chair of the Board, and the Chief Executive

9 Key moments from 2023–2024

12 Responding to record levels of need

16 Supporting food banks through grants

19 Strategic report

20 Our strategic priorities

22 Changing Communities

32 Changing Minds

44 Changing Policy

56 Together with people with lived experience

58 Together with our volunteers

60 Together with churches

62 Together, strengthening our commitment to EDI

64 Together with supporters

70 Looking forward to 2024–2025

73 Financial review

75 Financial performance and position

78 Principal risks and uncertainties and our approach to risk management

80 Environmental, social responsibility and governance

87 Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

89 Independent auditor’s report

94 Financial statements

Overview Strategic report

Independent auditor’s report

Financial statements ~ a Ending hunger together: From hardship to hope a. 4

L LN Overview ———a

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Who we are

We are an anti-poverty charity and community of food banks.

We work together to ensure no one in the UK needs a food bank to survive, while providing emergency food and practical support for people left without enough money to live on.

We are in 1,400 food bank locations, supported by 36,000 volunteers, 12,000 churches, hundreds of thousands of community groups and schools, and millions of people around the UK.

Together, we are Trussell.

This annual report and accounts relates to the work of Trussell as a UK-wide charity, rather than food banks within the Trussell community which are independent organisations.

At 31 March 2024, there were 423 food bank charities in the Trussell community, operating in more than 1,400 locations across the UK.

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What we do

We need urgent action on hunger in the UK. People are being pushed to the brink because they don’t have enough money to live on. This can’t go on.

We refuse to stand by while so many of us can’t afford to eat, keep warm and pay the bills. Not so long ago, food banks were not needed to the extent they are today.

That’s why we work locally and across the UK for a more just and compassionate society where no one needs a food bank to survive. We’re determined to make this a reality.

Until this happens, we provide emergency food and practical support to people in their hardest moments. And work with our partners and local communities to ensure everyone gets the right help long before they need to use a food bank.

We know food banks are not a long-term solution, because hunger is not a food problem. It’s an income problem. We bring together experiences, evidence and solutions from food banks – and from people who’ve needed them – to build a compelling case for change.

We will not stop until everybody has enough money for the essentials, and the distribution of emergency food can end for good.

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Foreword from our Chair

On behalf of the Trussell Board, welcome to our annual report and accounts for 2023-2024 –

another extraordinary year for our community of food banks. As you will see as you read on, food banks gave out a record number of emergency food parcels as people across the UK continued to face financial hardship. But you will also see the incredible work that has been done to push for change and maintain hope.

Since joining Trussell as Chair in the summer of 2024, I have been struck by how the word ‘together’ sums up the approach that we are taking to end the need for food banks in the UK.

The Trussell staff team have given me a very warm welcome. I am inspired by all the work that they have done over the year – the care that they show to food banks – and the way in which they bring our values to life in every interaction they have.

People with lived experience of financial hardship stand together at the heart of the Trussell community – increasingly informing us, challenging us and leading us in all aspects of our work. We are so grateful for the generosity with which they share their experiences and their passion for change.

We are working hand in hand with our community of food banks to ensure people get the support they need in the here and now. At the same time, we ‘think-forward’ to tackle the issues that we know make people need emergency food.

Trussell works together with a wide and growing range of partners. We owe a debt of gratitude to everyone involved – including church and faith groups who advocate alongside us, sector partners who collaborate with us on calls for policy and practice

change, and those who through funding and supporting our work enable us to deliver our mission.

As we look ahead, it is clear that food banks face more challenges with the number of people needing their support remaining at record levels. We will continue to work together across the Trussell community, and with our partners, to move from hardship to hope and ensure that food banks are no longer needed in the UK.

Finally, I want to extend my personal thanks to Emma, the Senior Leadership Group, and the Board for the leadership and commitment they have shown over the year, helping Trussell and our community of food banks to navigate what continues to be a challenging context.

A special thanks goes to Stephen Hicks, who stepped down after his second term as Chair in 2024; his unwavering commitment to Trussell provided a solid foundation to steward Trussell forward. Thank you.

Natalie Campbell MBE Chair of the Board of Trustees

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Foreword from our Chief Executive Officer

Welcome to our Annual Report and Accounts for 2023–2024 – a year in which the Trussell community of food banks provided more than 3.1 million emergency food parcels to people facing hardship across the UK.

This is the most parcels we have ever distributed – and it has been a very tough year for both food banks and the people who rely on them. Yet, despite the ongoing hardship, we hold onto hope.

Food banks are incredible in their resolve, resilience and compassion. We have been humbled to again stand alongside them in the face of this record level of need. The grants we are able to provide, the expertise and support of our dedicated area teams, and the partnerships that we are able to build together have again shown the strength of the Trussell community.

Our vision of an end to the need for food banks is deeply held across the whole Trussell community. Alongside providing an immediate lifeline for people in their communities, food banks have taken extraordinary steps towards the longer-term change that is needed. I am so proud of the work that we have done together. This has included the ongoing roll-out of local advice services, ensuring that people on the lowest incomes can get support on money matters and are less likely to need a food bank in future. And our Pathfinder programme continues to provide funding, training, insight, and peer connection opportunities – enabling food banks to develop localised strategies to reach our vision.

Our Guarantee our Essentials campaign, run in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, continued to gain momentum

over the year – and we are seeing increasing recognition of the need to make our social security system fit for purpose. I am particularly proud of the way in which the personal experiences of people who have faced financial hardship are being foregrounded in this work.

It is thanks to the dedication of food banks, the tirelessness of their staff and volunteers, the commitment of churches, the generosity of our supporters, and the strength of our partnerships that we have been able to maintain a focus on hope in the midst of the hardship that has been seen this past year.

The expertise of our staff team, and the guidance of our Board of Trustees, has been as crucial as ever. On a personal level, I’d like to express my enormous gratitude to our outgoing Chair of Trustees Stephen Hicks – and my delight of the recognition of his contribution through a CBE – and the Trussell Board, while giving a warm welcome to our incoming Chair, Natalie Campbell.

Times will continue to be tough, but this report outlines what we believe are signs of hope in ending the need for food banks – as we stand together as the Trussell community and alongside all of you who support our vision.

Emma Revie

Chief Executive Officer

P.S. You may have noticed that we look a bit different this year – but our mission remains the same, and we’re more determined than ever to end hunger together. Our refreshed brand was co-designed with people with lived experience of hardship and food banks working on the frontline, to help ensure it was built with and for the people we aim to serve. It helps to remove barriers for people accessing support, while galvanising more people to help end hunger together. You can read more about our refreshed brand on our website.

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Key moments from 2023-2024

Across the year we have continued to see clear and shocking evidence of the extent of financial hardship across local communities, and also seen the hope that springs as we move towards our vision and as we stand together with our wide and growing range of partners to press for the changes that are needed.

April 2023

Our end of year statistics for 2022-2023 show a concerning 36% year-on-year increase in the number of emergency food parcels distributed through our community of food banks.

As part of the Guarantee our

Essentials campaign , an interactive billboard featuring a giant receipt roll is unveiled at Finsbury Park tube station – highlighting the mismatch between the cost of essentials and Universal Credit’s basic rate .

May

More than 600 food bank staff and volunteers attend our rolling roadshows across the UK – sharing ideas, learning from one another, and collaborating on solutions that can end the need for food banks.

June

We launch the findings of our Hunger in the UK research , examining the scale and drivers of hunger. Media coverage includes Newsnight and Good Morning Britain.

Recruitment of food banks to the fifth cohort of our Organising Programme begins , adding to the one in seven food banks that have already been supported to campaign for change on the issues that matter most in their local communities.

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August

At Greenbelt, we host a venue called The Living Room. 2,000 festival attendees hear people with lived experience of hardship, Trussell staff and volunteers speak about our vision.

Our Step Up to the Challenge event, where participants walk, wheel, run or swim for 30 minutes every day for a month, runs throughout 2023 – raising a total of £125,727 .

September

We hold a major mobilisation moment around Guarantee our Essentials, with food banks taking to the streets in 100 locations across the UK to engage local communities with the campaign – hosting street stalls, sharing flyers, and having conversations with passers-by.

Our new research that reveals the devastating consequences of the inadequacy of Universal Credit , as millions of families across the country struggle to make ends meet.

Our programme to enable food banks to deliver support on money matters in local communities helps people facing financial hardship to access over £30m in financial gains since April alone.

October

We launch our winter appeal

to raise vital funds and support. Our community of food banks is facing the busiest winter in its history, with forecasts of needing to distribute one parcel every eight seconds .

A new study commissioned by Trussell provides insight into the overrepresentation of disabled people referred to food banks and outlines a range of evidencebased policy solutions.

November

The need for emergency food parcels continues to rise, as midyear statistics show 1.5 million have been provided by our food banks from April to September 2023.

Devizes and District Foodbank – a member of our Organising Programme – helps win national policy change , ensuring people living full-time on houseboats can access the energy bill support promised to ‘all households’ in the UK. ae

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December

Southwark Cathedral is the

venue for Voices of Hope – an evening of carols raising funds and awareness of our work. Hosted by Ghosts actress Charlotte Ritchie, the event features stories shared by food banks and people with lived experience of hardship.

Tesco’s Winter Food

Collection offers vital support to food banks at the toughest time of year, generating an additional 1.5 million meals alongside customer donations.

Creator Universe, a collective of

30 TikTok stars , hit the charts with their charity cover of Wizzard’s classic 1973 hit I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday , released in aid of Trussell.

January 2024

Celebrities including Ed Sheeran , Jodie Whittaker, Stephen Fry, Nish Kumar, Delia Smith, Liam Gallagher and the actor Brian Cox sign an open letter demanding politicians address the UK’s growing levels of poverty by committing to an Essentials Guarantee.

Our House of Commons event

brings MPs together with food bank staff and volunteers, people with experience of hardship, and our charity and business sector partners – exploring what pushes people to food banks, and how to end hunger for good .

February

On the anniversary of the Guarantee our Essentials campaign, we head to Parliament to hand in our petition with a massive 150,661 signatures backing the call for UK political leaders to make sure Universal Credit protects people from going without.

Our new partnership with the

BanktheFood charity app makes it easier for people who want to donate food to see which items are needed by local food banks.

Our online awareness campaign Who Needs Food Banks builds empathy with people who need emergency food support, highlighting the reasons people turn to food banks.

March

Our campaigning prior to the 2024 spring budget pays off as the Chancellor of the Exchequer extends investment in England’s Household Support Fund beyond its planned closure.

Our Help through Hardship helpline , run in partnership with Citizens Advice and Mind, identifies a total of £100m in financial gains for people facing financial hardship since its launch in 2020.

Representatives from almost 50 charities running food banks belonging to our Pathfinder programme – which develops localised strategies supporting our shared vision – attend our third Pathfinder Gathering .

Annual data shows our community of food banks distributed over 3.1 million emergency food parcels to people facing hardship in the previous 12 months – the highest number ever.

Overview

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Responding to record levels of need

During 2023–2024, our community of food banks faced the greatest levels of need to date

Food banks in the Trussell community achieved a grim record last year, giving out 3.1 million parcels across the UK. That’s the most parcels ever distributed in a single year, and nearly double the number (an increase of 94%) compared to five years ago.

The impact of the cost of living crisis continued to be felt in food banks across the UK, giving no respite to the staff and volunteers working tirelessly to support people facing financial hardship.

More than 1.1 million of these parcels were provided for children, with half a million families being supported during 2023–2024.

Number of emergency food parcels distributed by food banks in the Trussell community in recent years

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3,121,404
2,997,589
First year of the
2,578,919
Covid-19 pandemic
1,977,308
1,909,360
1,853,954
2,183,061
1,606,810 1,583,227
1,185,211 1,143,635 1,144,096
1,021,091 995,692 1,347,397 Total parcels provided
Parcels for adults
724,149
585,719 Parcels for children
835,664
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3.1M

emergency food parcels provided

2x

the number of parcels provided five years ago

1.1M

emergency food parcels provided for children

655,000 people forced to turn to food banks for the first time

FY 2018/19 FY 2019/20 FY 2020/21 FY 2021/22 FY 2022/23 FY 2023/24

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Overview Strategic report Independent auditor’s report Financial statements
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Over a five-year period, we have seen a 57% increase in the number of families supported, and a 69% increase in the number of children supported by food banks in the Trussell community.

The significant increases in need over the last few years are linked to the soaring cost of living and the fact that people’s incomes – especially from social security – have failed to keep up with these costs. Inflation started at 8.7% in April 2023, and remained above 4% for much of the year. High levels of inflation over the last few years meant that food prices were 24% higher in March 2024 than March 2022.

The scale of need is however part of a longer-term trend that predates the cost of living crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. While these events both had a major impact on levels of need seen at food banks across the Trussell community, they are not the main cause. The fact is that our weakened social security system is simply ill-equipped to protect people from the most severe forms of hardship.

Increasing levels of local need were mirrored in calls fielded centrally by Trussell. Our enquiries team offers guidance and support to members of the public, on all aspects of our work. During 2023-2024, the team saw an increase in the number of calls from people seeking food, or other support, such as financial or fuel related. These calls also became increasingly challenging, with people often very distressed or facing more difficult circumstances than in previous years.

We’re busier now than we were during Covid. The food donations coming in have dropped by about 21%, and the food going out has increased by about 19% to 20%. A challenge for us is trying to manage that gap. That’s where we were before Christmas. We were getting really concerned about stock levels.

Ken Scott

Project Manager, Bangor NI Foodbank

Number of emergency food parcels given by food banks in the Trussell community in April 2023-March 2024

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UK breakdown
Scotland
262,479
Northern Ireland
90,375
North East
150,560
Yorkshire &
North West Humberside
355,830 231,539
East Midlands
Wales 166,474
187,458 West
Midlands
269,743
East
349,935
London
South West
454,750
254,974
South East
347,287
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Food banks stepping up year after year

Our community of food banks continued to respond in an extraordinary way to the growing levels of need.

Many food banks have faced the twin challenges of decreasing donations of food – as people who would normally give food generously have faced their own pressures – and higher prices when purchasing their own stock. Over the year we saw even more food banks having to purchase food, and the total amount of stock that was purchased rather than donated jumped from 13% to 21%. Across the Trussell community, more resource went into food and fundraising drives, particularly to get through the winter period of peak need.

We never had to buy food until the last two winters. The stats that we have are quite frightening because we hardly used to have to buy anything – we used to get enough from the drop boxes, collection points and donations, and they’ve just tailed off really. The amount of people we’re feeding has gone up, and the donations have probably gone down – which can make the difference feel quite stark.

Mhairi Ross

Service Development Manager, Wigtownshire Foodbank

As well as facing challenges around sourcing stock, food banks continued to contend with the need to support people facing particularly distressing circumstances and source extra warehouse space to meet the increased need in their communities.

As voluntary services in local communities – many of whose help we rely on to support our work – saw ongoing strain, our referral partners also faced enormous pressure. Food banks in the Trussell community partner with a wide range of local agencies and care professionals, such as doctors, teachers, health visitors and social workers. These referral partners – almost 30,000 across the UK – support people in crisis and, where appropriate, provide vouchers to access emergency food. We are hugely grateful for their ongoing support.

We also know that food banks outside the Trussell community have seen large rises in need and have worked incredibly hard to support the people that rely on them.

Across the Independent Food Aid Network we have seen independent food banks become increasingly stretched by growing levels of need. Similar to Trussell food banks, they are seeing more and more people being pushed to their doors because they haven’t got enough money to afford food and other essentials. Independent food bank teams do their utmost to support people in need, and have risen to incredible challenges over recent years including trying to manage with depleted resources, but they know they cannot possibly provide a long term solution.

Sabine Goodwin

Director, Independent Food Aid Network

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Our winter support programme

Winter is always a particularly busy period for our food banks as people whose finances are already severely stressed face higher energy bills and other essential costs. Recognising that this could be even worse than usual due to ongoing cost of living pressures, we worked with our community of food banks to understand the support we could best provide.

The intensive support package that we responded with included:

• Launching our winter appeal highlighting that food banks were stretched to breaking point, and enabling us to increase the supply of food and funding to food banks.

• Creating community food-raising packs to help food banks inspire local people to donate food.

• Supporting our community of food banks with forecasting and scenario planning tools to understand anticipated local need, and the implications of this on their operating context.

• Partnering with BanktheFood , Standing together through a free app that enables users hardship – towards hope

• to connect with local food banks and see which items are most Staff and volunteers in food banks urgently needed.

Staff and volunteers in food banks have continued to negotiate and adapt to the challenges that they have faced over the last few years in a remarkable way. With resilience, strength and compassion, they continue to support people in need in communities across the UK, providing a warm, dignified and welcoming space. We are proud of the work that we have done together throughout 2023–2024. Together, we are able to hold on to the hope that things will change for those experiencing devastating financial hardship.

Winter necessitates us buying even more stock to fill the gaps in donations and fulfil the ever-increasing number of referrals. In order that we can continue to help our local community, we need additional funds and appreciate the wide range of support on offer from Trussell.

Jacob Forman Epping Forest Foodbank Director

Overview

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Supporting food banks through grants

We support our community of food banks with a range of grants to help them deliver timely, compassionate support to people facing hardship – and to work towards our shared vision of ending hunger. During 2023–2024, we awarded grants worth almost £24 million.

Food banks are best placed to understand the specific needs and circumstances of their local communities, so our grants

programme empowers them to invest in delivering immediate support to people facing hardship in their local area, as well as longer-term activities that will work towards our shared vision. This includes improving their facilities, commissioning skilled advisers to support people using

Cumulative grant spend since 2017/18 (£m)

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85.3
90
80
70 61.3
60
50 40.6
40
30
20 12.6
8.4
3.6
10
0
0
2017/8 2018/9 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24
Total grants to food banks
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food banks, developing strategic plans, providing training for their volunteers, and much more.

In many cases, our grants provide guaranteed funding over a multiyear period. This gives food banks the stability and confidence to set up and maintain longer-term projects.

Since launching our grants programme in 2018, we have awarded a total of £85 million in grants to the food banks in the Trussell community.

Emergency support

As the impact of the cost of living crisis continued to affect communities across the UK, it was clear that additional support was needed for food banks that were seeing increasing levels of need, while facing their own rising operational costs. As part of our emergency winter support package, we offered rapid turnaround grants to our food bank community to immediately bolster

their services and combat increased pressures. Over £3 million was awarded to food banks through this rapid support programme.

These grants were used for a range of priorities, including purchasing food to meet the increased need, providing hot water bottles and blankets for people who could not afford to heat their homes, and meeting the increased running costs of food banks. The need for this emergency support extended beyond the winter, with grants continuing to be available.

Yolene Ganga, Operations Manager at Rainham Foodbank, described their emergency grant as a ‘lifeline’ following a £10,000 increase in rent and growing levels of need in the local community: “It has taken the stress off us for this period of time… it has given us a buffer and a space to focus on supporting people referred to us, rather than being stuck in the office trying to find funding and donations.”

Financial statements

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Our strategic grant programmes

Alongside our emergency support offer, in 2023–2024 we continued to offer a wide range of grants to our community of food banks, with a total of 1,487 grants being awarded.

Local advice and support

Local campaigns

We awarded over £8 million in grants to food banks to enable them to provide local advice and support on money matters for people facing hardship. It is estimated by Policy in Practice that the total amount of unclaimed income-related benefits and social tariffs is £23 billion a year. Our grants to food banks enable them to provide services that connect people on the lowest incomes with high quality, free advice and support, to unlock grants and money that they may be eligible for – so that they are less likely to need a food bank in future.

