## **LUNCH POSITIVE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD 1[st] JUNE 2021 – 31[st] MAY 2022** **Visit to Lunch Positive from Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. September 2021.** 1 ## **Reference and administration details** Charity name: Lunch Positive Registered charity number: 1137186 Charity’s principal address: 113 Queens Road Brighton East Sussex BN1 3XG ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** **Trustee name Office (if any)[Dates acted if not for ] whole vear** **Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)** Steven Foster Secretary 01/06/21-15/10/21 Heather Leake Date Richard Jeneway 01/06/21-31/03/22 Margot Uden Chris Sarson **Name of Chief Executive or names of senior staff members** Gary Pargeter ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** The charity is constituted as a Charitable Trust through a Trust Deed dated 28[th] July 2010. The charity actively involves people with HIV in trusteeship. Trustees are selected by the Board with regard to the applicant's knowledge, skills and experience, how these relate to role specifications and the needs of the Board in providing effective governance. Trustees are inducted and trained using a variety of methods which include a comprehensive induction training programme. Following induction, further ongoing training opportunities are offered in-house and through local providers. During the year our organisation has continued to participate in the local voluntary and community sector Governance Network facilitated by VCSE infrastructure organisation Brighton & Hove Community Works. Trustees undertake their roles within an extensive policy framework. Organisational structure is such that trustees are collectively responsible for effective governance and 2 development of the organisation, whilst utilising specialism in skills to support decision making and undertake individual project and/or sub- committee work. Trustees' considerations of major risks are undertaken through the active operation and review of a comprehensive risk register. Appropriate measures to manage risk are incorporated into organisational strategy, planning and delivery and are reviewed accordingly. The charity is highly collaborative, working across sectors and closely with a wide range of stakeholders. Lunch Positive is an active participant of the Brighton & Hove Sexual Health Programme HIV Health & Social Care Domain, focused on providing effective health and social care for people living with HIV in the locality. Participation also supports the local HIV Action Plan. We also work closely with local partners as part of the HIV Towards Zero Taskforce, contributing to the strategic direction and delivery of Brighton & Hove Fast Track City activities. Lunch Positive is an active member of the local voluntary sector infrastructure organisation and policy influencing forum Brighton & Hove Community Works. As part of this, our Director is an elected voluntary Community Representative representing the HIV community at city-wide strategic partnerships including the local authority Fast Track City Taskforce, Sussex Health & Social Care Forum, and Sussex Police LGBTQ External Reference Group. ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** Our objectives are to relieve the needs of person affected by HIV through the provision of a lunch service, information on healthy living and lifestyles and a signposting service to other HIV and nutritional services. Our services are provided for people who have an HIV positive diagnosis or who are affected by HIV by virtue of being the families, relatives, close friends, carers and partners of such persons; and persons from those communities locally that are considered most at risk of HIV infection. Service users join through self-referral or referral from a range of sources which include clinicians, practitioners, other support organisations and agencies. The charity operates within an Equalities Policy framework. ## **Summary of main activities** ## **The charity trustees confirm that they have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit, and have followed this in planning and undertaking our activities.