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← School Food Matters

2023-08-31-accounts

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Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

Registered Company Number: 06657048 • Registered Charity Number: 1134094

Contents

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||| |---|---| |A word from our Chair of Trustees|3| |Our impact in 2023|4| |Report of the Trustees|6| |Independent Auditor’s Report|19| |Reference and administrative details|22| |Statement of financial activities|23| |Balance sheet|24| |Cash flow statement|25| |Notes to the financial statements|26| |School Food Matters|• Report of the Trustees and Audited financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2023|

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A word from our Chair of Trustees

This year has been challenging for many charities with the costof-living crisis biting hard, creating unprecedented demand for services and fierce competition for grant funding. It was the year we learned that 900,000 children living in poverty are missing out on free school meals at a time of spiralling food inflation, making it even harder for families to feed their children well. Our work to reform the school food system, so that no child misses out on the nutrition they need to thrive, has become urgent but the forthcoming general election has distracted ministers from children’s health, and hard-won commitments in the Levelling Up white paper are still languishing on the government’s ‘to do’ list.

Happily, in February, there was some good news from City Hall, with London’s Mayor committing to provide free school meals to all children in Key Stage two, meaning that every child in a London primary school now has access to a hot lunch. School Food Matters will continue to celebrate this commitment to children’s health and will support robust evaluation in order to build better policy for all children across England, regardless of their postcode or their parent’s pay packet.

For School Food Matters, 2023 has been a year of celebrations. To mark our 15th birthday, we kicked off in January with a 5x15 speaker event chaired by our patron, Baroness Rosie Boycott. Professor Tim Spector, headteacher Reema Reid, Professor Tim Lang, TV gardener Diarmuid Gavin and The Food Programme’s Dan Saladino were joined by over 150 supporters to talk about why school food matters. Despite the stellar line-up, the speakers were somewhat upstaged by young chefs from St Mary’s RC Primary School who created and served canapés, demonstrating the cooking skills learned through our programmes.

And the celebrations didn’t stop there. In May, School Food Matters reached a global audience with its show-stopping garden at Chelsea Flower Show. Our garden, designed to highlight the importance of food education and outdoor learning, attracted national news coverage including five reports on the BBC. Once more it was children who stole the show with the choir from Alec Reed Academy dominating Press Day. Show week ended with the School Food Matters garden receiving The People’s Choice Award, some significant donations and two lucky schools receiving award-winning gardens.

Back at School Food Matters HQ, the team has been hard at work developing systems and processes to better evaluate the charity’s impact and to share learning across the staff team in Lunch and Learn sessions. All feedback from our programmes is now uploaded to a central database which allows us to track progress, monitor impact and provide the big numbers for this report. This practice of shared learning is used to explore issues around Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, with all staff training sessions on neurodiversity, gender identity and a focus on cultural awareness to follow.

And finally, 2023 marks the end of my term as Chair of Trustees. In 2024, I’ll be passing the baton to my fellow trustee, Professor Rebecca O’Connell. I’m honoured to have been in this role over a period that has seen the charity navigate turbulent external circumstances, and to do so with increased impact and growth. I’m pleased to report that I will remain on the board to support our new Chair as she helps to guide the organisation through its next successful phase.

Ben Reynolds Chair of Trustees

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

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Since 2012, almost a quarter of a million students across England have benefited from our projects in schools

WE CONNECT CHILDREN TO THEIR FOOD IN NEW WAYS

Our impact in 2023 590 60% 57% children visited a farm of students learned tasted a food or with us this year. more about where flavour they’d never For 150 children, this their food comes tried before. was the first time they’d from through our seen food growing. programmes.

WE GET CHILDREN GARDENING WE BUILD LIFE SKILLS TOO 2,285 61% 508 75% children attended our of children are children sold food of children told gardening workshops now interested they’d grown or us that they’d this year. For 117 refugee in gardening and cooked at their local improved their children, our Welcome growing. market, managing teamworking skills sessions supported money, interacting through the project. their integration into a with the public and new school. encouraging sales.

children attended our of children are gardening workshops now interested this year. For 117 refugee in gardening and children, our Welcome growing. sessions supported their integration into a new school.

WE INSPIRE CHILDREN TO COOK

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Their teachers benefited too –
69% of teachers watching our
cooks in action felt more confident
to teach cooking at school.
1,648 57%
children attended were left more interested
our cooking in cooking.
sessions this year.
And we
spread
joy!
54%
of children
involved in our
projects tell us that
they’re happier at
school as a result.
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Report of the Trustees /*

The Trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2023. 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) (effective 1 January 2019).