By the end of 2023–2024, around 75% of food banks were able to offer high-quality financial inclusion advice – up from 65% the previous year, and 28% in 2020–2021. More on the success of our financial inclusion advice services can be found on page 27.

Once again, we boosted the funding for food banks to develop their work around organising, where people are supported to come together in local communities, empowered to use their voice, and able to campaign for the changes around poverty and food bank use that most matter to them. £2.8 million was awarded in this area, received by around one in 10 of the charities running food banks in the Trussell community – reflecting the ongoing scaling up of our work in this area alongside an increasing appetite among food banks to develop and deliver influencing strategies. You can read more about the impact of our support for food banks in this area on page 33.

£8M+

awarded in grants to food banks to enable them to provide local advice and support on money matters

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Learning how to reduce local need

We awarded £4.4 million in this area, with grants going to the one in eight charities running food banks in the Trussell community that are taking part in our Pathfinder programme. This has enabled them to continue to explore and test new ways of working that will help to reduce the need for food banks locally. For more on how our Pathfinder programme has helped implement strategies at a local level, please see page 25.

Tailored support across our grant streams

For all our grant streams, Trussell provides additional, tailored support on the areas that they cover.

This includes:

• supporting food banks to develop specific skills to deliver their grant-funded activity

• helping to set up and deliver new services or initiatives, such as access to advice on money matters or influencing for change on local issues contributing to the need for food banks

• sharing learning about how grants are being used and the impact this is having.

By investing in support for food banks alongside the grants we provide, we help to ensure that the funding has the best possible impact and that learnings are shared across the Trussell community.

Summary of our grant-making policy in 2023-2024

Trussell only awards food bank grants to the governing charities of food banks that are part of the Trussell community. Grants are awarded towards the costs of food bank activity, or associated activities designed to alleviate or reduce poverty among people referred to food banks. Awards are determined by awarding panels, comprising suitably skilled and experienced members of Trussell staff.

Grant-funded activity is monitored by our area managers and specialist colleagues (such as financial inclusion managers), as part of their relationship with food banks; written reports are normally required and are a condition of a grant award.

The exception to the above is top-up grants received from Tesco and Asda. After the deduction of a small percentage for Trussell core costs, this money is distributed to food banks in proportion to the weight of food donated by the public to each food bank at Tesco and Asda stores. Emergency grants also don’t require formal reporting due to their nature and the desire not to put additional pressure on these food banks.

Overview

. Strategic

Strategic report

Independent auditor’s report

Financial statements

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Overview

Our strategic priorities

We are working to end the need for food banks in three key ways:

1. Changing Communities

2. Changing Minds

3. Changing Policy

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Lasting change happens when wider society thinks and acts differently about an issue, so we’re building understanding and empathy about the drivers of food bank use and calling on people to take action.

Government decisions can have a huge impact on people facing hunger and poverty. We use evidence gathered through our community of food banks to drive policy change that will make sure we’re helping shape a future where no one needs to use a food bank.

Strategic report

Independent auditor’s report

Financial statements

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Our impact across the year of food banks offered

£2.8m

in funding was £2.8m awarded for food banks to bring communities together and campaign for change – with around a quarter of food banks delivering more than 400 local influencing activities.

65,000+ people were supported, unlocking grants and money, or managing unaffordable debt .

50+ famous faces from sport, social media, TV, film and music – including Ed Sheeran, Nish Kumar and Jodie Whittaker – have supported our awareness-raising campaigns.

of food banks offered 75% financial inclusion advice, enabling people facing hardship to access money they’re eligible for – so they are less likely to need a food bank in future.

Examples of our impact across our strategic priorities during 2023-2024

Our goal: People seeking support from our community of food banks are able to readily access advice and support on money matters.

Our goal: Mobilising people to take action – to help end the need for food banks.

99%

of MPs across the House of 99% Commons received at least one email about the Essentials Guarantee from our food banks and supporters. During 2023-2024, we reached 644 of 650 MPs.

people received high quality 1,958 helpline advice in Northern Ireland, with a further 1,800 people supported via Pathways to Advice and Cash Scotland .

Our goal: Increasing public awareness of the problem of destitution and its structural causes.

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249,000

people followed 249,000 our social media channels, with our content being viewed over 229 million times .

people Our goal: People can access 43,627 in England other services such as debt and Wales were given high quality advice via the Help advice or mental health support, through Hardship helpline . and support directly from referral partners or statutory agencies.

79%

79% of the UK public agree that food banks should not be needed, while 78% of the public now think that hunger in the UK can be ended .

Our goal: Boosting public demand for long-term solutions to hunger in the UK.

of food 87% bank vouchers were issued electronically – enabling us to gather data on referrals , and better understand why people need food banks.

Our goal: Gathering evidence across food banks, to inform our anti-poverty recommendations.

of the public now support 87% our call for an Essentials Guarantee to be embedded in the social security system, ensuring everyone has enough money to afford the essentials.

Our goal: A benefits system providing timely, sufficient financial support – to all households who need it.

Our goal: People with lived experience of facing hardship play an ongoing part in informing national and local policies.

132

40 people with lived experience are working closely with research teams to shape the scope and focus of our policy research project, Cost of Destitution , exploring the impacts of ‘deep poverty’.

organisations in 132 the anti-poverty and wider charity sector publicly endorsed our call for an Essentials Guarantee .

13 Peers and 34 MPs supported the Trussellbacked extension of the Household Support Fund – providing help with essentials like energy bills and food.

A cross-party Work and Pensions Committee report called for benefit levels based on people’s real living costs, citing our Essentials Guarantee. An All-Party Parliamentary Group on Poverty inquiry into social security also adopted our Essentials Guarantee as a key recommendation.

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Changing Communities

Supporting food banks to actively reduce the need for emergency food in their communities.

This means that people can get the advice and support they need so that they are less likely to need to turn to a food bank in the future.

Widespread hunger isn’t just about food; it’s about not having enough income to afford the essentials. While accessing emergency food is vital for people, the majority of food banks now offer additional services, with the support of skilled staff and volunteers, expert advisers from other agencies, or through partnerships with other organisations.

At its core, the Changing Communities theme of our strategy seeks to empower food banks to tackle the underlying drivers that push people to need emergency food, and work towards ending the need for food banks at a community level.

We work with food banks in the following ways:

1 2 3 Developing and Providing access to implementing local advice and support plans of action on money matters

Providing access to Transforming advice and support volunteering on money matters

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1 Developing and implementing local plans of action

In 2023–2024, we continued to work alongside food banks to support them to develop and deliver their plans to reduce the need for their services locally, within the overall framework of our shared Together for Change strategy. Our own expert area teams provide dedicated support to Food banks in the Trussell community in every part of the UK. This is done on a one-to-one basis as well

as through regular regional forums and our national gatherings. Over the year additional focused support was provided in several key areas.

Governance and risk support

Throughout the year, we supported food banks to strengthen their governance arrangements, providing strong foundations for delivering their day-to-day operations and their strategic activity. Alongside continuation of our core governance offer, we focused additional support on empowering Chairs of Trustees to lead and govern their boards and food banks in line with best practice.

Our specialist governance partners Trust Advice continued to provide one-to-one bespoke support to food banks, with 287 people attending monthly training webinars. We launched a new partnership with the Association of Chairs, with one in five of the charities running food banks taking up the offer of a year’s free membership to support them in fostering strong trustee teams and providing effective leadership. We also hosted our first ever Trussell-wide Treasurer and Chair forum, with 66 food bank trustees joining us to discuss financial sustainability.

We received dedicated and professional level support and guidance from our area managers and Trust Advice to help successfully identify any areas for improvement in our processes. With close guidance from Trussell, we were not only able to equip ourselves in the event of any issues being raised but also identified a number of development opportunities for the food bank and the charity trustees.

Alan Wylie Project Manager, Cumbernauld Foodbank

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Wellbeing for food bank teams

As greater public need increased pressure on food banks, it was more important than ever to support the mental health and wellbeing of staff, volunteers, and people accessing their services. In 2023–2024, we ran an Employee Assistance Programme for food bank staff and volunteers, providing telephone and inperson health support via BHSF Rise.

Wellbeing training was also provided, with a total of 896 learning places being taken up, and further workshops now scheduled. The workshops covered themes such as communicating with vulnerable people, managing suicidal conversations and deescalation. The response has been hugely positive; examples of feedback include:

Strengthening systems and data

Together with food banks, we are strengthening our shared systems and building our data.

Over the past year, we have:

• Seen a further increase in the number of parcel vouchers being issued electronically, now standing at 87% of all those issued – freeing up time in our food banks and for referral partners, and providing faster support to people in need

• developed data packs and practical support so our food banks can better understand their local contexts and use and interpret their data effectively

• created a modelling tool to help food banks forecast levels of need and prepare for winter

• worked closely with food banks to redevelop their food bank websites, and our own website, to ensure that the technology we are using is up to date, accessible, and makes it as easy as possible for people to access the right support in times of crisis. These are being rolled out from autumn 2024.

…really helpful course… I feel much better prepared to have challenging conversations.

I feel more empowered to be able to listen better and support vulnerable clients .

Workshop participants

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Our Pathfinder programme

Through the Pathfinder programme, we are supporting more than 50 charities running food banks as they develop localised strategies aligned with our shared vision to end the need for food banks.

Together, we are learning and gathering evidence about ‘what works’ and how to best support food banks to deliver strategic change in their communities.

Over the past year we have given £4.4m in grant funding, and alongside this have provided intensive support and training, facilitated peer connection and gathered rich learning and insights.

Areas of focus

Following development of their strategies locally, Pathfinder food banks have creatively implemented targeted initiatives within their communities aimed at reducing the need for their services. Activities over the last year include:

• Strengthening the local referral pathway , with all Pathfinder food banks seeking to boost the local system of support through engagement with local partners – so that people experiencing hardship can access appropriate support at the earliest opportunity, and only attend the food bank as a last resort.

• Boosting the support available to people at risk of needing to use a food bank , with many food banks on the programme running community hub style projects that bring a range of services together to help people connect with appropriate support.

• Enhancing the support offered at the food bank , so that people referred to the food bank will not need to be referred again – as they have sufficient income to afford to buy food and other essentials. This included nearly all food banks on the programme providing financial inclusion support.

• Engaging and co-designing with people with lived experience , with almost every food bank on the programme carrying out some form of activity involving people with lived experience of hardship. Some food banks now have an employed role leading participation work, and some have developed lived experience advisory groups.

• Building consensus and action towards our vision within food banks , with partners, and with the community. Many food banks are playing an active role in advocating for our shared vision in local anti-poverty and third sector forums. A large proportion of food banks on the programme are focusing on activity related to changing policy, and almost half are part of our Organising Programme.

Working together to join up essential advice

Norwich Foodbank now has six different partners providing face-to-face support across its 11 distribution centres. “It’s

trying to address the issue of people having to return to the food bank because they’re not getting the right support and advice in a timely manner,” says Project Manager, Hannah.

Having partners available to provide face-to-face support in food bank centres has made a huge difference. “People have said, ‘I probably wouldn’t have asked for help for that issue, had it not been for you being there’,” she adds. “We’ve had great feedback saying, ‘because of you I’ve now got more money’, or ‘because of you, I’m no longer homeless’.”

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Working together to make the case

Wandsworth Foodbank has worked hard to deepen collaborative relationships with partners across the community – gathering key leaders of other local charities to discuss a Cost of Living Commission Report published by the local Council, and creating a joint response with recommendations and asks. The collaborative approach has empowered the local voluntary sector, enabling local partners to advocate collectively for change.

“We are keen to be here not just to provide emergency food but also to do all we can to end hardship and the need for food banks, including through influencing local policies” , says Dan Frith, Wandsworth Foodbank manager. Reflecting on the success of work they have done with local partners on the Council’s local welfare assistance scheme, Dan says this vital scheme is now “more visible, accessible and generous. It is now one of the most generous across London and we are seeing the difference it is making to people who need it most.”

Building insight and sharing what works

Learning from Pathfinder food banks is being collated and shared across the programme, as well as with the wider Trussell community and our partners. Key steps taken during the past year have included undertaking reviews with each Pathfinder, running quarterly learning labs, and developing our plans for sharing learning across our food bank community and externally through 2024/25 and beyond.

In March, food banks on our Pathfinder programme gathered for three days to share their progress and learnings (right)

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2 Providing access to advice and support on money matters

We know that hunger cannot simply be addressed by an emergency food parcel. While it provides support for the immediate situation someone is facing, it doesn’t address the fact that the person simply doesn’t have enough income to afford the essentials. Through our financial inclusion work, we ensure people on the lowest incomes can get advice and support, so they are less likely to need a food bank in future.

Local services providing advice and support

We support food banks to develop, commission and deliver local advice and support on money matters at their centres. These services, which are mostly

delivered by working with local expert advice providers, unlock grants and money that people are eligible for, help them to manage unaffordable debt, and connect them to other community services to help with issues like mental health and housing.

2023–2024 saw a continued expansion of these services, supported by our grant funding of more than £8.5 million to the Trussell community of food banks. By the end of the year, with our support, around three in every four food banks were offering access to high-quality financial inclusion advice – up from 65% the previous year, and 28% in 2020–2021.

During 2023-2024, through local partnerships:

65,000+ 1,700 people were supported across the UK

people had a total of £12.5 million of debt written off – a 183% increase since 2022-2023

£66.5M

1/3

of financial gains were either expected or confirmed – up from £25 million in 2022-2023

of people for whom an income gain has been identified may no longer need to use a food bank – according to the judgement of expert advisers

£1,719

was the average financial gain per person among people whose income we helped to increase – up from £1,430 in 2022-2023, and £787 in 2021-2022

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From hardship to hope: Sam’s story

Sam came to a food bank after a lifechanging experience. Formerly healthy, in work and financially independent, Sam was suddenly incapacitated due to an undiagnosed underlying condition. Sam was no longer able to work and had to apply for Universal Credit to try to make ends meet for themselves and their child. This was extremely challenging as Sam needed to travel long distances to access medical treatment.

The food bank advice service supported Sam to apply for and secure Adult Disability Payment, increasing their household income by almost £500 per month. The adviser also supported Sam to get a disabled person’s bus pass – a huge relief as the travel costs had been very difficult to manage. Due to the wider support the food bank offered in addition to the emergency food parcel, Sam now no longer needs to use the food bank and has been able to meet essential day-to-day costs.

Help through Hardship helpline

We continue to collaborate with national advice partners, to connect people with joinedup advice. A major example of this is our Help through Hardship helpline. Launched in 2020 and run in partnership with Citizens Advice and Mind, it provides a growing number of people in England and Wales with free advice and support to help address the underlying causes of their hardship. For those with a mental health need, a referral to Mind’s Infoline is available. The helpline can also provide callers with a food bank voucher, if required.

During 2023–2024:

135,713

calls were handled by helpline advisers, unlocking over £40 million of income for people facing hardship – a year-on-year increase of £6 million

65,000+

food bank vouchers were issued via the helpline, representing more than 133,000 people being able to access emergency food

Thank you very much for all the assistance you’ve given. You helped me in full not only with the access to the food bank service which I had called regarding but also with things I had not even contemplated.

Helpline caller

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We have worked with advice partners to make sure that similar support is available across the UK – so people facing hardship in Northern Ireland can access income maximisation, debt advice, and other services through our partnership with Advice NI. Through this partnership, the helpline has been able to help 1,958 people in Northern Ireland, resulting in over £1.1 million in identified financial gains.

We are also delivering a learning project called Pathways to Advice and Cash Scotland, working in six

areas over two years. The project helps people with no money for food to access emergency income (such as the Scottish Welfare Crisis Fund) as well as providing advice. Around 1,800 people have been supported, and £482,000 of income gains have been achieved.

Further pilots include Help through Hardship Local, an innovative joint project between Trussell, Citizens Advice and Mind, to help facilitate local partnerships and support people experiencing financial hardship and mental health challenges.

Putting people with lived experience first

We continue to work with people lived experience of financial hardship to shape our financial inclusion work. Insights, perspectives and recommendations from two panels have shaped the development of the helpline and other projects. One panel is made up of Help through Hardship advisers with their own lived experience of

hardship, and another – hosted by Mind – is made up of people with lived experience of financial hardship and of mental health problems. A suite of practical resources also supports food banks in taking a person-centred approach in designing and delivering financial inclusion services. This is one of the many ways in which we collaborate with people with lived experience of financial hardship. You can read more about this on page 56.

Partnering with Trussell on the Help through Hardship helpline has seen hundreds of thousands of people in England and Wales get advice and support to address the underlying causes of their financial hardship since 2020. Every day our advisers hear from people who are pushed to the brink because they can’t afford the essentials. Citizens Advice is proud to stand with Trussell to deliver vital support and we also know that by addressing the underlying causes of the hardship, together we can reduce the need for food bank support.

Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive, Citizens Advice

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Transforming volunteering

The generosity and commitment of the 36,000 volunteers across the Trussell community remains a constant source of inspiration to us. Each person gives their time, expertise and compassion to support people in their local area – and we simply could not deliver emergency food, offer further support, or campaign to end the need for food banks without them.

Volunteer and trustee development grant

We offer grants to fund activities that develop volunteers and trustees as part of a commitment to excellence in volunteer management, and in working towards a food bank’s strategic goals. This may include hiring a new volunteer coordinator or manager, recruiting specialist volunteers

that can drive food banks forward, or investing in training for volunteers and/or trustees. Over the year we provided around £400,000 in grant funding. Most food banks have used their grant to improve training, resources, equipment or information to support volunteers carry out their roles.

Through this grants programme, we have also enabled the recruitment of volunteer managers into food banks, which has been shown to release the capacity of food bank leaders, build capacity across the food bank team, and provide greater resilience amongst the volunteer base – as well as strengthening volunteer wellbeing and confidence.

We recruited a volunteer and training coordinator and were able to offer 30 hours thanks to this grant and match funding from other sources to ensure this is a permanent position… This has freed up our operational manager and food bank manager to utilise their time in more strategic planning of the food bank.

Bruce Harrison

Operational Manager, Leicester South Foodbank

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Building capacity in food banks

Specialist volunteers can help to build resilience and agility in food bank teams, facilitate strategic planning, boost diversity and strengthen governance – which is why we have prioritised supporting or encouraging the recruitment of specialist volunteers across food banks. The roles focus on areas including team wellbeing, making connections across the local community, social media and communications, or acting as a Board-level lead for strategic change.

In the South West of England alone, over 50 new specialist volunteers have been recruited into food banks with the support of Trussell’s volunteering team. We have tailored our support to encourage a creative approach to skills-based volunteering that increases scope and capacity, while ensuring food banks look to volunteering to make a significant contribution to achieving their vision.

Supporting volunteers’ wellbeing

Volunteers are on the frontline of service delivery, with all the pressure that brings – so supporting their wellbeing is vital. This year we expanded our learning programme with sessions delivered by Samaritans, in-person de-escalation training, and sessions focused on responding to difficult situations.

In June 2023, wellbeing was also a focus during Volunteers’ Week. Alongside public messages of support, we sent conversation cards to food banks, empowering volunteers to connect, engage and learn from each other. We’ve also continued to provide monthly prayers and reflections, offering a space for pause.