** The charity's aims are to support and improve the health and well-being of service users through the provision of a range of activities. The main activities undertaken in relation to our objects during the year are: 3 ## _**- Continuing response to the Covid 19 pandemic and its impact**_ We continued to provide our outreach Covid-19 response which was started in early 2020, adapting to new needs and taking opportunities to return to safe face-to-face support where Covid-19 restrictions were progressively relaxed over the year. This required adapting service activity and environment, working at pace and continuing to engage and support record numbers of people. Covid-19 response activities supported 359 service users across Sussex. Our volunteer team responded amazingly, recruiting new helpers, giving increased availability to perform additional and new duties as part of this Covid-19 response. The response focused on providing nutritional support to people with pre-existing, new and exacerbated need, expanded advice and information, mental health and emotional support, peer-support, befriending and companionship for people who were often fearful and anxious, socially isolated and lonely. ## _**Covid response activities**_ 1. Nutritional support included the preparation and weekly delivery of cooked food and groceries to people with HIV who were unable to cook for themselves, self-isolating, and those whose mental health had deteriorated resulting in anxiety affecting leaving the home and shopping for food. 2. On a weekly basis we made telephone companionship calls to service users, checking in on people’s welfare, providing peer-support and friendship, and offering a listening ear to people who were lonely and socially isolated, often feeling anxious and distressed. Many people reported deterioration in mental health, and some suicidal ideation. Our companionship phone calls provided vital emotional and mental health support, an opportunity to provide information and advice to assist people, and to connect people to additional support and services. A new key theme of these companionship calls was the possibility of people returning to face-to-face service use and anxieties about the developing relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions. 3. We delivered, strengthened and developed our structured HIV befriending project, delivered in partnership with local charity Together Co. This befriending project matches people with HIV with volunteer befrienders for friendship and mutually agreed practical support. The scheme saw a growth of people seeking befriending who had complex needs. 4. We developed our winter support programme, providing winter wellness advice & signposting, also providing additional heating equipment and essential household items to people in need, emergency food vouchers and emergency heating to people in crisis. 4 ## _**Return to core service activities at various stages of Covid ‘unlocking’ and ability to deliver face-to-face support gatherings**_ 1. Provision of a weekly lunch club which has provided psycho-social benefit and has supported the health & well-being of 137 service users. This provided a facilitated, supportive and safe space for people to access food, meet, share peer support, form friendships and support networks, relieve social isolation, access information, and to derive emotional, practical and nutritional support. 2. Provision of a regular healthy meal at the lunch club (or drop in takeaway), free for people unable to make a donation, and additional nutritional support for people when not using the service. In addition to the enabling impact this meal has on psycho- social and peer support it has been evidenced that these shared meals have provided added nutritional support to people who experience difficulty maintaining a healthy diet and feeding themselves on a regular basis. This includes service users who have life circumstances or disabilities affecting self-care; diminished physical or mental health, lack of skills, motivation or personal resources to eat healthily; and those who have constrained income and are experiencing poverty. 3. Provision of information and advice resources, including workshops, leaflets, periodicals and digital resources that address the health and wellbeing needs of service users. 4. Signposting and making referrals to other agencies, charities community groups that support the needs of service users and volunteers. 5. Facilitating space for staff and volunteers from other agencies to attend the HIV lunch club and to offer support. These include organisations that focus on health and well-being improvement, mental health; healthy lifestyles, alcohol, drug and substance misuse; carer support; HIV related health issues, and welfare benefits advice. 6. We have continued our supported volunteering programme, engaging in person and involving people living with HIV who have complex need. This enabled us to actively involve and support people with HIV whose volunteering helped maintain and improve mental health, support substance misuse and mental health recovery, encourage selfcare and prevent health deterioration. ## **Achievements** The year has been one of continued activity addressing the enduring, new and evolving support needs of people living with HIV throughout the Covid 19 pandemic, and a return to face-to-face activities and support. Our services are locally unique. We have reached and supported record numbers of people, including those at serious risk and in crisis, people experiencing profound and multiple disadvantage, complex needs, pre-existing and Covid impacted health issues, mental health issues, and multiple vulnerabilities. The support provided remains fundamentally and strongly community centred and highly asset based. 