Objectives and activities

Our Mission

Activities

School Food Matters exists to teach children about food and to improve children’s access to healthy, sustainable food during their time at school.

School Food Matters provides fully funded food education programmes to schools. Our experience delivering these programmes informs and strengthens our campaigns, bringing the voices of children, parents and teachers to government policy. The charity is engaged in the following activities:

Objectives and Aims

The objectives of the charity are to advance the education, and promote the health, of school children and their families in particular but not exclusively by:

Public Benefit

The Trustees are aware of Charity Commission guidance on public benefit reporting as set out in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011. They believe School Food Matters fulfils a fundamental public benefit by promoting the health, and advancing the education, of school children and their families.

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

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About School Food Matters

School Food Matters was born out of a grassroots campaign led by one parent to transform the food on offer at her children’s primary school. The campaign successfully transformed school food in 38 primary schools in London from frozen ready meals to freshly prepared food made from quality ingredients. Take up of school meals doubled and the price to parents was reduced by 38p, proving that delivering fresh, sustainable school food was possible.

From its grassroots beginnings, School Food Matters has grown into an influential charity which exists to teach children about food and to improve access to healthy, sustainable food during their time at school. In 2007 our campaign was about the quality of school meals. In 2023 our focus has been on access to healthy food, as we tackle the twin challenges brought about by stark health inequalities across the UK: child obesity and hunger.

Our work is guided by a Theory of Change and three areas of work: food education, food provision and food policy.

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THEORY OF CHANGE
Healthier
children
Our work contributes towards... and healthier
planet
We devise,
Every child leaves school
develop and Every child can enjoy
deliver food nutritious, sustainable food understanding the impact of the food
education in during their time at school they eat on their health and the planet –
schools so that... and with the skills to lead a healthy life
We provide
Every school has a
support to
schools so that.. good food culture
The government creates
We campaign,
effective policy for schools to
lobby and
research so that... drive improvements to school
food and food education
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Food policy:

Food provision:

Food education:

At School Food Matters we believe that every child in every school should have access to food education and the good nutrition they need to thrive. For that to happen we must change policy.

Our focus on food provision is not about providing school catering, rather making the school food system work better for children.

Food education in England requires our attention as, despite food and nutrition being a mandatory part of the national curriculum, delivery is patchy, and the policy did not come with government funding for teacher training or resources for schools.

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

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Strategy for 2020-2025

This year staff and Trustees came together to review our strategy for 2020-2025 to ensure we’re on track and delivering our mission. Our framework of five priorities for success is still relevant and we are making excellent progress towards our goals.

  1. Grow our profile to improve our charity’s ability to influence government policy

  2. We will build a library of quantitative and qualitative data to measure the effect of our work in schools

  3. We will increase advocacy by making current and new supporters aware of our campaigns

  4. We will raise awareness by using social media, press coverage and personal communication and use the evidence we collect to substantiate our stories

Progress this year

On our website, our News & Views section now features an expanded collection of case studies, amplifying the voices of the schools, children and families we serve. Subscribers to our Latest News & Blogs have nearly tripled

With more than 30 campaign partners, we have agreed a policy position, a manifesto and a messaging guide to represent our shared vision for school food in England

We used our Chelsea Flower Show garden to bring our charity to the attention of a global audience. This resulted in 40 print media articles and a dozen features on TV, radio and podcasts, including five appearances on the BBC during the show

2. Increase our impact by delivering more projects at more schools in and outside London

Progress this year

Our Young Marketeers programme in 2023 featured 54 schools with 30 outside London, across Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and Gloucestershire. In 2024 we will add Leicester and Manchester

Dulverton Trust funded 17 schools in Leeds, Birmingham and Liverpool and a new corporate partner, Clearwater International, funded eight more schools in Leeds and Birmingham

Our Welcome programme continued in 10 primary and secondary schools in London and Sheffield

Another brilliant year from School Food Matters! The team continues to be tireless in its pursuit of healthy, sustainable food for all children – whether that be delivering impact direct to schools and pupils, or in making the case for a better, more equitable school food system to policymakers across the country. A huge thank you from Impact on Urban Health for all of your fantastic work, and we can’t wait for an even more impactful year in 2024.”