Making volunteering more accessible

As part of our commitment to break down barriers and increase accessibility to volunteering, during 2023-2024 we have taken steps including translating volunteering documents into Easy Read, creating resources for volunteers who use British Sign Language, and supporting food banks to better understand how well their volunteer make-up reflects their local community.

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Changing Minds

Building understanding and empathy to inspire action towards a future where we can all afford the essentials.

can build public will for the longerterm solutions that will end the need for food banks and mobilise more people to work alongside us to reach our vision.

To create lasting change, we know that society has to think and act differently about an issue. Our Changing Minds work focuses on helping to build understanding of – and empathy for – the reasons why people are struggling to afford the essentials and need to access emergency food. By growing this understanding and empathy, we

Working collaboratively with food banks and people with lived experience, we are building a movement for change.

We do this in the following ways:

1 2 3

Working with food banks to win hearts and minds locally

Tackling Building a movement misconceptions and for change building consensus

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1 Working with food banks to win hearts and minds locally

Food banks have unique local knowledge and links into their communities, as well as being authentic and powerful messengers to inspire change. Working in – and through – food banks is therefore an effective way to unlock the change needed for people facing hardship.

Recognising this, in 2021 we launched our Organising

Programme – supporting food banks to maximise their unique local position to engage with the wider community, identify local structural issues causing hardship, and campaign to change those issues.

As part of this community organising initiative, food banks can take up a package of grant funding, training, and ongoing support to give them the capacity, skills, and resources to identify local issues, develop influencing strategies, and campaign to make change happen. All of this helps to address the underlying drivers of food bank need.

By the end of March 2024, around 100 food bank charities – nearly one in four – were part of our Organising Programme, and we awarded £2.8 million in grant funding during the year. Food banks on the programme have now delivered around 400 organising and local influencing activities covering a range of themes, including:

• Financial support – examples include changing the eligibility criteria and information about council funds (like Local Welfare Assistance Schemes or Household Support Fund) to ensure they are accessible and inclusive.

• Council Tax – such as ending the use of bailiffs in the recovery of Council Tax debt, and ensuring the council intervenes upstream by adopting a personalised and tailored approach to any debt incurred.

• School costs – such as

• making sure that the costs of school uniforms and essential equipment that all pupils need is affordable for every family.

• Housing and homelessness – such as addressing poor kitchen facilities and conditions in temporary accommodation.

• Mental health – such as ensuring people who need mental health services are treated with compassion and can access support, and a range of services, in their local community.

It has been a real privilege to be able to support food banks to identify and develop leaders in their community, build collective power, empower people to use their voice, and bring people together to create change.

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Overview

Being part of the Organising Programme has really allowed us to explore new possibilities and give some framework locally to different modes of support and what that looks like. It gives us that space for people to become involved in more than just the delivery of support, but to effect change too.

Samir Karnik Hinks

Development manager for Feeding Liverpool, whose position is funded by Trussell’s Organising Programme

From hardship to hope: Devizes and District Foodbank

Alex is the local organiser of Devizes and District Foodbank. There is a significant boating community locally, and Alex helped to win a change in UK policy for boaters after a year-long campaign – working with a coalition of campaigners, including those with lived experience.

Looking at food bank data, Alex noticed that the food bank had begun to see an increase in the number of boaters needing to access food parcels in winter 2022 – when energy costs skyrocketed.

Following one-to-ones with boaters turning to the food bank for support, Alex recognised that they were excluded from the Government’s Energy Bill Support Scheme.

Alex spoke out, drawing media attention to the issue and meeting with the local MP at a marina, to show the impact of the lack of cost of living support on people who are living off grid, or part of the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) community. Afterwards, the MP wrote to the Government’s Energy Department, reinforcing campaigners’ calls for the Government to implement a new support scheme.

As a result, a scheme for some boaters was announced in August 2023, with £600 vouchers being distributed. Some boaters remain excluded, however, so the campaign continues.

Attendees at the Organising & Local Mobilisation Festival, Manchester, February 2024

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Tackling misconceptions and building consensus

The issues of poverty and food bank need are often surrounded by misconceptions or viewed within a broader negative narrative. Rarely are they spoken about in relation to the core drivers, or with hope and belief that things can change.

Building deeper understanding

Sharing compelling stories of people who are unable to afford the essentials increases public understanding, boosts empathy, and drives lasting change. We want people with lived experience to feel confident, comfortable and in control of how their stories are told. We build supportive, mutually beneficial relationships, provide training and tools to help people feel in control of their story, and share expertise on how to communicate powerfully in ways that win people’s hearts and minds.

In February 2024, we launched a video series that shared the experiences of people overrepresented at food banks – to build help build a deeper understanding about what drives people to food banks, increase empathy, and tackle misconceptions.

The emotive videos, which were watched by millions, featured stories of Lowri, a single mum, Siobhan, a full-time carer, and Steve, who has a disability. These were shared across our own and food banks’ digital channels, plus those of partners, influencers, and The Mirror.

Watch the videos at trussell.org.uk/who-needs-food-banks

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Shifting cultural narratives through media influence

Building allied audiences

Throughout 2023–2024, we worked with a variety of allies from across a wide range of sectors to reach new audiences and help build consensus around the causes of hardship, the long-term drivers of food bank need, and the changes needed. This included existing relationships with founding Ambassadors, Mark and Rox Hoyle (Ladbaby), The Right Reverend Paul Butler (Lord Bishop of Durham), and Baroness Louise Casey, as well as working in partnership with a wide

array of influencers and celebrities who either represent, advocate or could be allies for groups overrepresented at food banks.

In May 2023, we worked with Newcastle and England football player Callum Wilson (pictured above) during the release of our food bank annual statistics. Callum shared his experience of having to use a food bank when he was younger, reaching media outlets including BBC Sports and Sky Sports.

Audience insight shows that the public are generally concerned and compassionate about the issues of hunger and food banks, but often overwhelmed and pessimistic that change is possible. Insight also shows how powerful the media is at shaping opinions. With this in mind, we worked alongside a group of journalists and people who have used a food bank to explore the media’s role in shifting the narrative surrounding hunger and poverty.

To gauge audience opinion and perceptions, we reviewed wider literature and media coverage, conducted a series of focus groups with people who have and haven’t used food banks to discuss relevant news stories, and consulted with a group of people with their own experience of hardship to ensure we grounded this work in the reality of the issue.

We also facilitated workshops for lived experience partners, alongside journalists from the BBC, New Statesman, Press Association and others.

From this, and in collaboration with journalists, we launched a guide for media professionals on how to talk about food bank need – setting out best practice on working with people who have personal experience of hardship, and how to authentically and responsibly frame issues of hunger and poverty. The guide has been positively received, and we intend to inspire more media professionals to embed the recommendations in their day-to-day work.

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Media highlights

In April 2023 , the publication of our annual statistics – showing a 35% increase in the number of food parcels distributed – received almost 2,500 media

mentions , including the front cover of The Mirror.

In June , the launch of our landmark research report Hunger in the UK secured over 1,000 pieces of coverage , including a Newsnight feature that interviewed our spokespeople, food bank representatives and our lived experience partners.

In July , the publication of our Youth Perceptions of Poverty report featured in multiple youth-focused outlets (ensuring our work reached a younger audience), while the September release of our YouGov research into the challenges faced by people on Universal Credit was covered by BBC radio news bulletins throughout the day.

As winter approached , our warning that food banks were set to struggle saw Sky News Breakfast using the announcement to ask the Government what more they would do to support people on the lowest incomes. Our mid-year statistics achieved almost 1,500 media mentions . Our Tesco Winter Food Collection was another key moment, with more than 1,000 media mentions across the campaign.

In February 2024 , the anniversary of launching the Guarantee our Essentials campaign drew national coverage , including in outlets who had previously not reported on the campaign, such as the Daily Express and Daily Mail.

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Social media highlights

We continue to use social media to increase awareness of the work of food banks, generate support, and engage audiences with stories from our food bank community and lived experience partners. Social media allows us to build online communities ready to take action in support of our vision and help engage and shape discussions on the drivers of food bank need. In addition to our Trussell accounts we also facilitate bespoke social media training and content for food banks to support their work and engage with their local communities.

In the past year we’ve continued to see our channels grow:

248,882 Our followers increased to 248,882, an increase of 9% on the previous year

“ta 4 my Pe“~""“ | ) . * re ve “a 229M n = ay / . “i! * >

The content we’ve shared has been viewed more than 229 million times, up 38% on last year

Our statistics and research engaged audiences well. We tried new ways to visualise our end of year and mid-year statistics, which were viewed over half a million times. Our Hunger in the UK research generated great engagement from audiences; we focused on telling the stories behind the statistics with a series of animations which were viewed over 1.1 million times and received 26,365 likes, comments and shares.

We placed particular emphasis on sharing the stories of lived experience partners. Our social media campaign Who Needs Food Banks was viewed almost 900,000 times. This launched our very first awareness week and enabled us to build understanding of who uses food banks through authentic storytelling.

|| rea Social media continued to play a big role in the Guarantee our Essentials campaign. During ty 2023-2024, we shared over 350 posts about the campaign across our channels, which were viewed 2.9 million times and received over 90,000 likes, shares and comments.

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Building a movement for change

Working with food banks, community and faith groups, national partners and the general public, we’re growing a movement of people standing alongside us and taking action towards our vision.

Guarantee our Essentials

We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet people in the UK are going without the essentials we all need to get by. Everyone’s circumstances can change. Losing your job, needing to care for a sick family member, breaking up with your partner… these are all things that can happen to any of us.

The social security system should provide support to anyone facing hardship, but Universal Credit is not enough to cover the cost of life’s essentials, such as food, household bills and travel costs – with five in six low-income households who receive it having to go without.

That’s why, in February 2022, we partnered with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to launch our most ambitious campaign yet. Guarantee our Essentials calls for a strengthened social security system, with an Essentials Guarantee embedded, that ensures everyone can afford the essentials.

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What is an Essentials Guarantee?

The Essentials Guarantee that we are calling for would embed in our social security system the widely supported principle that, at a minimum, Universal Credit should protect people from going without essentials. Developed in line with public attitude insights and focus groups, this policy would enshrine in legislation:

• an independent process to regularly determine the Essentials Guarantee level, based on the cost of essentials (such as food, utilities and vital household goods) for the adults in a household (excluding rent and Council Tax)

• that Universal Credit’s standard allowance must at least meet this level

• that deductions (such as debt repayments to government, or as a result of the benefit cap) can never pull support below this level.

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Taking the campaign forward

During 2023–2024, Guarantee our Essentials brought together 132 organisations within the antipoverty sector and wider charity sector – alongside hundreds of thousands of people representing food banks, community and faith groups, national partners, politicians, famous figures and the general public.

Over the course of the year, MPs and Peers from across all political parties publicly endorsed and advocated for an Essentials Guarantee in Parliament, while the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Poverty adopted it as a key recommendation in its report on the adequacy of social security. The Scottish Government and Welsh Labour also endorsed the Essentials Guarantee proposal.

The deep partnership that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Trussell have built was joined by more than 130 organisations across the charity sector during 2023-2024. The Guarantee our Essentials campaign is gathering ever more support for the principle that Universal Credit should at least cover the essential costs that we all have to meet just to get by. We have seen Parliamentarians across all political parties supporting our call for an Essentials Guarantee and many thousands of supporters sign our petition and contact their MPs to urge them to join us. We will continue to combine our strengths and determination to stand together to push for this crucial policy change.

Paul Kissack

Group Chief Executive of Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust

MP Joanna Cherry shows her support for the campaign

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Campaign progress

In April 2023 , we created an installation in London showing that ‘it doesn’t add up’, with a billboard featuring giant till receipts listing the cost of essentials – highlighting how the basic rate of Universal Credit doesn’t cover these.

In September, we organised a major mobilisation moment, with food banks across the UK taking part in days of action. Food banks took to the streets to engage local communities with the campaign – hosting street stalls, sharing flyers, and having conversations with passers-by, while billboards bolstered activities in Leeds, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff. Hundreds of food banks participated in the campaign during the year, including joining events, contacting their MP or sharing stories in the local paper or on social media.

In January 2024 , to support the campaign, celebrities including Ed Sheeran, Delia Smith, Liam Gallagher, Nish Kumar, Stephen Fry, the actors Brian Cox and Jodie Whittaker wrote an open letter demanding that politicians address the growing levels of poverty in the UK.

That same month, we hosted a Parliamentary reception. This was attended by 75 Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum, with Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall MP, giving a speech stressing Labour’s commitment to tackling the root causes of poverty.

In February , we handed in our petition calling for an Essentials Guarantee – signed by over 150,000 people across the UK – to the leaders of UK political parties in Westminster.

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Overview

The campaign in numbers :

More and more people are coming to our food bank because Universal Credit simply isn’t enough to afford the essentials. I know first-hand what this feels like. Universal Credit is not enough for me and my kids to live off, and the knock-on effect of having to tread water every day can make you feel helpless. But this can change. A huge thank you to everyone who signed the petition and is standing with us.

150,000 1/4 people signed the petition calling for an Essentials Guarantee communities

food banks mobilised their local communities

68,000+ 20 emails were directly sent from campaign supporters to MPs, reaching 99% of MPs across the Commons in Parliament

MPs and seven Peers spoke about an Essentials Guarantee in Parliament

132 organisations publicly endorsed the campaign

37

celebrities co-signed a letter to politicians backing the campaign

Mandy

Manager at Pontypridd Foodbank

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How churches have supported our campaign

Churches have also been vital to our campaigning work, helping to inspire more people to work towards our vision.

In support of Guarantee our Essentials, we created bespoke campaign materials to help spread the word about the campaign via our Church Ambassadors programme (a network of volunteers connecting churches with food banks and local communities), as well as at events. In 2023–2024, we attended a range of key events including Big Church Festival, Greenbelt and the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast, to help win hearts and minds and inspire more people to work towards our vision.

We hosted a dedicated round table for church leaders, and worked with high-profile figures to help raise awareness of the issue and post key questions on the Essentials Guarantee in the House of Lords.

Our panel of Christians with lived experience of hardship also produced a film urging churches to get behind the Essentials Guarantee. For more on how we work with churches, and the many ways in which they support Trussell, please see page 60.

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Changing Policy

Gathering robust evidence to influence and drive policy change – so that everyone can afford the essentials.

experience of hardship to change policy and seek to eradicate destitution across the UK.

Working with our community of food banks, we gather data on the numbers of emergency parcels that are being provided, how this is changing, and who is turning to food banks for support. With this data, and through additional research, we work with food banks, partners and people with lived

We also work closely with other anti-poverty organisations in the UK to push for the policy changes that will stop people from experiencing financial hardship in the first place.

We do this in the following ways:

1 2 3 Providing robust Influencing data, evidence and policymakers research

Working together to call for change

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Providing robust data, evidence and research

By working in partnership with our community of food banks, we are able to gather and analyse our unique data on levels of need across the UK. We complement this with robust research, ensuring that the policy change that we call for is firmly grounded in evidence.

Analysis of the need for emergency food

And our analysis of figures during 2023–2024 has shown that more than 3.1 million emergency food parcels were distributed by food banks in the Trussell community – the highest number ever.

In May 2023 we released our annual figures on levels of need seen across our community of food banks. These showed that almost three million emergency food parcels were distributed across the UK during 2022–2023 – the most that the Trussell community had ever distributed in a financial year, and a 37% increase over the same period in 2021–2022.

Over the past 12 months, we have seen the biggest increase in people who are being referred to us for the first time. The ever-increasing cost of food, coupled with fuel and other utilities bills rising, is pushing people to and beyond their limit.

In November 2023 we published our mid-year statistics, covering the period April to September 2023. This showed that our community of food banks distributed 1.5 million parcels to people facing hardship between April and September 2023 – an increase of 16% compared to the same period in 2022.

Lynsey Agnew CEO, Lisburn Foodbank

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Our most in-depth ever research is published

Our Hunger in the UK research, delivered in partnership with Ipsos, is the most ambitious research project undertaken by Trussell. The project – formed in collaboration with our food bank community – included a survey of 2,500 people referred to food banks. We also trialled an innovative approach whereby people with lived experience enriched our understanding of the drivers of food bank need and the solutions required. Launched in summer 2023, this is our most in-depth study to date on the causes and consequences of hunger – highlighting the scale of hunger across the UK, the groups most affected, and the underlying drivers trapping so many people in severe hardship.

This landmark research was also the first time we’ve been able to dive more deeply into the experience of hunger in the different parts of the UK, with reports on Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The launch of Hunger in the UK received significant interest from politicians, policymakers, academics and anti-poverty sector organisations across the nations and regions of the UK. It provided further evidence on what is pushing people to food banks, and has enabled us to develop the building blocks that will end hunger for good.

Key findings from our flagship Hunger in the UK research

14% of all UK adults (or their households) experienced food insecurity in the 12 months to mid-2022 – an estimated 11.3 million

More than half of households experiencing food insecurity, and three quarters of people referred to food banks in the Trussell community, say that they or a member of their household are disabled.

people. This means that – at some point over this period – they had run out of food and been unable to afford more, and/or reduced meal sizes, eaten less, gone hungry or lost weight due to lack of money.

Working-age adults are much more likely to need to turn to a food bank. This is particularly the case for single adults living alone and those not currently in paid work.

Structural inequalities shape hardship and food insecurity. People from ethnic minority groups, women, people who are LGBTQ+, people who have sought or ever applied for asylum, and people who were in care as a child, are all overrepresented in the proportion of the population experiencing food insecurity and receiving food aid.

Families with children are at a high risk of food insecurity. Nearly half (47%) of all households experiencing food insecurity include children under the age of 16.

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Survey of people claiming Universal Credit

In September 2023 and February 2024, we published the findings of our YouGov surveys of people claiming Universal Credit. These revealed the devastating consequences of the inadequacy of Universal Credit, with millions of families across the country facing severe financial hardship – including working households and disabled people.

Our research, conducted by YouGov in January 2024, revealed that 780,000 people (12%) claiming Universal Credit were forced to use a food bank in the previous month (December 2023/ January 2024), and more than half (55%) ran out of food in the last month and couldn’t afford to buy more.

The evidence is clear that social determinants – the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age and the resources that they have – have a profound effect on people’s health. The compelling evidence that Trussell is able to share illustrates the high risk of severe hardship and hunger facing so many in society and the impact this then has on their current and future health. The data that food banks share, and the powerful stories of the people who have relied on them for support, is a vital addition to the evidence in this area and contributes to the strong case for urgent change.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot CH Director, UCL Institute of Health Equity

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2 Influencing policymakers

We work hard to show that ending the need for food banks is a mission for all, and one that every politician should be taking seriously. We hold meetings with MPs and Government Ministers, facilitate visits for politicians to their local food banks, and share Trussell’s latest data and research to inform and guide the issues that MPs raise in Parliament.

110 mentions of Trussell were made in the House of Commons in 2023-2024

Our call for an Essentials Guarantee

Our flagship Guarantee our Essentials campaign, run in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, calls on political leaders to ensure that our social security system provides people with enough money to live on: to be able to afford life’s essentials, such as food and fuel. The last year has seen us deliver a petition with more than 150,000 signatures to the leaders of the UK political parties, and 20 MPs raising the Essentials Guarantee in Parliament. For a full overview of the campaign’s progress, please see page 41.