5 Notably we have continued to reach and support people who are often otherwise unreached, and through asset based working provided psycho-social benefit, peer support, continuing to address the social determinants of health of our service users. We have consistently worked with agility, building and maintaining strong connections with service users, community and stakeholders, providing rapid community based responses. We have continued to identify, review and work within national and local strategies surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, support of people with HIV, people experiencing social and economic disadvantage, HIV health management and improvement, nutrition for people with chronic illness, and enabled volunteering for people experiencing barriers and challenges to participation. As part of both our Covid-19 response and core activities we have continued supporting people with complex needs with increased emphasis on supporting people in crisis, helping those who are socially isolated, whose mental health has been affected, serious mental illness, people with high levels of social anxiety who often find it difficult accessing services. Support provided through volunteering and service-user participation has been essential in creating this community & asset based support. Through this volunteer input we have responded to a continued growth in numbers of people using all services. In addition to the wide ranging Covid-19 support need, large numbers of service users inform us that they access support due to being socially isolated, and many have reduced or no other social resource and network. This includes older people with HIV, an increased number of people who are recently diagnosed, and growing numbers of people with drug and alcohol issues. We have facilitated affirmative, safe and supportive service environments where people have been able to relieve isolation, share peer support, from friendships and develop supportive social networks. Service use has also provided nutritional support, enabling an improvement in regular access to healthy diet for a large number of people, having positive benefits for physical and mental health and well-being. ## **Visit from United Nations Aids (UNAIDS)** As part of a visit to the United Kingdom from UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, Lunch Positive provided an HIV community lunch event. Bringing together a wide range of national and local stakeholders, this event showcased our work and enabled delegates to engage with our service users, learning more about their lives, needs, strengths and gifts. Reflecting our asset based work, volunteers staged this event, and over 80 people living with HIV attended. Following the community lunch, we hosted a round table discussion for UNAIDS delegates, Fast Track City stakeholders, national policy influencing organisations and local Members of Parliament. We were proud to hear Winnie Byanyima’s commendation of Lunch Positive as **“** _**Building and sustaining a community of people living with HIV, fighting stigma, partnering with researchers and the Council to spur prevention, testing and treatment innovations that work for people. Awesome!”**_ 6 ## **Impact Research** Towards the end of the year, University of Sussex undertook an impact study with us, looking at the impact of our support activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. This included a written survey and focus groups, followed by the production of a powerful video with service user and community testimonials. Results from this will be published in the following year Trustees’ Annual Report. ## **Service User & Volunteer Involvement** Core service activity continued to reflect the needs, insights and approaches identified as part of our 2019-20 Appreciative Inquiry with service users and key stakeholders. This has provided added opportunity for service users and volunteers to give continued input into scope and qualities of service delivery and volunteering, consider future and new activities, and inform the strategic direction of the charity. Services have been delivered through a record level of volunteer involvement and activity. Through both our core and Covid-19 related activities a total of _**64 volunteers have given a total of 11,240 hours to the charity** ._ This has included a range of newly established volunteer roles, and a consistently high degree of volunteer working flexibility to respond to evolving Covid-19 need and changing service environment. The