Mark Heffernan

Impact on Urban Health

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3. Strengthen our funding with a broader mix of long-term contributors

Progress this year

We have secured a healthy mix of funding: 43% corporate partners, 34% trusts and foundations, 23% public donations and other sources

4. Improve the charity’s resilience

Progress this year

We have recruited a team of talented freelancers to deliver our programmes in seven cities outside London

5. Build our network to enable us

Progress this year

We have continued our

We celebrated our 15th birthday with two high-profile events: 5x15 and Chelsea Flower Show. Together these events raised £54,000 in core funds

This year we have been approached by, and developed a successful bid for, a new foundation which learned of our work thanks to the Chelsea Flower Show

programme of organisation-wide EDI learning sessions, including sessions on gender and neurodiversity

We have further developed our database, Airtable, to allow us to manage our projects more efficiently and collect qualitative and quantitative data for evaluations

Through the School Food Review we commissioned PwC to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of free school meals expansion, spoke at the UN’s World Food Forum, organised a Conservative Party Conference event and began work to integrate EDI into the Review

We reached out to our partners at Sustainable Food Places to find local expertise in seven new cities across England

We continue to seek

opportunities to collaborate on research that extends the evidence for good school food. We were bid partners with University of Hertfordshire for lived experience work tendered by Impact on Urban Health and are part of The William Templeton Foundation’s crosssector research on diet and mental health

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

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Review of Activities

School Food Matters has built strong relationships with project partners and together we develop flagship programmes which continue to grow year on year. Our partnerships are key to the success of our charity and enable us to deliver quality food education programmes to our beneficiaries. We value the role our partners play and will continue to nurture these important relationships. We appreciate our partners’ longterm commitment to the projects highlighted below.

Whole Foods Market and Whole Kids Foundation

We are about to enter our 12th year working with the Whole Kids Foundation and the relationship continues to flourish. Schools participating in our Schools to Market programme raised more than £1,500, selling their schoolmade chutneys outside Whole Foods stores on Market Day, all of the money going back to the schools to be put towards food education projects. Our Honeybee programme continues to appeal to schools with more than 2,000 students learning about the importance of pollinators. Our Garden Grants

programme provided more than 40 schools in seven London boroughs with funds to create or update their edible growing space.

It’s been fantastic! Seeing the children with such confidence approaching the public and talking to them about what they had achieved was great. To get to this point was amazing.”

Teacher on the Schools to Market Programme

Belazu Ingredient Company

Foresters Financial

Our Fresh Enterprise programme continues to be hugely popular with schools and in 2023 two winning pastes were selected: Blushing Beets from Whitefield School and Smokey Spicy Sensation from Elthorne Park School. Belazu continues to support our Holiday Food and Fun programme during the Easter and summer holidays, with 141 children invited to engage in fun activities, including gardening and cooking and enjoy a healthy, hot meal each day.

Through our work with the Whole Kids Foundation, we were introduced to a new project partner, Foresters Financial, a financial services company based in Canada, that focused on encouraging its members to get involved and volunteer with local community projects. The organisation runs a grant programme with members nominating a school in their area to receive a garden grant worth £3,000. School Food Matters took on the management of the programme in the UK and oversaw the creation of new gardens at schools in Bristol, Birmingham, Gravesend and Leeds with the help of Foresters’ hardworking member volunteers.

Many thanks to School Food Matters and Belazu for the fantastic opportunity to participate in the competition. Our students loved it! It was a great learning experience for all concerned and they were so proud of themselves when they got back to school.”

The children are REALLY loving the new space. And what an amazing group of people to be involved with – we can’t thank everyone enough.”

Teacher on the Fresh Enterprise programme

Teacher, Hannah More Primary School, Bristol

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Borough Market and The AIM Foundation

This year we continued our successful partnership with The AIM Foundation who join Borough Market to support our Young Marketeers programme in London. Now in its 11th year, the programme features three market days across the school year, one for each term. By selling their tasty soups or home-grown fruit and veg, our Young Marketeers raised £1,213 for The Felix Project across the three market days, providing 4,852 meals for vulnerable families.

I like gardening because I’m not using electronics and actually breathing fresh air and I have the freedom of being outdoors.”

Student, Marlborough Primary School on the Young Marketeers Programme

Abel & Cole

Abel & Cole have donated 5,000 pieces of fruit each week to Bacon’s College, a secondary school in Southwark, so that young people have access to a healthy snack during the school day.

Impact on Urban Health

In partnership with Impact on Urban Health, our five-year Healthy Zones programme will reach 80 primary and secondary schools in Lambeth and Southwark, to create sustained changes to school food environments so that healthy food is prioritised throughout the school day. Our programme team of eight will support schools to develop school food policies and to provide healthier breakfast and after-school club menus. Based on the success of this model, Healthy Zones is also being delivered in Tower Hamlets and Westminster.