The extra cost of disability is equivalent to two thirds of household income after housing costs, and disabled people and their families face daily financial and emotional battles because of the devastating decisions they have to take about what to prioritise. The Essentials Guarantee would make a huge difference to disabled people across the UK and we continue to stand alongside Trussell, JRF and other partners who are pushing for this change.

Mark Hodgkinson Chief Executive, Scope

Extension of the Household Support Fund

Trussell, alongside other charities, campaigners and local authorities, campaigned intensively prior to the 2024 spring budget, to persuade the Chancellor of the Exchequer to extend investment in the Household Support Fund in England beyond its planned closure at the end of the financial year. Our collective action resulted in a six-month extension to this vital fund, helping to support low-income families facing hardship, hunger, or unexpected costs to get the help they need in their communities. We continue to advocate for a long-term approach to local crisis support, with multiyear funding to give certainty to local authorities and other local organisations, and allow them to plan and sustain services.

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We also called for the Chancellor to reduce the burden of debt deductions from social security payments, and welcomed the decision to extend the repayment period of budgeting advances.

Food is just a sticking plaster. There is so much more that people in crisis need, and the key thing that needs to be done is to overhaul the social security system to ensure that people can afford the essentials.

Ruth Livingstone

Levenmouth Foodbank Manager

The Poverty Strategy Commission

The Poverty Strategy

Commission was established by Baroness Philippa Stroud in 2023. Bringing together experts and thinkers from across the political spectrum, it aims to develop consensus around a strategy for tackling poverty in the UK. Our Chief Executive, Emma Revie, is one of the Commissioners.

The Commission will publish its final report in 2024, and has already forged a consensus amongst its diverse membership about the central importance of tackling deep poverty, including through measures such as a ‘benefit floor’ to improve the adequacy of social security. Many of Trussell’s other priorities and proposals are also likely to be reflected in the Commission’s recommendations, giving them new weight and reach within policy and political audiences.

Our building blocks for change

Our Hunger in the UK research has underpinned the development of eight core building blocks for change on how to end the need for food banks in the UK . We published these in February 2024.

The building blocks set out the need for:

• a supportive social security system, which ensures everyone can afford the essentials.

• everyone being able to get the right support at the right time, especially when things are hard. We can do this with easy access to advice and support on money matters and readily available mental health and trauma-informed support.

• supporting people in a way that reflects the reality of their lives, especially if they’re facing higher costs and barriers. We can do this with dignified support for disabled people, and people with health conditions and greater support and value for care and caring.

• everyone having the security we all need to access opportunities and have hope for the future. We can do this with decent, secure and rewarding work, safe, secure and affordable housing, and strong and inclusive communities.

Our building blocks work gives us the clearest picture we have ever had of how to build a future where no one needs a food bank, and as a result we are using our voice to speak on more key issues, building new partnerships, and strengthening the coalition that will create change for the people that the Trussell community supports.

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Influencing work and partnerships across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Scotland

Following our successful influencing campaign in the run up to the 2021 Holyrood elections, in June 2023 the Scottish Government published its action plan to end the need for food banks – the first by any government in the UK. Alongside this, we were instrumental in securing the delivery of eight funded Cash-First partnerships involving food banks in Scotland. These partnerships are also the first of their kind in the UK.

We also secured the commitment of the Scottish Government for an Essentials Guarantee. Announced in the September 2023 Programme for Government, this was the first pledge of support by any devolved administration in the UK.

Another key ask has been for the Scottish Government to invest further funding and resources into the Scottish Welfare Fund, to ensure people are able to access

cash support in a crisis. During 2023-2024, we were part of a Scottish Government-led review into the Fund, focused on making a difference to how this is delivered.

We played an active role in key coalitions in Scotland, including the Scottish End Child Poverty Coalition, the Scottish Food Coalition and the Scottish Campaign for the Right to Social Security, with a focus during 2023-2024 on agreeing shared policy asks in advance of the General Election – but also on looking ahead to the Scottish Parliament elections in 2026. We delivered keynote speeches at a variety of conferences, including Poverty Alliance’s annual conference and West Lothian Council’s antipoverty strategy launch.

In addition to responding to numerous Scottish Government consultations, we gave oral evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Social Justice Committee on lone parents and the cost of living, and Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry on the impact of the cost of living on rural communities in Scotland.

Wales

In June, we published Hunger in Wales , a landmark piece of research that we shared with the Welsh Government, and used to highlight the need for emergency food in Wales with key stakeholders.

We supported The Bevan Foundation’s research on a Welsh benefits system – a highly influential series of work that led to the creation of the Welsh Benefits Charter, published in January 2024.

The Charter includes an outcome to see a reduction in the need for emergency food support in Wales, and in March 2024 we joined the Welsh Government Steering Group for Streamlining Welsh Benefits to start to deliver on the Charter.

We also worked with National Energy Action to support calls for the Welsh Government’s revised £35 million Warm Homes Programme to be operational by the start of winter, to prioritise lowest income households and to be delivered alongside holistic advice and support.

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Northern Ireland

The June launch of our Hunger in Northern Ireland research provided an opportunity for conversation with elected representatives at Stormont.

In November, we organised an antipoverty event in partnership with the Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network, other local charities, and Enniskillen food bank. This event raised awareness of rural poverty

in the west of Northern Ireland with local businesses and decisionmakers, while boosting the profile of Enniskillen Foodbank.

In January, we supported the launch of the Coalition of Christian Voices against Poverty through an event held in Portadown that was attended by church leaders from across Northern Ireland. Trussell is a key member of the working group for this initiative.

We also joined the steering group for the All-Island Social Security Network, bringing together researchers from academia and civil society to imagine a new future for social security in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and disseminate its findings. In December, its inaugural event featured a presentation from Trussell’s Director of Policy, Research and Impact, Helen Barnard.

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3

Working together to call for change

While changes to policy are urgently needed at the UK level, changes in policy and practice at the local level can also make a vital contribution to reducing the need for food banks. We work closely with our community of food banks to support them in advocating for the local changes that are most important to them. We also build partnerships at regional, national and UK levels to build the case and press for the policy changes that are needed.

Partnering for policy change

The launch of our joint campaign with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) for an Essentials Guarantee was supported by a wide range of partners in the anti-poverty sector and beyond. These include Carers UK, Citizens Advice, Mencap, Marie Curie, the Runnymede Trust and the National Housing Federation.

As the campaign has developed, we have continued to work closely with these partners to amplify the call and show the widespread support for this vital policy change. In February 2024, when Trussell and JRF handed in our 150,000-strong petition to leaders of UK political parties in Westminster, we were delighted to be joined by partners including the Mental Health Foundation,

Not having enough money to cover essentials like food and basic utilities is a common contributor to poor mental health. It can cause uncertainty and put a strain on our relationships, with those experiencing higher levels of hardship also more likely to report poverty stigma. Providing people on the very lowest incomes with enough money to live through an Essentials Guarantee is one of the best ways to prevent this. It is urgently needed and would be pivotal in better protecting everyone’s mental health when times get hard.

Mark Rowland

Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation

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Barnardo’s, and the Motor Neurone Disease Association. We continue to stand together.

Over the past year we have continued to strengthen our partnerships in relation to additional policy areas that are driving the need for food banks. Seven in every 10 people referred to our community of food banks are disabled, and can face significant additional costs and lower incomes that can put them at greater risk of going without the essentials. Disability benefits should help everyone participate fully in society, but flawed assessments, long waits and incorrect decisions are damaging people’s health and deepening exclusion.

We have worked closely with Citizens Advice and Mind, and the wider disability sector, to develop robust policy responses to proposed reforms to disability social security. These helped to secure some easing of proposed restrictions on the eligibility to support for disabled people through Universal Credit.

We continue to call for change alongside partners, including national disability charities, and to work on what a reformed social security system for disabled people would look like under the new UK government.

Supporting our food banks

We have provided direct and bespoke support to individual or small groups of food banks to help them deliver their own policy research and policy influencing work at a local level. Support was delivered in a tailored way dependent on each food bank’s needs, capacity and context – and ranged from providing one-off briefings or advice to working together over time to deliver on a particular objective.

As an example, one food bank charity was supported with the design and delivery of a survey of people referred to their services. They hope to use the results to influence local decision-makers around the support provided for different demographic groups in the area. We also worked with a group of food banks from across a combined authority area over several months to design a set of policy principles for local crisis support, and to plan influencing activity to call for these principles.

Securing funding for Cash-First partnerships

We have been instrumental in securing the delivery of eight funded Cash-First partnerships involving local authorities, health and social care partnerships, food banks, advice services and wider third sector organisations in Scotland. This is the first time these partnerships have been established and funded in the UK. Delivery started at the end of 2023–2024 and is continuing into 2024–2025.

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Influencing policy alongside people with lived experience of financial hardship

We are proud to have developed our policy advocates programme, where we have given training and peer support to 13 lived experience partners who advocate alongside us at party conferences, Westminster Parliamentary events, and activities in devolved parliaments.

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Scottish Welfare Fund

In partnership with the Child Poverty Action Group, we have been piloting improvements to the delivery of the Scottish Welfare Fund on Orkney. This Fund supports low-income households

facing hardship, hunger, or unexpected costs. The pilot has created new partnerships, with delivery being scaled up to more areas across Scotland in 2024–2025.

I’m passionate about making a difference, making a change for the better so our children don’t have to deal with the kind of stuff I’ve had to.

Andrew Policy advocate

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Working together – with our amazing volunteers, with churches and with 7 our generous supporters – is vital to achieving our vision.

Emma Revie Chief Executive Officer, Trussell

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Together with people with lived experience

We continue to broaden and deepen our engagement with people who have direct experience of financial hardship – empowering them to shape, lead and influence how we end the need for food banks.

During 2023–2024, we have worked in partnership with around 150 people with lived experience of financial hardship. Some examples of this collaboration are set out here.

Our advisory groups

• In June, we launched our Transforming Together Team as an anti-poverty advisory group of 16 people from across the UK. Together, they bring a wide range of experiences and offer vital insight on how we can progress our operational, policy influencing, and mobilisation work.

• As we look ahead to developing our strategy for the period ahead, building on our current Together for Change strategy, we have set up a Strategic Advisory Group of lived experience partners.

• A panel of lived experience partners was part of the selection process for Trussell’s new Chair of Trustees.

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Embedding lived experience knowledge across our work

Collaboration with lived experience partners has been at the heart of a number of specific projects, including:

• We worked with a group of young people affected by poverty to co-design the Youth Perceptions of Poverty in the UK report, building on a survey with Ipsos of 1,000 11- to 17-year-olds.

• Lived experience partners are helping to shape the development of the new Trussell and food bank websites, so it is easy to find the information that people facing hardship need.

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Supporting participation

We have continued to support food banks to develop and share their approaches to the participation of people with lived experience of hardship. This has been achieved through a range of workshops, toolkits, sharing of case studies and providing in-depth support to food banks on the Pathfinder programme in particular.

Participation is about the engagement and involvement of everyone who uses our services or may do so in future. We believe that people with lived experience of poverty are the experts who are best placed to identify the issues related to poverty, develop solutions, and assess their effectiveness.

Excerpt from the Youth Perceptions of Poverty in the UK report

• We have worked with a group of Christians with lived experience of hardship, who helped to create resources and design our presence at the Greenbelt Festival.

• We have supported lived experience partners to be able to amplify their experiences in a safe and impactful way, for example through media training and peer support.

• Our policy advocates programme, where lived experience partners advocate alongside us as we seek to influence policy-makers.

Being part of the Transforming Together Team has been a really good fun thing to do and it’s grand to know that what the participants say is listened to and acted on. It’s so important that the people who benefit from what Trussell does are the people whose ideas and suggestions, as well as constructive criticisms, are involved in shaping the charity and I feel that is the case with Trussell. The charity sets a benchmark that other charities would do well to emulate.

Patsy

Jonathan Lees

Founder and Managing Director of The Good Company incorporating Epsom & Ewell Foodbank

East Yorkshire, member of Trussell’s Transforming Together Team

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Together with our volunteers

The support of our thousands of volunteers is key to everything we do.

Volunteers are the beating heart of the Trussell community. It’s no exaggeration to say that we couldn’t function without them.

Their commitment is as inspiring as it is strong, and we are endlessly grateful for the contribution they make – both to people facing immediate hardship, and to our longer-term, shared plan of working towards a UK without the need for food banks.

Volunteers have been on the frontline of extreme challenges over the past few years (from the pandemic, through to the £20 cut to Universal Credit, and the cost of living crisis) – yet their resolve, resilience and compassion never fade.

We are so grateful that we can stand together – supporting people through the hardship they face and bringing hope that we will achieve the change that is needed.

36,000 volunteers support the Trussell community of food banks, fulfilling around 500 different activities – including frontline food bank positions, office support roles, and micro-volunteering activities as social media advocates. | |

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What our volunteers say

The people I’ve volunteered with are passionate about their work and so compassionate to others. I am proud to play a very small part in an organisation that works tirelessly to sustain people and families on a daily basis, but also campaigns relentlessly to remove the barriers that cause hunger and poverty.

The best part of volunteering is when I am able to suggest where someone can get the help they need, and sometimes get in touch with the relevant people. I can see the relief on their faces that someone listens and actually cares, and they are able to smile.

I love my volunteering role at the food bank. I work with lovely people, and it’s made me more socially aware of people’s problems.

I really value being a food bank volunteer as it has opened my eyes to poverty – but it has also given me a new purpose.

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Together with churches

Most food banks couldn’t operate without the support of their local church and other faith groups.

Churches are essential to Trussell, with around 12,000 churches supporting or running food banks – providing donations, volunteers and venues. With this in mind, we support food banks in connecting with churches, while reaching out to Christians more generally to raise awareness of our work.

Through our church engagement work, we have continued to deepen our reach into diverse expressions of church communities and Christian networks, encouraging churches to work in their local communities to consider what more they can do to bring about an end to the need for food banks.

Church Ambassador programme

In 2023–2024, we expanded our reach into faith networks through the development of our Ambassador programme, equipping volunteers to connect churches with food banks and local communities, while championing the Trussell vision. So far, we have mobilised over 70 ambassadors – some based in churches, and others based in food banks. Alongside Jubilee+ (a charity working with churches to combat poverty and champion healthy living initiatives), we developed a toolkit of resources – helping churches to support food banks practically, while also creating church communities to which people facing financial hardship can fully belong. For the launch of the toolkit, we hosted monthly webinars to bring this group together and deliver training.

Churches play a vital role in supporting people in hardship across the nation, and have always been a key part of Trussell’s work to provide emergency food and campaign for an end to the need for food banks in our country. The team at Jubilee+ has been delighted to support Trussell’s Church Ambassador programme, especially developing resources to help churches become increasingly effective at bringing change and transformation to the lives of those who are in hardship in their communities.

Natalie Williams

Chief Executive, Jubilee+

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Lived experience panel

Our lived experience panel of Christians who have accessed food banks contributed to our resources for Harvest and Lent, as well as producing a film urging churches to support the Guarantee our Essentials campaign. More than 1,000 people signed up to receive our Lent course.

In November 2023, we hosted An Evening of Carols at London’s Southwark Cathedral, themed around our Guarantee our Essentials campaign. Hosted by Ghosts actor Charlotte Ritchie, the event included readings and performances from special guests, including Sir Tony Robinson and Glenn Tilbrook, alongside lived experience partners and food bank staff.

Partnerships and events

During the year, we partnered with organisations including Jubilee+, Churchworks, Gather Movement, Act on Poverty coalition (Christian Aid, CAFOD, Church Action on Poverty) and Let’s End Poverty coalition (including Methodist, URC and Baptist churches, Christians Against Poverty and Unison).

We spoke and hosted sessions at key events including the ChurchWorks and Dignity conferences, Gather Movement Summits in Sheffield and London, the National Parliamentary and Conservative Party prayer breakfasts, plus the Big Church, Greenbelt and New Wine festivals. At Greenbelt, we hosted a venue called The Living Room, in which members of our lived experience panel, staff and volunteers spoke alongside key Christian presenters. Over the course of the weekend, more than 2,000 attendees heard about Trussell’s work and vision.

Overview

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Together, strengthening our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

Equity, diversity and inclusion remain central to Trussell’s work.

Our research shows that most people who need the support of a food bank are disproportionately likely to have protected characteristics such as disability or race. For example, one in four (24%) people from an ethnic minority group experience food insecurity, almost twice the rate (13%) for white people.

It is therefore vital that equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are central to our work, and key to achieving our vision of a UK without the need for food banks. We continue to develop as an equitable, diverse and inclusive organisation – and are committed to supporting our food bank community to meet the needs of their local populations.

Progress within Trussell

We want our staff to have the required confidence, skills, knowledge and competency to engage with all aspects of EDI, and to support our community of food banks in doing so.

During 2023–2024, we drove this forward in areas including:

• Strengthening our data and insight

Our flagship Hunger in the UK programme has provided further evidence on levels of food bank use and food insecurity among specific population groups

• Recruitment

We continue to use the Be Applied platform for all our external and internal recruitment, ensuring we avoid unconscious bias within our recruitment practice. We have also introduced further support for people needing reasonable adjustments

including our own tenth characteristic: socio-economic status/class. Our safe space groups – where people can come together around their experience of issues such as disability, race, parenting or caring – also provide a valuable source of expertise, while providing peer support.

• Learning and development for our teams

Our offer includes training in how to achieve good practice in relation to EDI, as well as sessions on allyship and unconscious bias.

• Challenging ourselves on how we approach our work

Equality impact assessments continue to inform our key projects, particularly in relation to protected characteristics –

Independent auditor’s report

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Supporting food banks on EDI

The Trussell community of food banks operates across the UK, serving a diverse range of communities and holding great expertise in how to engage and support different groups. We have continued to support food banks to develop and share their insight and good practice.

Following our pilot project, where nine food banks from around the UK helped us to shape our support offer to the entire Trussell community, examples of the work we have done together include:

• Building understanding of the demographic make-up and needs or cultural preferences in local communities – including how to improve the accessibility of services

• Ensuring that core volunteering resources are available in Easy Read and British Sign Language formats

• Running sessions with food bank trustees, project managers, and volunteers to help them to build their own local EDI strategy.

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Together with our supporters

Everything we do as a charity is only possible because of our generous supporters.

supporting our work and vision continued to grow.

Thanks to their support, our community of food banks is able to meet the immediate needs of people facing financial hardship – and together we can hold on to the hope that we will achieve the change that is needed to end reliance on emergency food.

We are hugely grateful for the contributions of individual

supporters, our corporate partners, and trusts and foundations. Across the 2023–2024 financial year, their generosity and commitment to

In September 2023, 14 teams of our corporate partners, including Tesco, Vodafone, Kier and Aegis, competed in our inaugural Dragon Boat Race, raising more than £15,000 for Trussell.

Corporate partnerships

The relationships we build with corporate partners are crucial to our ability to deliver on our vision of a future without the need for food banks. We are proud to partner with many different organisations who share that vision – while delivering income, access to expertise and resources. As the Trussell community of food banks responds to increasing numbers of people needing support, we’re hugely grateful for these partners – many of whom have generously given their support over multiple years.

Tesco

Once again, we received significant support from our long-standing partner Tesco. Through our permanent collection points in stores, pre-packed parcels of essential items during the summer, and the annual Tesco Winter Food Collection, our partnership continues to generate vast amounts

of essential items for our food banks. In addition, together we launched a pioneering project enabling a group of food banks to purchase significant deliveries of the most needed items in bulk, addressing logistical challenges faced by food banks and providing an efficient and reliable source of stock. During a year of record levels of need in communities across the UK, our partnership with Tesco continues to be a lifeline for food banks.