paid equivalent of the time which has been given by volunteers would be £124,652. We have actively involved service users and others with or affected by HIV in volunteering and helping activities. Volunteering has attracted individuals who express an interest in voluntary activity to relieve social isolation, find peer support and to address their own health and well- being. We have involved people experiencing challenges and barriers to participation and have also worked in cooperation with other agencies to involve people in volunteering who have higher levels of support need. Positive health and wellbeing outcomes and personal capitals built through volunteering have been attained. ## **Stakeholders** We have maintained purposeful and effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders: funders, care providers, other charities and community groups, peer support groups, infrastructure organisations, donors, the local community and the wider public. This has helped raise the profile of the charity and our services, increased self-referrals and service use, had positive impact on fundraising, and has widened scope for future partnership working and organisational development. We have contributed to local & national LGBTQ and HIV press, reporting on HIV issues through regular articles that represent our work and the views of service users. 7 ## **Community development, health policy and research** Opportunities for involvement in wider face-to-face community development were reduced due to Covid-19 measures throughout the year. However, we continued to be highly involved in a wide range of development and wider community support activities. This enabled us to share the voice and experiences of people living with HIV, and the experiences and learning of being a community based HIV organisation with asset based principles and approaches. During the year we actively contributed towards the local authority _**Equalities and Access Cell**_ which informed local policy and processes to support the most vulnerable of local residents throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and the _**NHS England working group**_ on developing a toolkit for HIV commissioning. We provided community insight, support and involvement for the _**Brighton & Sussex Medical School**_ new study on frailty and HIV. ## **Business Planning** We have addressed organisational and operational sustainability as a fundamental aspect of all planning. This has included business planning to meet growth in service uptake and service use, complexity of need and support for service users and volunteers. Business planning has included Covid-19 impact restart and recovery, service landscape and development, scoping need and new project work, capacity building, identifying additional and more diverse funding streams, and increasing our own income generation. ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** Our reserves policy incorporates maintaining reserves to meet the requirements of our Trust Deed and to mitigate any unforeseen shortfalls in grant funding for service delivery expenditure. For these purposes, the level of this fund is based on an average of three months budgeted operational expenditure and directly related overheads for each financial year. Reserves for these purposes are gained through income generation and community fundraising activities. The level of reserves required to be in place for these purposes is reviewed and set during annual budgeting, and as part of longer-term business planning. This is monitored throughout each year as part of annual forecasting in preparation for increases or decreases of the fund to the optimum level during the year and at the start of each subsequent year. Any free reserves held at the year-end which are surplus to this fund level are allocated either as free or designated reserves contributing to a range of budgeted and planned activities for the following year or longer term which may include service delivery, developmental activities, match funding, new projects, and income generation activities. 8 The charity has a mixed income, incorporating grant income, income generation activities, community fundraising activities, and voluntary donations. Covid support grants received during the year were essential to deliver services at scale and pace, and to mitigate Covid related loss of community fundraising income. The charity's sources of general grant funding remain a range of annual smaller grants and several larger longer term grants. The award of longer term grants has impacted positively on the charity's ability to plan strategically. ## **DECLARATION** The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees' report above. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees Signature 29[th] March 2023 9 Lunch Positive AccouDts year ended 31" May 2022 (*w. 1137186 PsT8#e 113 QueaLq Ro Brighton BNI 3XG 6T1]lK￿ Plxe 2f M•rth >)23 ft.fi. LEI•1 D* Qo)3 ## **Lunch Positive** ## **Registered charity: 1137186** ## **Statement of Financial Activities year ended 31st May 2022** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Restricted Unrestricted 2022 Restricted Unrestricted 2021
Receipts