Having the support of a charity like School Food Matters gave the kudos that a breakfast club should have in the school day. It also gave the breakfast club staff the support to try new ideas and changes that sometimes other staff/management maybe reluctant to try out. Also getting financial support is a key factor and gave us the freedom to try out new ideas that we could not have done otherwise.”

Teaching Assistant on Healthy Zones intervention at their Afterschool Club

Whilst Healthy Zones is making changes at a local level, Impact on Urban Health recognises that to tackle health inequalities, school food funding and policy needs to change. With Bite Back 2030, Chefs in Schools and The Food Foundation, School Food Matters is co-ordinating the School Food Review, bringing together representatives of catering staff, school leaders, local authorities, experts, campaigners, and, of course, school children. Our shared mission is to realise the full potential of the school food system through government reform so that no child misses out on good nutrition at school. This year we agreed a shared policy position across the 36 members of the working group, resulting in a messaging guide and manifesto in readiness for 2024’s general election.

The excellent messaging guide helped enormously in finalising the wording in our position statement on free school meals.”

Association of School and College Leaders

The fruit provided by Abel & Cole has been extremely well received by the school community and we are very grateful for their continued support and generosity. The students access the fruit throughout the school day, and it has become a permanent fixture during their Independent study periods.”

Vice Principal, Bacon’s College

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Our experience delivering these programmes informs and strengthens our campaigns, bringing the voices of children, parents and teachers to inform government policy. To this end, our Chief Executive sits on the following boards and committees:

Financial Support

School Food Matters is grateful for the support received from our funders and project partners over the course of this financial year:

14 School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

Financial review

For the year ended 31 August 2023, total incoming resources amounted to £1,217,861 compared to £802,042 last year. Expenditure for 2022/23 was £1,193,560 compared to £930,987 last year.

Any funds described as ‘restricted income’ are available only for the specific projects or purposes determined by the funders. In addition, the charity holds ‘designated funds’ which have been raised for a specific purpose. The full Statement of Financial Activities is set out in the accounts that follow.

Reserves

As part of the 2022/23 year-end process, School Food Matters’ finance sub-committee reviewed the charity’s Reserves Policy. It was confirmed that the policy was still considered appropriate and that School Food Matters would maintain free reserves:

To this end, School Food Matters aims to accumulate unrestricted reserves equal to at least three to six months’ unrestricted expenditure. Our unrestricted reserves currently stand at £115,179. Therefore, it is deemed that in this financial year there were adequate funds to ensure the charity was able to meet all current, known and some estimated possible future liabilities.

Our reserves currently stand at £118,974, which includes £3,795 in respect of designated funds that are anticipated to be spent during the year to August 2024.

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Structure, governance and management

Governing Document

School Food Matters is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 28 July 2008 and registered as a charity on 4 February 2010.

The company is governed under its Articles of Association. The Trustees have a responsibility to ensure that all aspects of the charity’s activities are properly conducted and carried out in full compliance with its Articles of Association. The Trustees normally meet at least three times a year and attend an additional strategy day together with School Food Matters staff. All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. No expenses were claimed by any Trustee during the year.

Recruitment and appointment of new Trustees

The Trustees are appointed under the terms of the Articles of Association. Each new Trustee is given a copy of the Articles of Association, details of their responsibilities as a charity trustee, background on the charity’s strategy and current projects and other information useful in pursuing their role. They will also have access to all SFM policies including insurance and the charity’s business plan. Trustees are invited to visit our projects so that they can familiarise themselves with our work. The Trustees are recruited in consultation with the Chief Executive to ensure that the requisite skills are available to support the charity’s activities.

Staff, Training and Fair Pay

School Food Matters has 17 core members of staff (16.0 FTE) and is governed by a board of eight Trustees. We continue to be able to recruit high-quality volunteers to undertake a range of useful tasks in all areas of our work. School Food Matters is very grateful for the many benefits they bring. This year, School Food Matters has had over 150 days work delivered by a group of 40 talented volunteers, many of whom are going on to enjoy professional development opportunities delivered by the charity’s staff.

In January 2018, School Food Matters became an accredited Living Wage Employer, committed to paying the London Living Wage, as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, which reflects the cost of living.

Fundraising

A proportion of the charity’s income is from grants from the trusts and foundations listed in this Annual Report. All funding bids are developed by School Food Matters staff. In this financial year we have allocated £20,209 to raising funds from trusts and foundations which covers staff time and overheads.