Barclays

Across the past year, Barclays has continued to be a key strategic partner for our financial inclusion programme across the UK. This support has enabled us to increase the provision of income advice services to people in financial hardship, with over 310 food banks charities now offering the services, representing 75% of the Trussell community. Barclays support has

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also helped with the development of a Financial Inclusion Forum to act as a community of practice for staff and volunteers in food banks to develop their approach to the design and delivery of financial inclusion services.

Deliveroo

In the second year of our partnership with Deliveroo, over £1 million has been donated via the in-app topup function, helping us provide on the ground support and grants to food banks in the Trussell community. This year, Deliveroo further supported us through a social campaign with influencers such as Arielle Free, Yasmin Evans and Sevda, who visited food banks to see the real impact of Deliveroo customers’ support.

The impactful Christmas campaign Not So Silent Night , with Honey G and Shaun Williamson, helped us reach new audiences and has been invaluable in sharing the Trussell vision to end the need for food banks with people across the UK.

Cadent

Over the past three years, The Cadent Foundation’s grant of £1.5 million has enabled our Help through Hardship helpline and financial inclusion programmes to support thousands of people. The Foundation’s funding is vital in providing advisors who support people to maximise their incomes – meaning many no longer need to use a food bank.

Waitrose

We would like to recognise the ongoing support of our longstanding partner, Waitrose. In addition to the ongoing generosity of Waitrose customers who donate essential items of food in stores all year round, the partnership ran their first food collection event in March this year. Waitrose tops up all customer donations with an additional 20% donation, supporting our financial inclusion programme as well as our mental health services for volunteers and frontline staff across our community of food banks. This year, our partnership has also included online donations via the Waitrose website, and seasonal campaigns across the John Lewis Partnership.

Asda

Our partnership with Asda has continued to help us provide muchneeded food items to the food banks in our community. In 2023–2024, in-store donations via the permanent collection points, as well as during a May food drive, delivered over two million meals to people facing hunger. The food drive was the most successful to date and delivered a 15% increase in donations on the previous year, supporting food banks with essential stock at a time when food bank use has increased. Asda colleagues have also volunteered in food banks across Leeds and Bradford, supporting their local community by packing parcels and sorting food.

Morrisons

We are hugely grateful for our ongoing partnership with Morrisons, who enabled customers to make financial donations while shopping online, as well as product donations in stores throughout the year. In addition to this support, we were thrilled to be chosen as the Morrisons Foundation’s Christmas Charity Partner in 2023, which helped make sure our food banks could be there for everyone through their most challenging time of the year.

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Public donations

Winter appeal

Throughout the winter of 2023, we raised over £10 million from individuals, community groups and small corporates. Our winter appeal focused on the anticipation of the busiest winter yet for food banks, with many people needing support for the first time. By sharing stories of people with lived experience, our appeal illustrated the feeling of being at a breaking point, followed by the relief felt after getting help. It emphasised the urgency of the situation and reiterated our commitment to our vision of ending the need for food banks in the UK.

Step Up to the Challenge

Our Step Up to the Challenge event (where participants walk, wheel, run or swim for 30 minutes, every day for a month) also ran throughout 2023, raising an incredible £125,727.

#TeamTrussell heroes

Neil (pictured right) is a bus driver who, in July 2023, walked more than 125 miles of Arriva bus routes in seven days – raising more than £16,000. Neil (known affectionately to many as the ‘bus walker’) walked from north to south across seven UK regions – starting in Durham and ending in London.

In my job, I speak to people who are struggling to make ends meet – and I know many of them rely on food banks to feed themselves and their families. I’m determined to do my little part to make sure people have the food they need. Hopefully, by walking some of the UK’s most popular bus routes and raising awareness of the scale of poverty face by millions of families, I can encourage those with a little more to give a thought to those with a little less.

Neil Atherton

Trussell supporter

Overview

Strategic report

Independent auditor’s report

Financial statements

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Our promise to supporters

We could not continue to work towards our vision without our amazing supporters. We deeply appreciate their generosity.

In response to the support people provide, we promise to:

• safeguard their personal details

• treat them with respect, honesty and openness

• take into account the needs of individuals who may be in difficult circumstances or require additional care and support to make an informed decision

• never put people under pressure to make, or continue making, a gift

• use gifts for the purpose for which they are given, and spend donations so they have the most impact

• respect people’s wishes and preferences

• be receptive to feedback and use this to improve our approach

• take appropriate action if people are unhappy with our services,

and accept the authority of the Fundraising Regulator if we cannot resolve their complaint

• never share, sell or rent personal data to third parties for marketing purposes.

How we protect vulnerable people

We care for each and every one of our supporters and follow the Code of Fundraising Practice to ensure they are properly protected and looked after.

Caring for our supporters and fundraisers

We have a dedicated supporter care team who are available and on hand to respond to any supporter needs, queries, feedback, requests or complaints, as well as having specific policies and procedures in place to protect vulnerable people. We continuously seek to improve the way we do things based on supporter feedback and engagement.

Our fundraising approach

• All our fundraising activities are carried out in compliance with the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice and guided by our Supporters Promise and organisational values.

• We use professional fundraising agencies to support us with payroll giving (whereby employees of an organisation can make a regular donation to Trussell from their salary before tax is deducted).

• Trussell complies with the Fundraising Regulator and the Code of Fundraising Practice. There have been no compliance issues during the year.

• Five complaints were received during the year relating to fundraising; these were all resolved.

Contact us at

[e-mail] or call 01722 580 178 (Mon-Fri, 9am–5pm).

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Trusts and foundations

We are incredibly grateful for the partnership support we received from many charitable trusts during 2023–2024. Their generosity enabled us to respond in a meaningful way for our food banks while they faced significant challenges over what was a turbulent year. The cost of living crisis caused additional challenges but, together with our trust funders, we were able to maintain key programmes and ease immediate pressures as we worked together to end the need for food banks.

Our deepest thanks go to all our funders, including:

Julia and Hans Rausing Trust

Supporting us for an unprecedented second year as a transformative catalyst funder for our emergency appeal, the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust responded again with enormous generosity. Their funding enabled us to provide a tailored and responsive level of support to our community of food banks throughout the winter months and beyond. The of their support has been enormous and our food banks and those they

support have benefitted enormously. We would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to the Trust for their support.

Moondance Foundation

We are very grateful for the Moondance Foundation’s continued support, which has enabled us to embed financial inclusion projects in local communities across Wales. Moondance has also provided generous support for food banks in Wales weathering the cost of living crisis, allowing them to remain responsive to the needs of people in their communities. The Foundation’s support is underpinned by their deep knowledge of and concern for the specific challenges facing Wales.

Oak Foundation

Core funding is an important way for us to remain flexible and meet the needs of our food banks in a rapidly changing economic setting.

The Oak Foundation’s core funding has enabled us to remain responsive and agile, and we are deeply grateful for their understanding and partnership support. We are looking

forward to working closely together over the next year as their support enables us to move closer to our vision of a UK without the need for food banks.

Pears Foundation

Pears Foundation was a catalyst funder for our visionary financial inclusion work almost five years ago. Their support since then has enabled us to embed financial inclusion projects into communities right across the UK. Never has the value of this work been greater. We thank Pears for their vision and support in the spirit of partnership and mutual benefit and look forward to continuing to work with them.

Players of People’s Postcode Lottery

We have continued to work closely with People’s Postcode Lottery, specifically through the Postcode Care Trust, whose commitment to our work we deeply value. Players’ support has enabled us to deliver resources where they have been most needed, which is especially important given the financial

hardship so many households across the UK are facing. In December 2023, as part of People’s Postcode Lottery’s A Happier Christmas event, we were awarded an additional, very generous grant from players’ support for which we are extremely grateful. Funds raised by players have also been supporting our food banks with direct grants, showing truly holistic partnership work in action.

The Balcombe Charitable Trust

The Balcombe Charitable Trust continues to remain a committed funder of our financial inclusion projects, providing funding to enable us to set up new financial advice and support services in food banks. The Balcombe Charitable Trust was one of the early investors in this work, believing in the impact it delivers across the UK to people in poverty, providing financial advice to deliver longer term transformational change in people’s lives – alongside the instant crisis relief of a food parcel. Their support remains a cornerstone of this work, and we want to thank them for continuing to journey with us to deliver the support people deserve.

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Additional thanks

We are particularly grateful to Aldama Foundation, BBC Children in Need, Benefact Trust, City Bridge Foundation, The Reginald M Phillips Charitable Foundation, Clara E Burgess Charity, The JABBS Foundation, The Mackintosh Foundation, Vertex Foundation, and William Kessler Charitable Trust, David and Ruth Lewis Family Charitable Trust, Swire Charitable Trust, Robertson Trust, Coronary Prevention Group, King Charles III Charitable Fund.

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Looking forward to 2024–2025

Our priorities for the year ahead

During 2024–2025, we expect to see high levels of need at our food banks – as people across the UK continue to feel the effects of the increases in the cost of essentials over recent years, as well as the shortcomings in what should be our social security safety net.

During 2024–2025, we expect to see high levels of need at our food banks – as people across the UK continue to feel the effects of the increases in the cost of essentials over recent years, as well as the shortcomings in our social security system. Our mid-year statistics, covering the period April to September 2024, already show that the number of people needing support from food banks in the Trussell community remains close to record levels.

Standing together as Trussell

Our community of food banks will continue their work with compassion and determination and provide vital support to people who are facing financial hardship. We will continue to stand alongside each and every one of them.

We will provide grant funding so our food banks can continue to deliver their vital support, and we will work with them to source stock where food donations are unable to keep pace with local need. Our expert and dedicated area teams will provide tailored support to respond to particular local challenges.

The rollout of our new shared website will help food banks to secure both food and funding, while raising the profile of their work among local supporters and partners. And the rollout of our refreshed shared brand, developed in close collaboration with food banks and lived experts, will remove

barriers for people needing to access support, and help galvanise more people to play their part so we can end hunger together.

Our Help through Hardship helpline in England and Wales, and its equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland, will help to take some of the

immediate pressure off food banks and give people in need easy access to tailored advice and assistance. Recognising the pressure that food bank staff and volunteers continue to face, we will also invest in wellbeing initiatives.

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Keeping up pressure for an Essentials Guarantee

Our evidence has unequivocally shown that current levels of Universal Credit do not cover the cost of essentials. Building on the impact of the Guarantee our Essentials campaign, run in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, we are keeping up the pressure for policy change.

In the run-up to the general election, we worked alongside our food banks to secure widespread public support and engagement with MPs and Prospective Parliamentary Candidates.

Scaling up transformative advice and support in food banks

Our community of food banks have shown huge enthusiasm for providing advice and support on money issues to help prevent people needing to receive emergency food. We will continue to support the rollout of these services, supported by grant funding, and will further build our shared learning about the most effective approaches and the policy and practice changes that are needed.

Taking forward our strategy – together

Alongside maintaining our operational response to rising levels of need, we will continue to collaborate with our food banks – supporting them and learning from them – on the transformational strategic activity that is set out in our shared Together for Change strategy.

We will continue to build capacity across food banks, enabled by – but by no means limited to – our grants programme. The learning we are

gathering through our Pathfinder programme, as well as through our work with people with lived experience, will provide vital insights in to how we can continue this journey together – and with our partners and supporters – as we ready ourselves for our next strategic period, and pursue our vision of an end for the need for food banks with continued determination.

The new Government has pledged to end the need for emergency food. Improving our social security system must be part of the solution. We will continue to press for change, standing together with campaign partner the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and the many other charities, organisations and individuals who have pledged their support.

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We will continue to work together across the Trussell community, and with our partners, to move from hardship to hope and ensure that food banks are no longer needed in the UK.

Natalie Campbell MBE Chair, Trussell

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Financial review

Where our income comes from

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3%
5%
18%
Income
£54.1m
19%
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We are reliant upon the generosity of all our supporters to fund our charitable activities. Our income is made up of donations (including Gift Aid) and legacies from individuals, as well as donations, grants and contractual payments from corporate partners, trusts and foundations. This breaks down as follows:

Public donations – £29.6m

Investments – £2.9m

This relates to interest income earnt on our bank deposits during the year.

Trusts and Foundations

– £10.2m

Donated food – £0.1m

Corporate supporters – £9.9m

This represents the financial value of food and toiletries donated for distribution by Brent Foodbank, which was directly operated by Trussell for part of the year.

Charity retail and other trading – £1.4m

The majority of this income relates to funds raised by our small chain of charity shops, selling goods kindly donated to us by members of the public.

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Where we spend 2%
our income
12%
4%
39%
Expenditure
13% £62m
19%
11%
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Changing Communities activities – £42.3m

Helpline Grants – £6.7m

We have also invested a further £6.7m in the Help through Hardship helpline, run in partnership with Citizens Advice and Mind, our Advice NI helpline in Northern Ireland in partnership with Advice NI, and our PACS project run in partnership with various community-based organisations in Scotland.

This year we have spent £31.0m (half of our total expenditure) on grant making to support the Changing Communities strand of our Together for Change strategy. The breakdown of this is as follows:

Grants to food banks – £24.3m

£24.3m of grants were made directly to food banks, including the small amount of support costs needed to facilitate this.

Other Changing Communities activities (excluding grants and helpline funding) – £11.3m

In addition to the £31m in grants and helpline funding figures above, expenditure for the year included £11.3m of non-financial support to food banks (an increase of 19% from 2022-2023). This has enabled food banks to deliver their services effectively, with support from Trussell including operational infrastructure support, tailored programmes and projects, and expert support staff. The costs of Brent Foodbank, which was directly operated by Trussell for 11 months of the year, are also included here. (On 1 March 2024, governance of Brent Foodbank was transferred to a new independent charity, while remaining within the Trussell community of food banks.)

Changing Minds activities – £8.1m

We invested £8.1m (an increase of 33% from 2022-2023) in increasing public understanding of what leads people to food banks, and building a movement for change – including developing our Guarantee our Essentials campaign, key to our integrated approach to ending the need for food banks.

Changing Policy activities – £2.5m

Costs included here relate to our policy and research work. Together with our partners, including food banks in the Trussell community, people with lived experience of hardship and other anti-poverty organisations, we work to change policy at all levels of government across the UK to address the drivers of food bank use.

Fundraising activities – £7.7m

Like every charity, we must invest in our fundraising activity to secure the funding we require to continue and expand our charitable work. As a proportion of our expenditure, we saw a reduction in our fundraising costs from 13% in 2022-2023 to 12% in 23/24. We continue to work hard to raise funds to directly support food banks as they continue to operate in a challenging environment and to deliver our shared strategy. For further information on the way in which we approach fundraising, see page 67.

Charity retail – £1.3m

This expenditure covers the costs of running our charity shops, including staff, buildings and vehicles.

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Financial performance and position

The year ending 31 March 2024 saw a deficit of £7.9m as we spent down our reserves in line with our plans and in support of our mission – ensuring that people facing financial hardship are supported while also working towards the change that we need to see.

This was a record expenditure year for Trussell. We were able to increase our charitable expenditure to £52.9m (a 13% increase on the previous year), with our overall expenditure at £62.0m. We continue to prioritise in response to the growing levels of need seen across food banks, while supporting an acceleration of anti-poverty work across all areas of our shared Together for Change strategy.

A summary of the year’s results can be found on page 95 of this report and accounts.

On 15 May 2023 the charity incorporated a second wholly owned trading subsidiary, Trussell Retail Limited (company 14870045, registered in England and Wales), to hold its small charity retail operation.

Income

Thanks to the enormous generosity of our supporters – the general public, corporate partners, trusts and foundations – we generated income totalling £54.1m in this financial year. A breakdown of total income by source can be seen on page 73 and further analysis seen in notes 2 to 6.

Costs

As support for our work remains strong, we continue our commitment to significantly increase the scale of the activity that is delivering against our strategy. This has gone hand in hand with recognition of the intense operational pressures food banks

have been facing due to the high levels of need in their communities. We have continued to support food banks to hold both of these priorities. In order to do this, we have retained a focus on significant investment in our grants programme for food banks, representing 39% of our expenditure this year. And we have created additional capacity within the Trussell community of food banks through investment in our expert teams to work alongside local food bank teams. This has enabled the expansion of their work in key areas such as financial inclusion, local organising and volunteer development, as well as boosting the resilience of food banks through support with underpinning capability such as strong governance and financial sustainability.

Overall, this has translated to an increase in total expenditure to £62.0m from £55.2m, in line with

our financial strategy. Outside of charitable activities, we have seen the proportion of our spend on fundraising activities reduce yearon-year to 12%, and our trading activities remain consistent at 2% of our total expenditure budget. A breakdown of total expenditure can be seen on page 72 and further analysis in note 6.

Directly operated food banks

On 1 March 2024, the only remaining food bank directly operated by Trussell (Brent Foodbank) was transferred to an independent charity. The financial results and performance of this food bank up to the point of transfer are included in this report. Accordingly, all figures presented in these accounts are not a measure of the food donations and disbursements across the Trussell food bank community as a whole, only that of Brent Foodbank.

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Reserves policy

Our reserves policy aims to ensure our work is protected from the risk of disruption at short notice due to lack of funds. It also preserves some incoming resources for future opportunities that may present themselves, while at the same time ensuring we do not retain income for longer than required. Our policy is designed to ensure we are able to honour our grant commitments to food banks and deliver our long-term grant making strategy.

Unrestricted free reserves are not intended to cover a permanent loss of funds. They are intended to provide an internal source of funds for situations such as:

• a temporary fall in income or increase in expenditure, as well as covering working capital requirements

• one-time unbudgeted

• expenditure, such as uninsured losses or emergency grants to our food banks

• to allow the organisation time to respond to a permanent fall in income or increase in expenditure

• to take advantage of new opportunities in strategic priority areas

The target range for unrestricted free reserves is set in line with a riskbased approach. This approach has regard to the financial impact of risk, working capital and commitments and long-term plans. At 31 March 2024 our policy provided a range of £12.5m to £15.5m.

Funds

Total funds of the charity as of 31 March 2024 are £27.6m. This includes £3.1m of restricted funds and £24.4m of unrestricted funds. Within this balance of unrestricted funds, the Trustees have made the designations noted below.

Our designations

Investing for change – £9.6m

At the end of March 2022, a total of £17.4m was designated to our Investing for Change programme, setting aside money to accelerate the delivery of our Together for Change strategy. This has been spent down in line with our plans, and the balance of £9.6m is expected to be spent down during the 18 months to 30 September 2025.

The fund set aside resources to boost strategic capacity at both a local and regional level for food banks in the Trussell community, with programmes such as financial inclusion, while supporting their desire to increase influencing

activity and raise the profile of shortcomings in the social security system around the general election in 2024. This fund also includes monies to support our digital roadmap, covering the redevelopment of our website, and food bank websites – ensuring the technology we are using is up to date, accessible and enables people in crisis to access the right support. This planned investment in digital access is reflected in an increase in support costs for the year 2023-2024.

In addition, the fund provides reassurance to our Pathfinder food banks, who remain at the forefront of innovating new strategic programmes, that their work can continue into 2025. This vital work comprises reducing the need for emergency food in their areas, as well as improving food bank practice towards the delivery of long-term change – which includes financial inclusion, local organising, and increasing access to and provision of crucial support via referral partners.

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Top-up designations – £0.2m

Asda and Tesco top-ups – Trussell has established the practice of distributing these top-up donations, which are donations made directly from these companies alongside the instore customer product donations. After the deduction of a small percentage for the charity’s core costs, these are then distributed to food banks in the Trussell community of food banks. These monies have therefore been set aside as designated funds. The balance on these funds at 31 March totalled £0.2m.

At 31 March 2024, the charity’s free reserves, being funds neither restricted nor designated, were £14.7m. This figure is in line with the reserves policy in place at the year end. An analysis of net assets between funds can be found in Note 21.

Investment policy

Trussell’s priority is to spend its resources as promptly, as strategically and in as operationallyfocused a way as possible and in line with our vision to end the need for food banks in the UK. On occasion and due to significant shifts in income and expenditure trends, the charity may be holding larger than anticipated reserves. At such times the overall objective is:

• to operate within an ethical framework for investment

• to manage counterparty risk of cash holding

Investment decisions are sought to be made in line with Trussell’s:

• values of compassion, justice, community and dignity

• vision to end the need for food banks in the UK

• ethical standards

During the year the charity held instant-access cash deposits with CCLA, and short-term fixed deposits with RBS to ensure that we are able to react swiftly to the emergency needs of the Trussell community of food banks. There was no investment in equities, other securities, or longterm fixed deposits.

Post balance sheet events

On 15 May 2023 the charity incorporated a second wholly owned trading subsidiary, Trussell Retail Limited (company 14870045, registered in England and Wales), to hold its small charity retail operation.

On 31 October 2024, Trussell effected the sale as a going concern of the group interest in its nine charity shops to Shaw Trust, who specialise in these trading activities. More detail regarding the transfer can be found on page 123 of this annual report. As a result of the transaction we have reflected in these financial statements the carrying value of the going concern at the sale price rather than book value.

Overview

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Principal risks and uncertainties and our approach to risk management

Our well-established structures and processes continue to enable us to monitor our key risks and ensure they are appropriately managed. Measures include:

• our long-term strategic plan, annual business plan and annual budget, all of which are approved by Trustees

• monthly reviews of our financial position and delivery against our plans

• ongoing close engagement with our community of food banks to ensure excellent intelligence on emerging issues

• our risk management policy and approach, whereby the Senior Leadership Group regularly reviews risks, controls and mitigations and informs the oversight maintained by the Finance, Audit and Risk board subcommittee.

Key risks faced by Trussell can be broadly categorised as follows:

The highly challenging and rapidly changing environment in which Trussell and food banks continue to operate

Last year our community of food banks provided a record 3.1m parcels to people across the UK. Our mid-year statistics, covering the period April to September 2024, already show that the number of people needing support from food banks in the Trussell community remains close to record levels.

In 2023-2024 inflation started at almost 9% and remained above 4% for much of the year. High levels of inflation over the last few years meant that food prices were 24% higher in March 2024 than March 2022. While the rate of inflation may now have lowered, this does not necessarily translate into a

fall in prices and for many people the ability to afford the essentials continues to be out of their reach. There are also worrying signs that energy prices this coming winter will put additional pressure on people’s already limited budgets. All of these cost pressures are felt keenly as our weakened social security system remains ill-equipped to protect people from the most severe forms of hardship.

The pressure on public finances continues to see people struggling to get the support that might prevent them needing to turn to a food bank. We continue to see the effects of the reduced ability of local authorities to invest in preventative services, and people facing longer waits to get the support they need with health conditions, disability and mental health needs. And we see the voluntary sector organisations that we and our food banks work closely

with coming under every growing pressure as they endeavour to support more people who are facing increasingly entrenched financial difficulties.

Specific UK government

interventions, such as the extension of the Household Support Fund announced in September 2024, will have some positive impact but this is another short-term measure and does not address the ongoing fundamental issue of social security payments falling short of the cost of the essentials we all rely on.

We continue to engage closely with our food banks to track the levels of need they are facing so we can pivot to support them in the best way. Our Essentials Guarantee campaign with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation is building pressure to ensure the social security system protects people in the way that it should.

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Meeting need today while working towards our vision for the future

As a community of food banks, we are committed to providing the most compassionate response for as long as we are needed but also are also committed to addressing the drivers which ultimately create the need for food banks. The operational challenges food banks have been facing have meant that their ability to engage with strategic activity and work towards long term change has at times been restricted.

Many food banks have faced the twin challenges of decreasing donations of food – as people who would normally give food generously have faced their own pressures – and higher prices when purchasing their own stock. Over the year we saw even more food banks having to purchase food, and the total amount of stock that was purchased rather than donated jumped from 13% to 21%. Across the Trussell community of food banks, more resource had to go into food and fundraising drives, particularly to get through the winter period of peak need.

We know that our community of food banks is committed to our vision. And we know that there is strong concern that food banks have become normalised in UK society – something that should only ever have been a temporary and shortlived need to support people in crisis is increasingly being seen as part of the everyday fabric of communities.

We continue to support all food banks in the Trussell community to hold the two priorities of achieving our shared vision and – until that happens – providing emergency food and practical support to people in their hardest moments. The steps we are taking to do this include:

• Providing expert and responsive support through are dedicated teams on the ground across the UK

• Enabling food banks to forecast and respond to changing levels of need in their communities

• Continuing our grants streams, which facilitate both day-to-day operations and longer-term strategic activity

• Building our shared learning on what works – particularly in terms of ensuring food banks are a ‘last resort’ and people facing hardship receive the upstream support they need – including through our Pathfinder programme

Building a diverse, inclusive and participatory Trussell community

In order to end the need for food banks, we need to recognise the structures that disproportionately impact particular groups, involve people in the design of services and solutions, and enable people with lived experience to be heard by decision-makers.

We have continued to make strong progress in these areas. People with lived experience of financial hardship are increasingly shaping the work that we do and how we go about it, and we support food banks to do the same. Page 56 of this report sets out examples from the last year, including the launch of our Transforming Together Team as an anti-poverty advisory group.

We are increasingly becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation and our principles around EDI closely inform our thinking at all levels. We are working with food banks so that we can learn from each other, spread good practice, and celebrate our successes.

We also know that there is more we need to do and where we need to deepen our understanding. Our own research indicates that some groups who are at higher risk of food insecurity (such as people from ethnic minority groups, people who are informal carers, and people who are LGBTQ+) are not seen in similar proportions amongst people referred to our food banks. We are committed to increasing our learning and

working together with expert partners to ensure that the services offered by Trussell are fully accessible and that the change we are calling for benefits everyone experiencing or at risk of financial hardship.

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Environmental, social responsibility and governance

Environmental sustainability

In addition to being compliant with government guidance, Trussell is actively working to reduce its impact on the environment.

Steps we have already taken that reduce our environmental impact include:

• Reducing the footprint of our offices, which has reduced our direct energy consumption.

• Shifting to a remote-first approach, and reducing emissions through reduced commuting.

• Encouraging staff to use public transport where possible and appropriate.

• Having recycling facilities at our offices.

• Putting schemes in place for reusing and recycling IT and communications equipment.

Over previous years we have taken a considered approach to minimising negative environmental impacts, whilst balancing this commitment with the requirements inherent in delivering our core function as an anti-poverty charity. In 2023-2024 we carried out a review of our policies and developed an environmental strategy on

how we capture and report on our environmental impact. This has created a baseline against which we can work to improve in future years.

We recognise that, although we are not an environmental charity, environmental issues are of

relevance to the issues at the core of our work: food insecurity and deep poverty in the UK. The drivers of food bank need that we believe we are best placed to make a difference on are primarily those identified through our research, such as insufficient social security provision. Although we know environmental and sustainability issues are not the principal drivers of the hunger and hardship we see at food banks, we will seek to learn more about these connections so that we can make well informed decisions about our engagement with this important theme. We also recognise our responsibility to ensure that the interests of people on the lowest incomes are protected as our society takes steps to transition towards a more sustainable future.

Over the coming year (2024/25) we will be conducting an environmental audit to further understand the impact of our activity on the environment and, through a newly formed Environmental Working Group, will develop a plan to prioritise areas to reduce our negative impact.

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Streamlined energy and carbon reporting

Under the Companies Act 2006, Trussell is required to disclose its annual energy use, and associated greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) regulations. This is the first year that we have fallen within the scope of SECR, and the data will act as a platform upon which we can build in subsequent years, as we seek to better understand and mitigate our impact on the environment.

The figures opposite capture all activities undertaken directly by Trussell and its wholly owned subsidiary companies, including our charity shops and (prior to it becoming independent on 1 March 2024) Brent Foodbank. The activities of the food banks in the Trussell community of food banks who are governed independently are outside the scope of this report.

UK Greenhouse gas emissions and energy use data for the period	2023-2024
Energy consumption used to calculate emissions (kWh)	526,812
Energy consumption breakdown (kWh) Gas Electricity Transport fuel	79,700 157,022 290,090
Scope 1 emissions in metric tonnes CO2e Company owned transport Gas consumption	3.57 14.58
Scope 2 emissions in metric tonnes CO2e Purchased electricity	32.51
Scope 3 emissions in metric tonnes CO2e Business travel in employee-owned vehicles Totalgross emissions in metric tonnes CO2e	63.34
	114.00
Intensity ratio: Tonnes CO2e per employee	0.37

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Quantification and reporting methodology

Energy consumption at our Salisbury office, charity shops, and Brent Foodbank has been recorded from utility bills. Where we rent serviced office space in London and Manchester, our share of the premises’ energy consumption has been estimated by scaling our Salisbury energy usage to the serviced offices’ respective floor areas. A record is kept of distances covered by our retail and Brent Foodbank vans, and by staff travelling in their own cars on Trussell business.

The CO2 emitted by Trussell-owned vans has been calculated from the emissions rates for the model of vehicle. To estimate the emissions from utilities and employee-owned vehicles, we have applied UK Government-approved average conversion factors. Our actual emissions from electricity are likely to be lower than stated, as we subscribe to green tariffs which make use of renewable energy sources; data to quantify this accurately is however unavailable.

Intensity ratio

We have chosen to present the CO2 emissions per (full-time equivalent) employee, on the basis that the number of employees is the key driver of our total level of emissions, via staff travel and office occupancy.

Measures taken to improve energy efficiency

The measures we are taking to improve energy efficiency include:

• Subscribing to a green tariff for our electricity, reducing emissions through the use of renewable energy sources.

• Reducing emissions from commuting and reducing the impact of maintaining multiple office premises by giving all staff the opportunity to work remotely.

• Encouraging staff to use the most environmentally friendly modes of transport in the course of their work, whilst still ensuring their safety and wellbeing. Travel is a necessary part of our work, with in-person visits to food banks an invaluable way of building

effective relationships, providing support and gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges they and people using food banks face.

In February 2024, thanks to the generous support of a corporate partner, we rolled out a new travel management platform. This enables tracking of the CO2 emissions associated with travel on public transport, giving us a better picture of our environmental impact and how we can reduce it. (Disclosure of indirect emissions from public transport use is not mandatory under SECR, and as we have limited data for 23/24, we have opted not to include it in this year’s annual report.)

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Social responsibility

Public benefit disclosure

The Trustees confirm they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives, and in planning future activities. Trussell is a public benefit entity. The Trustees refer to public benefit throughout this report. The Trustees, who are also directors of Trussell for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. In preparing the report, which also serves as the Strategic Report for the purposes of Company Legislation the Trustees have adopted the provisions of 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).

Stakeholder engagement

Trussell’s trustees have a duty to promote the success of the charity and, in doing so, are required by section 172(1) of the Companies Act 2006 to have regard to various specific factors, including:

The likely consequences of any decision in the long term

We consult with people with lived experience of financial hardship, our community of food banks, our colleagues, volunteers, supporters and partner organisations to ensure that we shape our future with the people and communities we are here to serve.

Long-term sustainability is considered by the trustees through our risk management systems and setting of our financial policies (such as reserves and investment policies). The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and the executive team regularly review management information, budgets and reserves projections and progress against budget.

The interests of the organisation’s employees

Our aim is to foster an environment that celebrates similarities and differences and to create an environment in which all individuals have equal access to opportunities and resources.

In July 2023 we signed a voluntary recognition agreement with Unison to represent Trussell staff. The Union is responsible for negotiating on behalf of Trussell staff on issues such as terms and conditions of employment, pay reviews and pensions. A joint negotiating and consultation committee has been established, through which the Union engages with our Senior Leadership Group. Collectively, we’re looking forward to working together to ensure that Trussell retains and strengthens its valuesbased commitment to excellence in employment practice, in the service of our wider vision and mission.

Trussell promotes flexible working practices to show our commitment to a healthy work-life balance, routinely measures the wellbeing of our

people, and receives feedback on employee wellbeing through regular surveys and collaboration with our staff forum. The board receives regular workforce updates in respect of all of the above.

The need to foster the organisation’s relationships with suppliers, customers and others

The charity works to ensure all of the organisation’s stakeholders are able to participate in its development. We have structures and programmes to ensure that our key stakeholders are at the heart of decision-making, including a panel of people with lived experience of financial hardship, and strategic consultation groups with representatives of circa 10% of the community of food banks. We work closely with partners across the sector, including representatives of anti-poverty charities and other charitable food providers, to co-ordinate operational and advocacy activity. Trussell is accredited under the Good Business Charter and complies with the Ethical Trading Initiative base code.

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The impact of the organisation’s operations on the community and environment

Through our Together for Change Strategy across our Changing Communities, Changing Minds and Changing Policy work streams we have been able to support the incredible work of our community of food bank charities to affect positive change in their local communities across the UK, the impact of which is evidenced throughout the strategic report (pages 19-88). Trussell’s environmental approach, in compliance with the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting guidance, is detailed on page 81.

the acceptance, refusal and return of donations, conflicts of interest, safeguarding, environmental issues, dignity and respect at work, managing external political and policy interests, and whistleblowing, all of which are reviewed regularly.

The need to act fairly between members of the organisation

The Trustees, as directors of the company, are members of the company and understand the need to avoid and manage potential conflicts of interest as required by the Charity Commission.

The desirability of the organisation maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct

Trussell’s reputation and the trust in us of the public is critical to our ability to achieve our vision of a UK without the need for food banks. Our organisational values are used in our recruitment, training of employees and volunteers and through the variety of policies and controls that are in place which promote corporate responsibility and ethical behaviour. These include our policy and practice on

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Governance

Organisational structure

Our Trustees are ultimately responsible for the overall control and strategic direction of the charity and the protection of its assets. Day-to-day management is delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, Emma Revie, and the Senior Leadership Group. Our Trustees meet regularly to set the vision, strategic framework, and budgets under which the charity operates and to manage risks.

The Board has established five subcommittees with delegated authority for certain matters and to ensure key matters are given increased time and scrutiny.

• Finance, Audit and Risk:

ensures that the charity operates within the financial guidelines set out in current legislation, by the Charity Commission, by the charity’s governing documents and by the Board. This includes review of the current and forward financial situation, oversight of internal and external audit activities and oversight of the organisation-wide risk strategy.

• Strategy and Impact:

monitors the progress of Trussell’s organisational strategy, and ensures that there is a robust and effective process for capturing and understanding evidence relating to our strategic objectives, approaches and values of Trussell and the wider community of food banks.

• People and Governance:

advises the Board on effective governance and oversight of strategic HR actions and policies to enable recruitment, development, engagement and retention of the best staff, volunteers, and Trustees. This includes reviewing and approving key policies and oversight of priority areas of people-focused activity such as safeguarding, equity, diversity and inclusion and the participation of people with lived experience of financial hardship in our work.

• Nominations:

leads on the recruitment and selection for appointments to the Board, its subcommittees and its subsidiaries. This includes

regular Board appraisals and skills audits to inform future Board development or composition.

• Remuneration:

oversees the remuneration policy and strategy of the organisation and agrees the salaries and any other payments to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Senior Leadership Group members.

The full Board formally meets at least three times a year. The subcommittees also meet at least three times a year. An AGM is held each year. Our governance is underpinned by the Charity Governance Code and put into action via annual appraisals for each Board member and a formal process for the Chair, Treasurer and CEO whose appraisals are reviewed by our People and Governance subcommittee.

The Trustees set the strategic

direction of the organisation and are regularly updated on a wide range of activity, including progress against our strategic plan, grant-making to the community of food banks, public relations and fundraising campaigns

and the effective implementation of our safeguarding, data protection and health and safety policies. Trustees receive regular financial updates which form the basis of the routine financial monitoring.

The CEO holds regular accountability meetings to monitor and control the organisation and reporting processes are in place. Oversight groups for our key areas of activity ensure that any issues are escalated and resolved as needed.

Governing document

Trussell is a charitable company limited by guarantee, constituted under a trust deed dated 12 January 1997 and transferred into the charitable company (05434524) on 19 September 2005 and is a registered charity, number 1110522. The company also registered as a charity in Scotland on 5 September 2013, number SC044246. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. In the event of the

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company being wound up, members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £10.

Recruitment and appointment of new Trustees

The Trustees of the company are also charity Trustees for the purpose of charity law. When recruiting new Trustees, we aim to attract a diverse range of candidates who have the skills the charity needs. The Board values the benefits of having members with different backgrounds, expertise and experience, and has committed to increasing our diversity in order to ensure we are benefiting from distinctive perspectives. Overall, our Trustees are appointed on merit, ensuring we have a balance of skills and experience.

Five new Trustees joined the Board and one board member resigned in the year ended 31 March 2024. The new Trustees were appointed by the Nominations Committee and took up their role in May 2023. This followed a robust interview and engagement selection process to ensure they understand our vision and values. Trustees have been subject to DBS checks where appropriate.

All new Trustees undertake an induction programme, which includes visits to food banks, and briefing on the roles and duties of the Trustees, company and charity law and governance, and financial and risk management. Additional training is arranged as needed for individual Trustees or for the Trustees as a whole.

In June 2024, Stephen Hicks stepped down as Chair on completion of his second term and we welcomed Natalie Campbell as the new Chair of Trustees.

Our People and Renumeration policy

Our pay principles ensure that our pay at all levels are aligned to our values and commitment to EDI, these principles are that:

• we pay competitively

• we pay the mid-point in our market

• we are committed to equity

• we are transparent.

We are proud of the work we have done to continue to ensure through our pay principles that we’re a fair, equitable and competitive-paying

organisation. This is reflected in our gender pay gap which is a mean of 1.54% – significantly lower than the UK average of 14.3% (ONS data, 2023) – demonstrating the impact and effectiveness these principles have in delivering equitable pay outcomes.

We continue to be accredited as a Living Wage employer and our employee benefits encourage the wellbeing, mental health, and financial resilience of our staff in keeping with our charitable aims. We also hold accreditation under the Good Business Charter.

Modern slavery

Trussell complies with the Ethical Trading Initiative base code, and we expect our suppliers and their supply chain to comply with this code. There is no modern slavery or human trafficking in any part of our business. When we review our contracts, and develop new ones, we assess the possibility of modern slavery. We continue to monitor and improve how we manage contracts and provide training to staff and our community of food banks to raise awareness.