Role of Trustees

The Trustees provide governance and develop the policies of the charity, and accept ultimate legal authority for it. The Trustees formulate and regularly review the long and short term strategic aims of the charity as well as setting specific goals and priorities. The Trustees approve budgets and are responsible for the good stewardship of the charity’s resources. They work in partnership with the Chief Executive with a view to furthering the charity’s objectives. The Trustees, who are also the members of the Company, each have a limited liability of £1 in the event of the charity being wound up. Biographies of Trustees can be found on the School Food Matters website.

Role of Chief Executive

The Chief Executive provides leadership to employees and is responsible for the operational detail and implementation of the business plan and the management of the charity, including control of expenditure in line with budgets and delegations approved by the Board. The Chief Executive reports regularly to the Trustees on progress against agreed priorities and objectives and seeks opportunities to expand and promote the organisation.

16 School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

Climate and Nature Policy

Our Climate and Nature policy recognises the climate and ecological emergency, and our commitment to addressing this crisis within our work. The Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for this policy and continues to review the intersection of our work with the climate and ecological emergency. This is done through discussion, monitoring risk of the climate and ecological emergency on our work and ensuring we comply with all relevant legislation.

Risk Management

The Trustees have reviewed the major strategic, business and operational risks to which School Food Matters is exposed. These include governance and compliance issues, loss of key members of staff, changing government policy, project or campaign failure and loss of income. The Trustees confirm that systems have been established to mitigate any such risks, that appropriate insurance cover has been obtained and that the assessment of risks is kept under review. The charity’s risk register, a working document for which the senior management team and Trustees are responsible, is reviewed annually by Trustees and School Food Matters’ management team. It considers the possible risks to the charity and prudent ways to avoid such risks arising, as well as mitigation should problems occur.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The Trustees consider the principal risks to School Food Matters to be:

Risk Mitigation Loss of School Food Matters has a senior management team senior of four. Losing one or more of the team members management risks interruption to financial reporting, fundraising, team advocacy and campaigning activities. Should the charity lose its Chief Executive, there would be significant recruitment costs, and Trustees would be engaged in the recruitment process. To mitigate these risks, the senior management team meets monthly to share information. All management documents are accessible to the management team, our succession plan is regularly reviewed and updated by Trustees and the wider staff team has received media training to develop a pool of well-informed advocates to comment on our campaigns.

Damage to We are proud of our reputation and review our activities reputation and relationships carefully to reflect this. Mitigating activities include compliance with Charity Commission and Companies House regulations, embedding ethical policies, carrying out risk assessments, and ensuring HR policies, such as safeguarding, whistleblowing and data protection and confidentiality, are in place. With our Press and Communications team in place, we are better able to respond to challenges to our reputation in a timely and efficient manner. Failure to Fundraising continues to be challenging and the charity meet funding must forecast effectively and be prepared for shortfalls. targets Mitigating activites include monitoring reserves on a monthly basis to ensure our minimum target is reached, reporting monthly cashflow to the finance sub-committee, building a project contingency fund to address shortfalls and cancelling any proposed work that remains unfunded. We must be prepared to reduce staffing levels if a significant shortfall is forecast. We will continue to diversify our income streams so that we are not over-reliant on trusts and foundations.

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Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also the directors of School Food Matters 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 incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time 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 the Trustees are aware:

Report of the Trustees, incorporating a strategic report, approved by order of the Board of Trustees, as the company directors, on 18 January 2024 and signed on the Board’s behalf by

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Mr Paul Smith Trustee

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Independent Auditor's Report

Opinion

Conclusions relating

to going concern

We have audited the financial statements of School Food Matters (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 August 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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 charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

In our opinion the financial statements:

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

Other information

year then ended The Trustees are responsible for the other information. The • have been properly prepared in other information comprises the accordance with United Kingdom information included in the Annual Generally Accepted Accounting Report, other than the financial Practice statements and our Report of the • have been prepared in accordance Independent Auditors 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.

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 auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company 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.

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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

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

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Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities, 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 charitable 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 charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Independent Auditors 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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

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

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 Report of the Independent Auditors.

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

As the financial statements for the last financial year were not audited, our audit opinion does not cover the results for that period.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors’ 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.