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Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also the directors of Trussell for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

• observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent

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

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose the reasonable accuracy at any time of the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as each of the Trustees are aware:

There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware; and each of the Trustees has taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

Approved by order of the Board of Trustees on 16 December 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

N Campbell MBE Chair of Trustees

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Our charity details

Registered Company Number

05434524 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity Number

1110522 (England and Wales) SC044246 (Scotland)

Registered Office

Unit 9, Ashfield Trading Estate, Ashfield Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP2 7HL

Trustees

Mr S Hicks CBE (Chair) (until 01.07.24)

N Campbell MBE (Chair) (joined 25.06.24)

Mr D Gordon

Mr S Ariaratnam (joined 30.05.23)

Mr T Gibbs (joined 30.05.23)

Dr L Hickman

Ms S Morgan (joined 30.05.23)

Mr P Morrison Mr D Shrubsole (joined 30.05.23) Revd B Thomas Ms S Elliot (joined 30.05.23) Mr R Lanyon (until 28.11.23)

Company Secretary

Mrs C Leeper

Chief Executive Officer

Mrs E Revie

Bankers

The Royal Bank of Scotland, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB

Investment Managers

CCLA Investment Management Limited, 1 Angel Lane, London, EC4R 3AB

Auditors

Buzzacott LLP, 130 Wood Street, London, EC2V 6DL Lawyers Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP, trading as Bates Wells, 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1BE

Overview

Strategic report

Independent auditor’s report

Financial statements

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Independent auditor’s report

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Independent auditor’s report to the trustees and members of The Trussell Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Trussell Trust (the ‘charitable parent company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the group statement of financial activities, group and charitable parent company balance sheets and statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and the notes to the financial statements. 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).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the charitable parent company’s affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of the group’s 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, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).

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 auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s 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 group and charitable parent company’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 trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

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Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report and financial statements, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s 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, which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law and includes the strategic report, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the trustees’ report , which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law and includes the strategic report, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the charitable parent company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report including the strategic report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• proper and adequate accounting records have not been kept by the charitable parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• the charitable parent company 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 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 the trustees 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 group’s and the charitable parent company’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 group or the charitable parent company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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Auditor’s 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 auditor’s 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 is detailed below:

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

• the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

• we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charitable company through discussions with management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the sector;

• the identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of noncompliance throughout the audit;

• we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the accounts or the activities of the charitable company. These included but were not limited to the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), those that relate to fundraising and are overseen by the Fundraising Regulator, and those that relate to data protection (General Data Protection Regulation); and

• we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management, inspecting legal correspondence and reviewing Trustees’ meeting minutes.

We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

• making enquiries of management and those charged with governance as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and

• considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

• performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;

• tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;

• tested the authorisation of expenditure as part of our substantive testing thereon;

• assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in the accounting policies were indicative of potential bias; and

• used data analytics to identify any significant or unusual transactions and identify the rationale for them.

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

• agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;

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• reviewing the minutes of meetings of the Trustees, as well as the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee, and the People & Governance Committee;

• enquiring of management and those charged with governance as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and

• reviewing any available correspondence with HMRC and the Charity Commission.

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s 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 and to the charity’s trustees as a body, in accordance with Section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’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 charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Soran ~~kk~~

Katharine Patel

(Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

19 December 2024

Buzzacott LLP is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

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! ay 4 i, Financial

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Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

(incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Note	Unrestricted £‘000 Restricted £‘000 2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Income from
Donations and Legacies 2 Fundraising Income Donated Goods & Services	38,103 10,437 48,540 55,449 96 1,141 1,237 452
Charitable activities 3	– – – 171
Other trading activities 4	1,395 – 1,395 1,345
Investment Income 5	2,880 – 2,880 628
Total income	42,474 11,578 54,052 58,045
Expenditure on
Raising funds 6 Fundraising activities Other trading activities	6,840 904 7,744 7,222 1,285 – 1,285 1,004
Charitable activities 6 Grants Expenditure Changing Communities Changing Minds Changing Policy	21,347 9,620 30,967 29,164 8,709 2,592 11,301 9,483 7,575 559 8,134 6,070 2,340 191 2,531 2,289
Total expenditure	48,096 13,866 61,962 55,232
Net (Expenditure)/Income	(5,622) (2,288) (7,910) 2,813
Reconciliation of Funds Total funds brought forward at 1 April 2023 22 Total funds carried forward at 31 March 2024 22	30,083 5,435 35,518 32,705
	24,461 3,147 27,608 35,518

Overview

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96

Balance Sheet

As at 31 March 2024

Note	Group Charity
	2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000 2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Fixed assets Tangible assets 13 Investments 14	38 295 38 295 – – – –
	38 295 38 295
Current assets Stocks 15 Debtors 16 Short–term deposits 17 Cash at bank 17	– 9 – 9 5,247 5,506 5,671 5,446 – 9,000 – 9,000 49,472 49,466 49,055 49,403
	54,719 63,981 54,726 63,858
Creditors:Amounts fallingdue within one year 18	(20,637) (17,296) (20,644) (17,173)
Net current assets	34,082 46,685 34,082 46,685
Total assets less current liabilities	34,120 46,980 34,120 46,980
Creditors:Amounts falling due after more than one year 19 Provisions for liabilities 20 Total net assets	(6,445) (11,298) (6,445) (11,298) (67) (164) (67) (164)
	27,608 35,518 27,608 35,518

continued overleaf

Overview

Balance Sheet continued

As at 31 March 2024

	Independent auditor’s report Financial statements
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The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 16 December 2024 Funds Unrestricted General Designated Restricted Total funds ~~__ 3~~		22 22 22 ~~3~~	14,695 10,823 14,695 10,823 9,766 19,260 9,766 19,260 24,461 30,083 24,461 30,083 3,147 5,435 3,147 5,435 27,608 35,518 27,608 35,518 ~~3~~
	And were signed on its behalf by:

Trussell is the operating name of The Trussell Trust. Company Registration Number: 05434524

Overview

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Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

		2024	2023
	Note	£‘000	£‘000
Cash fows from operating activities
Cash fows (used in)/provided by operating activities		(11,874)	7,792
Cash fows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fxed assets	13	-	(42)
Interest received	5	2,880	628
Decrease/(increase) in short-term deposits		9,000	(9,000)
Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities		11,880	(8,414)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period		6	(622)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period		49,466	50,088
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period		49,472	49,466

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

Note	2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Net (expenditure)/income for the reporting period Adjusted for: Depreciation 13 Loss on disposal of fxed assets Interest received 5 Less movement in provisions 20 Decrease/(increase) in stocks 15 Decrease in debtors 16 (Decrease)/increase in creditors 18 & 19 Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities	(7,910) 2,813 226 208 55 - (2,880) (628) (121) (8) 9 (1) 259 505 (1,512) 4,903
	(11,874) 7,792

Breakdown of cash and cash equivalents

Breakdown of cash and cash equivalents
Note	2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Cash at bank 17	49,472 49,466
	49,472 49,466

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Notes to the financial statements

For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Note 1: Accounting Policies

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) ‘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 2019)’, Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention except for investments which are included at market value, as modified by the revaluation of certain assets.

The consolidated Statement of Financial Activities and consolidated Balance Sheet consolidate the financial statements of the charitable company, the Trussell Trust, and its subsidiary undertakings,

Trussell Retail Limited and Trussell Trading Limited. The results of the subsidiaries are consolidated on a line by line basis.

The charity company has taken advantage of the exemption allowed under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not presented its own Statement of Financial Activities in these financial statements.

The financial statements are presented in sterling, rounded to the nearest thousand pounds.

Going Concern

The trustees have considered both the charity’s financial position at the year end and the impact of future activities. The trustees have made this assessment in respect to a period of one year from the date of approval of these financial statements.

Although the organisation and UK society is in the midst of a cost of living crisis, and continues to feel the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Trussell continues to manage key risks through our well established risk management processes which have been embedded and have proved robust; for more information, please see page 78.

A risk-based reserves policy

has been adopted; more details of this can be seen on page 76. The trustees therefore have a reasonable expectation that there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue its operations, including to meet its liabilities, for the foreseeable future. As such, the charity continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income is only deferred when:

• the donor specified that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods, or

• the donor has imposed conditions which must be met before the charity has unconditional entitlement.

Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis.

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Income from charitable activities includes income received under contract or where entitlement to grant funding is subject to specific conditions. Contract income is recognised as earned (as the related good and services are provided). Grant income included in this category provides funding to support activities and is recognised where there is entitlement, probability of receipt and the amount can be measured reliability.

Income from the sale of donated goods via the charity’s shops is recognised at the point of sale.

Volunteers and donated goods and services

The value of services provided by volunteers is not incorporated into these financial statements.

Where goods or services are provided to the charity as a donation that would normally be purchased from suppliers, this contribution is included in the financial statements at an estimate based on the value of the contribution to the charity.

Food and toiletries, donated to the charity and held as stock for distribution by Brent Foodbank, are recognised as income within voluntary income when received and as stock; an equivalent amount is included as expenditure when the stock is distributed.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. In the case of grants payable, these conditions are met when the amount of grant awarded has been communicated to the recipient, and there are no conditions attached to the grant which give the charity discretion to avoid this commitment. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Provisions

Provisions are recognised when the charity has a legal or constructive obligation, but for which either the timing or the amount of the future expenditure required to settle the obligation is uncertain.

Irrecoverable VAT

All expenditure is classified under activity headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of expenditure for which it was incurred.

Raising funds

Raising funds includes all expenditure incurred by the charity to raise funds for its charitable

purposes, such as fundraising activities and events, and the costs of charity retail trading (under the subheading ‘Other trading activities’).

Allocation and apportionment of costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs have been allocated based on staff time and the split is shown in Note 7: Support Costs.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

• Short leasehold improvements – over the term of the lease

• Fixtures and Fittings – 25% on cost

• Motor Vehicles – 25% on cost

• Computer Equipment – 25% on cost

Individual fixed assets costing £10,000 or more, plus individual assets purchased as part of a capital project costing in excess of £10,000, are capitalised at cost.

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Stocks

Stocks comprise food, toiletries and household essentials held for distribution by Brent Foodbank. Stocks are valued at fair value, after allowance for obsolete and slowmoving items. On 1 March 2024, governance of Brent Foodbank was transferred to a new independent charity within the Trussell community of food banks, and therefore its stock holdings at 31 March 2024 are not reflected within these financial statements.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Leasing commitments

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.

Pension costs and other postretirement benefits

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charity’s pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Accounting estimates and judgements

In preparing the financial statements estimates and judgements have been made when applying the accounting policies. These are evaluated on an ongoing basis and are based on historical experience. The only areas where estimates or judgements have a material effect on the values within the financial statements are:

• depreciation on tangible fixed assets

• the allocation of costs across expenditure categories in the Statement of Financial Activities

• the value of services donated to the charity

• the assumptions used in respect of forecasted income and expenditure for the purpose of concluding that the charity is a going concern.

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Note 2: Donations and legacies

Note 3: Charitable activities

Note 4: Other trading activities

	Group
	2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Fundraised income Donations & Grants Gift Aid Legacies	42,524 50,249 4,257 4,750 1,759 450
	48,540 55,449
Donated Goods & Services Food (Brent Foodbank) Services & other goods	96 180 1,141 272
	1,237 452
	49,777 55,901

	Group		Group	Group
	2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000		2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Programme Grants & Contracts - 171 - 171 This comprises income earned under performance-related grants, where this is conditional upon the charity’s delivery of specifc charitable programmes, or under contracts for the provision of services aligned with Trussell’s charitable aims. Other grants received to support the charity’s work are included within ‘donations and grants’ in note 2 adjacent.		Charity retail – shop sales	1,026 1,053
		Other income	369 292
			1,395 1,345
		Note 5: Investment income Group
			Group
			2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
		Interest on cash holdings	2,880 628

	Group	Group
	2024 £‘000	2023 £‘000
Interest on cash holdings	2,880	628

Brent Foodbank transferred to an independent charity within the Trussell community of food banks as of 1st March 2024.

During the year the charity received free media, advertising, and IT support, to the value of £1,141,000 (2023 – £272,000).

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Note 6: Total expenditure

	Group
	Remuneration Costs Offce Costs Project Costs Support Costs Total Total
	2024 £‘000 2024 £‘000 2024 £‘000 2024 £‘000 2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Raising funds Fundraising activities Other trading activities	2,186 131 4,252 1,175 7,744 7,222 718 29 474 64 1,285 1,004
	2,904 160 4,726 1,239 9,029 8,226
Charitable activities Grants payable Changing Communities Changing Minds Changing Policy	194 32 30,610 131 30,967 29,164 6,218 465 1,798 2,820 11,301 9,483 3,162 232 3,147 1,593 8,134 6,070 1,372 96 410 653 2,531 2,289
	10,946 825 35,965 5,197 52,933 47,006
	13,850 985 40,691 6,436 61,962 55,232

Remuneration costs shown above plus those included within support costs (as shown in note 7 below) relate to the various remuneration costs set out in note 11.

Office costs include costs relating to employees, office expenditure and communications.

Project costs relate to expenditure on specific activities; for grants payable this figure equates to the grants made as detailed in note 8.

Support costs represent indirect costs which provide the organisational structure that enables the charitable activities to take place. An analysis of support costs is provided in note 7.

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Note 7: Support costs

	Group 2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000 2,627 2,097 227 411 1,583 823 594 534 146 192 214 211 681 559 236 174 128 99 6,436 5,100	Governance costs
			2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Remuneration Agency & contract staff IT (software, consultancy & equipment)* Premises Staff recruitment General consultancy & professional fees Training & other staff- related costs Governance Miscellaneous		Auditor’s remuneration Statutory Audit Tax and other services Trustee costs** Accountancy, legal and professional advice	46 44 48 39 36 13 106 78
		* During 2023-2024, as planned, we spent down a proportion of our designated fund in overhauling our websites, which primarily drove this increase in costs, see page 74 for more info In 2024, in addition to the cost of regular Board ’ 236 174

meetings, and reimbursement of Trustees’ expenses (see note 10), the charity incurred the cost of recruiting a new Chair of Trustees. This was a one-off expense, due to the previous Chair, who had led the Board since 2018, reaching the end of his term of office.

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Note 8: Grants payable

	Group
	2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Providing support & advice on money matters for people facing hardship Working to reduce the need for emergency food locally Warehousing/Facilities Volunteering support Organising & Local Mobilisation Food collection top-up Other grants to food bank charities	15,134 18,131 4,409 3,614 808 658 410 298 2,808 1,745 1,712 1,617 5,329 2,739
Total Grants The following was a recipient of material grant funding during the year: Citizens Advice	30,610 28,802 £6,074,387

Grants were awarded to approximately 400 charities operating food banks in the Trussell community, based throughout the UK. A grant was made to Citizens Advice to increase our shared Help through Hardship helpline to enable more people facing hardship to access advice and support on money matters, as well as receive a food bank referral where required.

Note 9: Net expenditure is stated after charging

Note 10: Trustees’ Remuneration & Benefits

	Group
	2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Auditor’s remuneration Statutory Audit Tax and other services Depreciation – owned assets Operating leases	46 44 48 39 226 208 492 476

During both the current year and prior year, no trustees received any remuneration or benefits in their role as trustee. The Memorandum and Articles of Association of the

company permit payments to trustees where certain criteria are met.

Trustees’ expenses

During the year, seven trustees were reimbursed for out of pocket expenses totalling £6,421 (2023: three, expenses totalling £3,792). These expenses relate primarily to travel costs incurred on behalf of the charity.

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Note 11: Staff Costs

	Group
	2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Wages and salaries Social security costs Other pension costs Other benefts	13,923 11,275
	1,585 1,295
	858 666
	111 85
	16,477 13,321

Other benefits relates to costs of providing income protection and life assurance, and health plans, which are offered to all employees on an equal basis.

The average monthly number of employees during the year, on both a headcount and a full-time equivalent basis, was as follows:

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Headcount FTE
2024 2023 2024 2023
Raising Funds 48 43 45 40
Changing Communities 118 107 108 97
Changing Minds 63 47 61 48
Changing Policy 27 20 25 20
Charity Retail 26 26 20 19
Support 44 37 43 34
Grants 5 5 5 5
331 285 307 263
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The number of employees whose benefits (excluding employer National Insurance contributions and employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

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2024 2023
£60,001 – £70,000 23 18
£70,001 – £80,000 8 7
£80,001 – £90,000 7 1
£90,001 – £100,000 - 2
£100,001 – £110,000 2 1
£110,001 – £120,000 1 –
41 29
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Staff were employed in all areas of Trussell’s work, including the charity shops and associated supporting activity, to enable the charity to meet its responsibilities. The lowest rate of pay is aligned to the living wage as set by the Living Wage Foundation.

and employer pension costs) of the KMP was £430,748 (2023: £419,205).

Using available pay data for the end of the year to 31 March 2024, the CEO/ median pay ratio is 3:1 (for the end of the year to 31 March 2023 – 3:1). That is to say that the CEO earns 3 times the rate of the median paid employee on a full time equivalent basis, accounting for all salary related benefits.

Key Management Personnel

The key management personnel (KMP) of the charity comprise the trustees, the Chief Executive Officer, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating and People Officer, and the Company Secretary. The total employee benefits (including employer National Insurance contributions

We believe that this is a reasonable ratio for our organisation and sector, reflecting our commitment to fair pay for our entire staff team and our alignment with the aims of the Good Business Charter following our accreditation in August 2020.

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Note 12: Comparatives for the consolidated statement of financial activities

		Unrestricted 2023 £‘000 Restricted 2023 £‘000 Total 2023 £‘000
Income from
Donations and legacies	Fundraising Income	34,234 21,215 55,449
	Donated Goods & Services	180 272 452
Charitable activities	Programme Grants & Contracts	- 171 171
Other trading activities		1,345 - 1,345
Investment Income		628 - 628
Total income		36,387 21,658 58,045
Expenditure on
Raising funds	Fundraising activities	6,881 341 7,222
	Other trading activities	1,004 - 1,004
Charitable activities	Grants Expenditure	12,068 17,096 29,164
	Changing Communities	6,261 3,222 9,483
	Changing Minds	5,422 648 6,070
	Changing Policy	1,858 431 2,289
Total expenditure Net income		33,494 21,738 55,232
		2,893 (80) 2,813
Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward at 1 April 2022 Total funds carried forward at 31 March 2023		27,190 5,515 32,705
		30,083 5,435 35,518

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Note 13: Tangible Fixed Assets

	Group Leasehold improvements £‘000 Motor Vehicles £‘000 Computer equipment £‘000 Total 2024 £‘000 512 50 430 992 24 - - 24 (96) (22) (315) (433) 440 28 115 583 385 23 289 697 113 15 98 226 (96) (10) (272) (378) 402 28 115 545 38 - - 38 127 27 141 295		Charity
			Leasehold improvements £‘000 Motor Vehicles £‘000 Computer equipment £‘000 Total 2024 £‘000
Cost At 1 April 2023 Additions Disposals		Cost At 1 April 2023 Additions Disposals	512 50 430 992 24 - - 24 (96) (50) (315) (461)
At 31 March 2024		At 31 March 2024	440 – 115 555
Depreciation At 1 April 2023 Charge in year Disposals		Depreciation At 1 April 2023 Charge in year Disposals	385 23 289 697 113 6 98 217 (96) (29) (272) (397)
At 31 March 2024		At 31 March 2024	402 – 115 517
Net book value At 31 March 2024		Net book value At 31 March 2024	38 - - 38
At 31 March 2023		At 31 March 2023	127 27 141 295

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Note 14: Investments

Investment in subsidiary companies

The charity has two wholly owned subsidiaries:

Trussell Trading Limited, a company incorporated in the UK from 1 April 2021 (Company Registration No. 13310114), whose principal activity is the management of corporate sponsorship activities on behalf of the charity. As at 31 March 2024, the charity’s investment in Trussell Trading Limited was £1. The results of Trussell Trading Limited for the year ended 31 March 2024 are summarised below.