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

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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 noncompliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Christopher Julian Brigstocke FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of

Collards Chartered Accountants 5-9 Eden Street Kingston upon Thames Surrey KT1 1BQ

18 January 2024

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Reference and administrative details

Company Registration Number 06657048 (England and Wales)
Charity Registration Number 1134094
Patrons Baroness Rosie Boycott
Princess Dora Loewenstein
Directors/Trustees Max Beazley
Jared Brading
Alayna Francis
Ossie Gray
Mecca Ibrahim (appointed 19 October 2023)
Nyasha Kambarami (resigned 19 October 2023)
Rebecca O’Connell (Chair from 27 October 2023)
Ben Reynolds (Chair to 27 October 2023)
Freya Robinson (resigned 27 April 2023)
Paul Smith
Chief Executive Stephanie Slater
Registered Office The Bridge
7b Parkshot
London TW9 2RD
Independent Auditors Collards Chartered Accountants
Statutory Auditors
5-9 Eden Street
Kingston upon Thames
Surrey KT1 1BQ
Bankers Santander
Triodos		 Nation
2 Triton Square
Deanery Road		 Kings
Regent’s Place
Bristol BS1 5AS		 Moulto
London NW1 3AN Northa

Nationwide Building Society Kings Park Road Moulton Park Northampton NN3 6NW

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

22

Statement of financial activities

incorporating an income and expenditure account For the year ended 31 August 2023

Note
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
3
Other income
Trusts and Foundations
Charitable activities
5
Project management and services
Membership
Grant–making
Investment income
4
Total
EXPENDITURE ON
Staff costs
12
Cost of raising funds
6
Project management and services
7
Overheads and governance
8
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		 Unrestricted
funds
£
66,943
14,194
28,000
–
–
–
1,152
110,289
69,574
20,209
–
–
89,783
20,506
94,673
115,179		 Designated
funds
£
–
5,069
92,395
890,338
1,500
92,881
–
1,082,183
490,019
–
501,845
86,524
1,078,388
3,795
–
3,795		 Restricted
funds
£
–
–
–
25,389
–
–
–
25,389
13,000
–
12,389
–
25,389
–
–
–		 2022
Total
funds
£
27,065
6,135
123,062
580,110
2,250
63,366
54
802,042
543,356
19,420
285,169
83,042
930,987
(128,945)
223,618
94,673
2023
Total
funds
£
66,943
19,263
120,395
915,727
1,500
92,881
1,152
1,217,861
572,593
20,209
514,234
86,524
1,193,560
24,301
94,673
118,974

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

23

Balance sheet

At 31 August 2023

Note
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets
13
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
14
Cash at bank
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year
15
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
NET ASSETS
FUNDS
17
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Restricted funds
TOTAL FUNDS		 Unrestricted
funds
£
6,853
–
116,252
116,252
(7,926)
108,326
115,179
115,179		 Designated
funds
£
–
111,843
93,868
205,711
(201,916)
3,795
3,795
3,795		 Restricted
funds
£
–
–
–
–
–
–
–		 2022
Total
funds
£
9,407
87,736
386,286
474,022
(388,756)
85,266
94,673
94,673
94,673
–
–
94,673
2023
Total
funds
£
6,853
111,843
210,120
321,963
(209,842)
112,121
118,974
118,974
115,179
3,795
–
118,974

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 18 January 2024 and were signed on its behalf by:

==> picture [170 x 86] intentionally omitted <==

Mr Paul Smith Trustee

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

24

Cash flow statement

For the year ended 31 August 2023

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
1
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Interest received
Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period		 2022
£
(185,818)
(185,818)
(4,413)
54
(4,359)
(190,177)
576,463
386,286
2023
£
(177,318)
(177,318)
1,152
1,152
(176,166)
386,286
210,120

Notes to the cash flow statement

For the year ended 31 August 2023

1. Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities

Net income for the reporting period (as per the Statement of Financial Activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Loss on disposal of fixed assets
Interest received
Decrease/(Increase) in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by/(used in) operations		 2022
£
(128,945)
2,705
–
(54)
(65,701)
6,178
(185,817)
2023
£
24,301
2,298
256
(1,152)
(24,107)
(178,914)
(177,318)
  1. Analysis of changes in net funds
Net cash
Cash at bank
Total		 At 1.9.22
£
386,286
386,286
386,286		 At 31.8.23
£
210,120
210,120
210,120
Cash flow
£
(176,166)
(176,166)
(176,166)

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

25

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 August 2023

1. Statutory information

School Food Matters is a private company, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. The company’s registered number and registered office address can be found in the report of the Trustees. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity.

2. 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)’, the 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.

School Food Matters meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

Income

Income is recognised when:

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met. Membership income is accounted for in the year that it is received. Income is stated after trade discounts, other sales taxes and net of VAT.

Tangible Fixed Assets

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

Fixtures and fittings are depreciated by 25% on reducing balance.

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 particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds allocated by the funder for particular purposes.

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

Pension Costs and other

Post-Retirement Benefits

School Food Matters operates a defined contribution pension scheme administered by NEST. Contributions payable to the charitable company’s pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure:

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.

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

26

Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 August 2023

3. Donations and legacies Total
2022
£
27,065
Total
2022
£
54
Total
2022
£
5,000
6,636
25,969
–
–
1,600
–
1,000
433,734
650
400
–
105,121
580,110
2,250
63,366
645,726
Donations Unrestricted
funds
£
66,943		 Restricted
funds
£
–		 Total
2023
£
66,943
4. Investment income
Deposit account interest Unrestricted
funds
£
1,152		 Restricted
funds
£
–		 Total
2023
£
1,152
5. Income from charitable activities
Project Management & Services
29 May 1961 Charitable Foundation
Abel & Cole
Belazu Ingredient Company
Clearwater International
Fishmongers’ Company Charitable Trust
GLA Kitchen Social
Gosling Foundation
Honourable Company of Gloucestershire
Impact on Urban Health
Schools/Local Councils
Waitrose
St Walter St John
Whole Kids Foundation
Membership Income
Grant–making funds		 Designated
funds
£
5,000
1,500
28,205
20,916
–
–
7,000
1,000
668,364
29,106
–
1,000
128,247
890,338
1,500
92,881
984,719		 Restricted
funds
£
–
–
–
–
23,389
2,000
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
25,389
–
–
25,389		 Total
2023
£
5,000
1,500
28,205
20,916
23,389
2,000
7,000
1,000
668,364
29,106
–
1,000
128,247
915,727
1,500
92,881
1,010,108

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 27

Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 August 2023

6. Raising funds

Staf costs
Rent, rates and water
Insurance
Telephone
Stationery & ofice costs
Travel
Depreciation		 2023
£
10,588
4,861
244
359
3,763
165
229
20,209		 2022
£
10,194
4,861
226
411
3,190
268
270
19,420

7. Charitable activities costs

Staff costs
Cost of raising funds
Project management and services		 Direct
costs
£
572,593
10,588
427,710
1,010,891		 Support costs
(see note 8)
£
–
9,621
86,524
96,145		 Total
£
572,593
20,209
514,234
1,107,036

8. Support costs

Cost of raising funds
Overheads and governance		 Overheads
£
9,621
80,524
90,145		 Governance
costs
£
–
6,000
6,000		 Total
£
9,621
86,524
96,145

9. Auditors’ remuneration

Fees payable to the charity’s auditors for the audit of the charity’s financial statements
The financial statements for the previous year were not subject to an audit but
instead had an independent examination for which fees payable were £2,400.		 2023
£
6,000		 2022
£
–

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

28

Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 August 2023

10. Net income/(expenditure) 2022
£
2,705
–
44,175
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):
Depreciation–owned assets
Deficit on disposal of fixed assets
Operating lease costs – rent		 2023
£
2,297
256
44,175
  1. Key management personnel There were no salaries or other benefits paid to Trustees Pay for key management personnel at School Food for the year ended 31 August 2023 nor for the year ended Matters has been benchmarked and reflects the market 31 August 2022. There were no expenses paid to Trustees rate for comparable jobs in comparable organisations. for the year ended 31 August 2023 nor for the year ended Pay also reflects level of knowledge, skills and experience 31 August 2022. required, and the responsibilities and accountabilities associated with each role. Staff pay is reviewed annually The total employee benefits of key management and agreed with the Trustees. personnel, including pension contributions, for the year to 31 August 2023 were £135,972 (£156,706 for the year to 31 August 2022).