	2024 £‘000 2023 £‘000
Turnover Cost of sales Gross proft Administrative expenses Operating proft Donation to The Trussell Trust under Gift Aid	341 264 (60) (33)
	281 231 (60) (57)
	221 174 (221) (174)
Retained proft	- -

Trussell Retail Limited, a company incorporated in the UK from 15 May 2023 (Company Registration No. 14870045), and which commenced trading on 1 August 2023, whose principal activity was to raise funds for the charity to use for its charitable purposes, primarily by operating a network of charity retail shops. As at 31 March 2024, the charity’s investment in Trussell Retail Limited was £1. The results of Trussell Retail Limited for the period ended 31 March 2024 are summarised below.

31 March 2024 are summarised below.
	2024 £‘000
Turnover Cost of sales Gross proft Administrative expenses Operating proft Donation to The Trussell Trust under Gift Aid	662
	(3)
	659
	(580)
	79
	(79)
Retained proft	-

At both 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2023, Trussell Trading Limited had net assets of £1, made up of called up share capital of £1 and retained earnings of £nil.

At 31 March 2024, Trussell Retail Limited had net assets of £1, made up of called up share capital of £1 and retained earnings of £nil. Post year-end, on 31 October 2024, the company’s activities and undertakings were transferred to Shaw Trust. Please see page 78 and note 26 for further details.

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Note 15: Stocks

Note 17: Short-term deposits and Cash at Bank

Group & Charity

	Group & Charity
	Total 2024 £‘000 Total 2023 £‘000
Food Stocks – Brent Foodbank	- 9
	- 9

On 1 March 2024, governance of Brent Foodbank was transferred to a new independent charity within the Trussell community of food banks, and therefore its stock holdings at 31 March 2024 are not reflected within our accounts.

Short-term deposits

At 31 March 2024, £nil (£2023: £9 million) was held in a short term deposit account with The Royal Bank of Scotland.

Cash at bank

The cash balance at 31 March 2024 represents the balance on restricted funds, funds set aside for designated activities (see note 22), and cash required to meet grant commitments to the Trussell community of food banks for the coming year, in addition to the working capital required for the charity’s core operations. All monies are held in interest bearing accounts.

Note 16: Debtors

	Group Charity
	Total 2024 £‘000 Total 2023 £‘000 Total 2024 £‘000 Total 2023 £‘000
Trade debtors Gift Aid due Amounts owed from Subsidiaries (note 14) Prepayments and accrued income	974 807 973 511 1,000 448 976 448 - - 497 282 3,273 4,251 3,225 4,205
	5,247 5,506 5,671 5,446

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Note 18: Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

Note 19: Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year

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Group Charity Group Charity
Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total
2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023
£‘000 £‘000 £‘000 £‘000 £‘000 £‘000 £‘000 £‘000
Trade creditors 979 963 958 963 Accruals for grants payable 6,445 11,298 6,445 11,298
Taxation and social security 473 1,061 458 988 6,445 11,298 6,445 11,298
Other creditors 186 157 182 157
Amounts owed to group - - 51 -
undertakings (note 14)
Deferred income 500 944 511 900
(See below) Note 20: Provisions
Accrued expenses 911 1,114 896 1,108
Group & Charity
Accruals for grants payable 17,588 13,057 17,588 13,057
Dilapidations Total
20,637 17,296 20,644 17,173
£‘000 £‘000
Deferred Income
At 1 April 2023 164 164
Brought forward 944 50 900 50
Additions during the year 29 29
Amount released to income (944) (50) (900) (50)
Released during the year (126) (126)
Amount deferred at 500 944 511 900
At 31 March 2024 67 67
year end
Carried forward 500 944 511 900
Provisions have been made for the expected dilapidation
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Provisions have been made for the expected dilapidation costs on the property leases held by the charity.

Deferred income relates to grants where cash has been received but the recognition criteria for income were not met during the year.

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Note 21: Analysis of net assets between funds

	General fund	Designated	Restricted
	reserve	funds	funds	Total Total
	2024	2024	2024	2024 2023
	£‘000	£‘000	£‘000	£‘000 £‘000
Fixed assets	38	-	-	38 295
Current assets	34,237	12,750	7,732	54,719 63,858
Current liabilities	(13,391)	(2,720)	(4,526)	(20,637) (17,173)
Long term liabilities	(6,122)	(264)	(59)	(6,445) (11,298)
Provisions	(67)	-	-	(67) (164)
	14,695	9,766	3,147	27,608 35,518

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Note 22: Movement in funds

For the year ended 31 March 2024

Note 22: Movement in funds For the year ended 31 March 2024
	At 1 April			At 31 March
	2023	Income	Expenditure	2024
	£‘000	£‘000	£‘000	£‘000
Unrestricted Funds
General fund reserve	10,823	41,149	(37,277)	14,695
Designated Funds:
Changing Policy	761	-	(761)	-
Investing for Change	17,400	-	(7,829)	9,571
Asda Top-up	46	262	(307)	1
Tesco (top up)	1,053	1,063	(1,922)	194
Total Unrestricted Funds	30,083	42,474	(48,096)	24,461
Restricted Funds
The Andrew Salvesen Family Trust	-	30	(30)	-
Asda	22	-	(22)	-
The Balcombe Charitable Trust	-	300	(300)	-
Bank of America	136	-	(136)	-
Barclays	1,167	-	(602)	565
BBC Children in Need and National Lottery Community Fund #iwill fund Grant	113	-	(89)	24
The Bedford Family Charitable Fund	-	40	(40)	-
Benefact Trust	-	100	(70)	30
Brent Foodbank	90	65	(155)	-
CAF America (donor and collected funds)	-	44	(11)	33
Citi Bank Foundation	-	406	(83)	323
City Bridge Foundation	54	33	(66)	21
Clara E Burgess Charity	54	150	(40)	164

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Comic Relief and Sainsbury’s Nourish the Nation	-	125	(125)	-
Coronary Prevention Group	-	110	(72)	38
Crisis response	-	781	(781)	-
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust	-	100	(100)	-
Deliveroo	132	1,005	(1,002)	135
Delta Airlines	-	62	-	62
Food bank community – Covid-19	5	-	(5)	-
Food bank community – Regional funds	11	175	(99)	87
Gifts in Kind – Services	-	1,141	(1,141)	-
Grants programmes	1,302	222	(1,097)	427
The JABBS Foundation	-	200	(163)	37
The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust	-	3,500	(3,429)	71
Kier Group	-	46	-	46
King Charles III Charitable Fund	-	250	(250)	-
The Moondance Foundation	39	500	(500)	39
Natwest	1,207	-	(1,207)	-
Other restricted funds	3	116	(103)	16
OVO Energy	67	50	(67)	50
The Pears Family Charitable Foundation	444	-	(201)	243
People’s Postcode Lottery	30	400	(430)	-
Porticus UK	23	-	(23)	-
Post Offce Ltd	305	312	(305)	312
Reginald M Phillips Charitable Foundation	-	200	(175)	25
The Robertson Trust	-	150	(90)	60
Sodexo	100	-	-	100

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SSP Foundation	-	106	(106)	-
Strategic stream – Changing Policy	130	-	(130)	-
The Swire Charitable Trust	-	120	(120)	-
The Vertex Foundation	-	149	(82)	67
Waitrose	1	540	(419)	122
The Watches of Switzerland Group	-	50	-	50
Total Restricted Funds	5,435	11,578	(13,866)	3,147
Total funds	35,518	54,052	(61,962)	27,608

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Comparative information for the year ended 31 March 2023

				Transfer
	At 1 April			between	At 31 March
	2022	Income	Expenditure	funds	2023
	£‘000	£‘000	£‘000	£‘000	£‘000
Unrestricted Funds
General fund reserve	13,140	34,227	(19,144)	(17,400)	10,823
Designated Funds:
Changing Communities	5,900	-	(5,900)	-	-
Changing Minds	5,525	-	(5,525)	-	-
Changing Policy	1,817	-	(1,056)	-	761
Pathfnder grant fund	280	-	(280)	-	-
Investing for Change	-	-	-	17,400	17,400
Asda (top-up)	158	429	(541)	-	46
Tesco (top up)	370	1,724	(1,041)	-	1,053
Total Unrestricted Funds	27,190	36,380	(33,487)	-	30,083
Restricted Funds
Adobe Foundation Help through	15	-	(15)	-	-
Hardship Helpline
Appeal Funds –	-	11,227	(11,227)	-	-
Winter Emergency Appeal
Asda	116	1	(95)	-	22
The Balcombe Charitable Trust	-	232	(232)	-	-
Bank of America	259	83	(206)	-	136
Barclays	1,725	-	(558)	-	1,167
BBC Children in Need and National Lottery	131	166	(184)	-	113
Community Fund #iwill fund Grant
Benefact Trust	-	100	(100)	-	-

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Brent Foodbank	53	163	(126)	-	90
CAF America	-	111	(111)	-	-
City Bridge Foundation	52	65	(63)	-	54
Clara E Burgess Charity	-	54	-	-	54
Deliveroo	-	1,454	(1,322)	-	132
Food bank community – Covid-19	201	-	(196)	-	5
Food bank community – Regional funds	35	101	(125)	-	11
Four Daughters Charitable Trust	-	50	(50)	-	-
Fuelbank Foundation	11	5	(16)	-	-
The Gemini Trust	-	250	(250)	-	-
Gifts in Kind – Services	-	272	(272)	-	-
Grants Programme – Emergency grants	-	158	(153)	-	5
Grants Programme – Financial inclusion	1,362	188	(496)	-	1,054
Grants Programme – General	142	56	(172)	-	26
Grants Programme – Strategic facilities	276	50	(209)	-	117
Grants Programme – Volunteering	-	100	-	-	100
Help through Hardship helpline	-	70	(70)	-	-
The JABBS Foundation	-	125	(125)	-	-
John Reizenstein	-	25	(25)	-	-
The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust	-	3,000	(3,000)	-	-
The Mackintosh Foundation	-	25	(25)	-	-
The Moondance Foundation	-	505	(466)	-	39
Natwest	-	1,500	(293)	-	1,207
Other restricted funds	15	36	(48)	-	3
OVO Energy	-	500	(433)	-	67
The Pears Family Charitable Foundation	642	-	(198)	-	444
People’s Postcode Lottery	-	200	(170)	-	30

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Porticus UK	75	-	(52)	-	23
Post Offce Ltd	-	305	-	-	305
Sodexo	-	150	(50)	-	100
Strategic stream – Changing Policy	400	-	(270)	-	130
The Vertex Foundation	-	142	(142)	-	-
Waitrose	5	189	(193)	-	1
Total Restricted Funds	5,515	21,658	(21,738)	-	5,435
Total funds	32,705	58,038	(55,225)	-	35,518

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Note 22: Movement in funds (continued): Fund descriptions

Designated funds

Designated funds
	Funds designated for the purpose of magnifying and accelerating the delivery of the Trussell’s
Changing Policy	Together for Change strategic plan, enabling us to provide increased funding and support to our
(*Changing Communities,	community of food banks and to expand our impact throughout this challenging period and during
Changing Minds)	the recovery from it. The Changing Communities and Minds funds were fully expended by 31 March
	2023, and the Changing Policy fund by 31 March 2024
	This fund represents an expression of Trussell’s broadening work to change the landscape which
	makes food bank use a necessity for people in the UK. This package of initiatives builds on the
Investing for Change	success of core programmes by extending the reach of the Pathfnder, seeks to empower food
	banks to become self-sustaining and earmarks signifcant funds to advocate for change in the UK’s
	social security system to enable everyone to afford the essentials.
Asda top-up and Tesco top-up	From the neighbourhood food collections. The charity chooses to share this funding with the Trussell community of food banks.
Restricted funds
Adobe Foundation*	To support the Help through Hardship helpline project
The Andrew Salvesen Family Trust	Support for the Scotland fnancial inclusion pilot project
Appeal funds – Winter emergency appeal*	Cost of living crisis appeal
	Asda Covid-19 response programme for operating costs, (*and phase 2 of the Fight Hunger
Asda	Programme, including grants to food banks, support for the Help Through Hardship helpline project,
	and other projects directed at ending the need for food banks)
The Balcombe Charitable Trust	Support for food banks via our fnancial inclusion grants
Bank of America	Support for our income maximisation work, including fnancial inclusion grants to food banks and support for the Help through Hardship helpline project
Barclays	Support for our income maximisation work, including fnancial inclusion grants to food banks and support for the Help through Hardship helpline project
BBC Children in Need and National Lottery Community Fund #iwill fund Grant	To facilitate a youth participation project run in partnership with BBC Children in Need

*Feature in table of comparative information only

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The Bedford Family Charitable Fund	Support for our crisis response activities
Benefact Trust	Support for food banks via our crisis response grants, and support for the Help through Hardship helpline project
Brent Foodbank	For the support of Brent Foodbank
CAF America	To support our operational teams
Citi Bank Foundation	To support our fnancial inclusion team activities
City Bridge Foundation	Support for our work with food banks in the London area
Clara E Burgess Charity	To support our youth participation project
Comic Relief and Sainsbury’s Nourish the Nation	Support for food banks via our crisis response and fnancial inclusion grants
Coronary Prevention Group	Cost of destitution research
Crisis response	Support for our crisis response activities
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust	Support for food banks via our grants programme, in the North East of England
Deliveroo	Support for food banks via our grants programme, and funding for our operational costs
Delta Airlines	Support for our cost of living resilience activities
Food bank community – Covid-19	Support for food banks via our grants programme
Food bank community – Regional funds	To support our regional operations
Four Daughters Charitable Trust*	Support for the Fuel Bank Foundation fuel voucher scheme
Fuel Bank Foundation*	To support the delivery of Fuel Bank across the UK
The Gemini Trust*	Support for food banks via our emergency grants to food banks, and support for the Fuel Bank Foundation fuel voucher scheme
Gifts in Kind – Services	Pro-bono services provided to the charity – see note 2
Grants programmes	Collected funds to support food banks via our various grants programmes
Help through Hardship helpline*	For the development and operation of the helpline, run in partnership with Citizens Advice, which offers free fnancial advice to people experiencing hardship
The JABBS Foundation	Support for food banks in the Black Country via our crisis response and fnancial inclusion grants

*Feature in table of comparative information only

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John Reizenstein*	Support for the Fuel Bank Foundation fuel voucher scheme
The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust	Support for our winter emergency response and crisis response activities, and Help through Hardship
Kier Group	Support for our cost of living resilience activities
King Charles III Charitable Fund	Support for food banks via our crisis response grants
The Mackintosh Foundation*	Support for food banks in Scotland, via our grants programmes, and funding for our operational costs
The Moondance Foundation	Support for food banks in Wales, via our emergency and fnancial inclusion grants
Natwest	To support the Help through Hardship helpline project, and similar projects in Scotland and Northern Ireland
	Support for our response to the cost of living crisis, including emergency grants to food banks,
OVO Energy	support for the Fuel Bank Foundation fuel voucher scheme, and support for the Help through
	Hardship helpline project
The Pears Family Charitable Foundation	To support our income maximisation project work and teams
People’s Postcode Lottery	Support for the Help through Hardship helpline project, and support for food banks via our strategic facilities grants
Porticus UK	For the Trussell community of food banks and anti-poverty initiatives, supporting volunteering, policy and research, and software infrastructure work
Post Offce Ltd	Support for our cost of living resilience activities, strategic facilities grants, and our operational costs
Reginald M Phillips Charitable Foundation	Support for our cost of living resilience and crisis response activities
The Robertson Trust	Support for the Scotland fnancial inclusion pilot project
Sodexo	To support the Help through Hardship helpline project
SSP Foundation	To support the Help through Hardship helpline project
Strategic stream – Changing policy	To support the Changing Policy pillar of our strategy to end the need for food banks
The Swire Charitable Trust	To support the Help through Hardship helpline project
The Vertex Foundation	Support for our fnancial inclusion work
	Support for food banks via our fnancial inclusion grants, and wellbeing activities for our staff across
Waitrose	the Trussell community of food banks (*and grants to food banks to ‘top up’ food collections from
	Waitrose stores)
The Watches of Switzerland Group	To support the Help through Hardship helpline project

*Feature in table of comparative information only

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Note 23: Related party disclosures

Note 24: Ultimate controlling party

During the year, Mr S Hicks was a Trustee of Trussell and also of two food bank charities within the Trussell community of food banks: Greenwich Foodbank and formerly Cardiff Foodbank. These charities receive both financial and non-financial support from Trussell, under the same terms as other members of the Trussell community. This includes grant funding, applications for which are considered in accordance with Trussell’s grant-making policy (see page 18 for further details), and judged on an equal basis to applications from other members of the Trussell community.

Grants paid to Cardiff Foodbank during the year totalled £56,738 (2023: £60,166). As at 31 March 2024, grants awarded and scheduled for future payment totalled £82,398 (31 March 2023: £127,522). Cardiff Foodbank was reimbursed £nil for travel costs incurred by its staff while attending Trussell events (2023: £721).

Grants paid to Greenwich Foodbank during the year totalled £117,689 (2023: £41,620) At 31 March 2024, grants awarded and scheduled for future payment totalled £88,465 (2023: £34,638). Greenwich Foodbank received £nil for hosting corporate volunteering events (2023: £1,000).

The charitable company is not under the control of another entity or any one individual.

Note 25: Lease commitments

At 31 March 2024 the charity had total commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

operating leases as follows:
	Total	Total
	2024	2023
	£‘000	£‘000
Operating leases payable:
Within one year	406	450
Between two and fve years	422	601
Beyond fve years	157	81
	985	1,132

During the year, Ms S Elliot was appointed as a Trustee of Trussell. Ms S Elliot is the CEO of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, of which Trussell is a long-standing member and pays annual membership fees. In 2023/24 this was £918.

The trustees and key management personnel of the charity donated a combined total of £1,063 before Gift Aid to the charity in the year (2023: £365).

Note 26: Events after the end of the reporting period

On 1 November 2024, the business of Trussell Retail Limited was transferred to Shaw Trust (company no. 01744121), along with the retail premises leased by the Trussell Trust Limited. More detail regarding the transfer can be found on page 77 of this annual report. These financial statements have been adjusted to reflect the transfer, this is an adjusting event under the financial reporting standards. Trussell Retail Limited’s tangible fixed assets have been written down to nil as at 31 March 2024. Adjustments have been similarly made to write down to nil the value of the Trussell Trust Limited’s tangible fixed assets which have been transferred, and to release the dilapidations provisions made on its leasehold retail premises at this date.

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trussell.org.uk

trusselluk

Trussell is the operating name of The Trussell Trust, a registered charity in England & Wales (1110522) and Scotland (SC044246). Registered Limited Company in England & Wales (5434524). Photography: ©Trussell images/ Hannah Maule-ffinch/Chris Lacey/Martin Phelps/Robert Stothard/Lee Brown/Robin Prime/Richard Haydon/Jake Green/Meantime Media/Georgie Scott/ Jess Hurd/Dan Prince/Johnny Millar/Trevor Ray Hart

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