12. Staff costs

Wages
Social security
Pensions
In addition to employing staf, the charity also benefits from the use of unpaid volunteer
to the equivalent of 150 days work which if paid at the London Living Wage would have		 2023
2022
£
£
518,649
492,228
45,008
42,669
19,524
18,653
583,181
553,550
s. During the year this amounted
cost the charity £13,260 in wages.		 2023
2022
£
£
518,649
492,228
45,008
42,669
19,524
18,653
583,181
553,550
s. During the year this amounted
cost the charity £13,260 in wages.		 2023
2022
£
£
518,649
492,228
45,008
42,669
19,524
18,653
583,181
553,550
s. During the year this amounted
cost the charity £13,260 in wages.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:
Admin & support staf
Full Time Equivalent (FTE)
No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.		 2023
19
16.0		 2022
19
14.3
The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:
Admin & support staf 2023
19		 2022
19
Full Time Equivalent (FTE) 16.0 14.3
No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 29

Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 August 2023

13. Tangible fixed assets tures and fittings
£
16,873
(608)
16,265
7,466
(351)
2,297
9,412
6,853
9,407
Fix
Cost
At 1 September 2022
Disposals
At 31 August 2023
Depreciation
At 1 September 2022
Eliminated on disposal
Charge for year
At 31 August 2023
Net book value
At 31 August 2023
At 31 August 2022
  1. Debtors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade debtors
Accrued income
Other debtors
Prepayments
Trade debtors relate to amounts due in respect of unrestricted fund programmes.		 2023
£
12,150
95,219
-
4,474
111,843		 2022
£
15,768
64,829
152
6,987
87,736

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

30

Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 August 2023

  1. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Social security and other taxes
Trade creditors
Accruals and deferred income		 2023
£
11,200
4,312
194,330
209,842		 2022
£
12,683
7,341
368,732
388,756

Accruals and deferred income includes £17,947 (£49,491 in 2022) in payments due to suppliers for costs incurred during the year. £176,383 is income received in 2022/23 for food education projects that have either spanned into the next financial year or where the payments received do not match the timing of the spend.

The movement on deferred income is as follows:


Brought forward
Recognised this year
Income received this year being deferred
Carried forward
Within the above £20,800 (2022: £46,032) is expected to be deferred by over 12 months		 2023
£
319,242
(300,342)
157,483
176,383
.		 2022
£
355,615
(309,583)
273,210
319,242
16. Leasing agreements 2022
£
11,044
Minimum lease payments under non–cancellable operating leases fall due as follows:
Within one year		 2023
£
11,044

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 31

Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 August 2023

17. Movement in funds At 31.8.23
£
115,179
3,795
118,974
Movement
in funds
£
20,506
–
–
–
3,795
24,301
–
–
24,301
Unrestricted and designated funds
General fund
Designated – Foresters School Gardens
Total funds
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
Unrestricted and designated funds
General fund
Designated – Food education projects
Designated – Chelsea Garden relocation
Designated – Whole Kids Foundation Garden Grants
Designated – Foresters School Gardens
Restricted funds
Fishmongers’ Company Charitable Trust
GLA Kitchen Social
Total funds		 At 1.9.22
£
94,673
–
94,673
Incoming
resources
£
110,289
990,141
10,000
70,042
12,000
1,192,472
23,389
2,000
25,389
1,217,861		 Net movement
in funds
£
20,506
3,795
24,301
Resources
expended
£
(89,783)
(990,141)
(10,000)
(70,042)
(8,205)
(1,168,171)
(23,389)
(2,000)
(25,389)
(1,193,560)

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

32

Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 August 2023

  1. Movement in funds – continued
Comparatives for movement in funds
Unrestricted and designated funds
General fund
Total funds
Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above, are as foll
Unrestricted and designated funds
General fund
Designated - Whole Kids Foundation School Garden Grants
Designated – Food education projects
Membership
Restricted funds
GLA Kitchen Social
Total funds
 At 1.9.21
£
223,618
223,618
ows:
Incoming
resources
£
94,099
63,366
640,727
2,250
800,442
1,600
802,042
 Net movement
in funds
£
(128,945)
(128,945)
Resources
expended
£
(223,044)
(63,366)
(640,727)
(2,250)
(929,387)
(1,600)
(930,987)
 At 31.8.22
£
94,673
94,673
Movement
in funds
£
(128,945)
-
-
-
(128,945)
-
(128,945)

The Whole Kids Foundation School Garden Grants Fund (a Designated Income Fund) is a fund from the Whole Kids Foundation which is available to schools to allow them to develop school gardens where pupils can learn about growing fruit and vegetables.

The Food Education Projects Fund (a Designated Income Fund) is a collection of several similar funds which relate to providing food education to schools and other bodies. These funds are provided by various organisations, trusts and other charitable organisations.

18. Related party disclosures

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 August 2023.

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

33

==> picture [596 x 630] intentionally omitted <==

==> picture [60 x 104] intentionally omitted <==

School Food Matters The Bridge 7b Parkshot London TW9 2RD T: 020 8878 8333

www.schoolfoodmatters.org

School Food Matters • Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023

34