Incoming resources from charitable activities 90,175 3,562 93,737 78,269 800 79,069
Donations - 22,954 22,954 - 25,387 25,387
Income from investments - 27 27 - 10 10
Total Receipts 90,175 26,543 116,718 78,269 26,197 104,466
Payments
Expenditure on charitable activities 95,677 10,889 106,566 75,368 12,062 87,430
Expenditure on fundraising 73 988 1,061 - 96 96
Total Payments 95,750 11,878 107,628 75,368 12,158 87,526
Net receipts for the year (5,575) 14,665 9,090 2,901 14,040 16,941
Funds at 1st June 2021 30,253 105,998 136,251 27,353 91,958 119,311
Transfer between funds 31/5/22 (16) 16 - (1) 1 -
Balance of funds at 31st May 2022 24,662 120,679 145,341 30,253 105,998 136,251
**----- End of picture text -----**
NB some additions may vary by +/- £1 due to rounding Page 2 of 5 **Registered charity: 1137186** ## **Lunch Positive** ## **Receipts and Payments Account year ended 31st May 2022** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Restricted Unrestricted 2022 Restricted Unrestricted 2021
Receipts
Incoming resources from charitable activities
Grant BHCC Third Sector Prospectus 15,200 - 15,200 15,200 - 15,200
Grant Arnold Clark 3,500 - 3,500 - - -
Grant Community Works re-opening grant 1,724 - 1,724 - - -
Grant MAC AIDS Fund - - - 10,000 - 10,000
Grant Sussex Community Foundation 5,000 - 5,000 5,000 - 5,000
Grant Sussex Community Foundation West Sussex - - - 1,374 - 1,374
Grant Sussex Crisis Fund 9,928 - 9,928 5,000 - 5,000
Grant Sussex Community Foundation Food Security Fund - - - 5,000 - 5,000
Grant Sussex Community Foundation Winter Support 8,354 - 8,354 - - -
Grant BHCC COMF 5,290 - 5,290 - - -
Grant BHCC Jubilee Fund 300 - 300 - - -
Grant BHCC Summer grant 1,348 - 1,348 - - -
Grant BHCC Winter grant 4,994 - 4,994 3,853 - 3,853
Grant Brighton & Hove Food Partnership LOP 3,647 - 3,647 6,973 - 6,973
Grant Brighton & Hove Food Partnership Household Support 1,376 - 1,376 - - -
Grant Brighton & Hove Food Partnership Food Safety 444 - 444 - - -
Grant Brighton District Nursing Association 2,500 - 2,500 2,500 - 2,500
Grant Brighton & Hove Rainbow Fund 17,500 - 17,500
Grant TNL Covid Support - - - 14,800 - 14,800
Grant BHCC Public Health 8,570 - 8,570 8,570 - 8,570
Grant Local Giving 500 - 500 - - -
Community catering income - 2,560 2,560 - - -
Community reps fees - 800 800 - 800 800
Refunds on 2021 purchases - 202 202 - - -
Donations
Community fundraising - 899 899 - 10,692 10,692
Collection tins - - - - 794 794
Other donations - 22,055 22,055 - 13,901 13,901
Income from investments
Bank interest - 27 27 - 10 10
Total Receipts 90,175 26,543 116,718 78,269 26,197 104,466
`
Payments
Expenditure on charitable activities
Salaries, wages, on-costs 45,887 7,599 53,486 43,158 - 43,158
Premises 14,962 128 15,089 8,166 2,703 10,869
Food & consumables 13,359 199 13,558 11,575 123 11,698
Health & safety supplies and services 1,297 2 1,299 1,941 699 2,640
Administration, IT, insurance 6,631 - 6,631 2,833 1,217 4,050
Volunteer programme 1,753 63 1,816 366 2,088 2,454
Volunteer expenses 1,349 10 1,359 549 16 564
Catering equipment 1,053 - 1,053 2,890 1,712 4,602
Capital items - 2,250 2,250 - - -
Marketing and promotion 909 - 909 1,150 1,220 2,370
Vehicle costs & fuel 7,552 - 7,552 2,371 2,134 4,504
Community engagement 46 559 605 - - -
Community catering 479 - 479 - - -
Accountancy 400 - 400 - 150 150
Winter Support Equipment - - - 370 - 370
Miscellaneous - 80 80 - - -
Expenditure on fundraising
Fundraising 73 988 1,061 - 96 96
Total Payments 95,750 11,878 107,628 75,368 12,158 87,526
Net receipts for the year (5,575) 14,665 9,090 2,901 14,040 16,941
Funds at 1st June 2021 30,253 105,998 136,251 27,353 91,958 119,311
Transfer between funds 31/5/22 (16) 16 - - 1 1 -
Balance of funds at 31st May 2022 24,662 120,679 145,341 30,253 105,998 136,251
**----- End of picture text -----**
NB some additions may vary by +/- £1 due to rounding Page 3 of 5 ## **Lunch Positive** ## **Registered charity: 1137186** ## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31st May 2022** |**Monetary Assets**
Cooperative bank (current account, *****355 00)
Cooperative bank (deposit account, *****355 50)
Cash in hand
**Balance of funds held at 31st May 2022**
**Liabilities**
none known
**Non-Monetary Assets**
The charity has a vehicle puchased for £2,250 in 2021. Depreciated at 25% pa current value:|21,873
123,428
40
**145,341**
0
**0**
£1,688| |---|---| NB some additions may vary by +/- £1 due to rounding NB some additions may vary by +/- £1 due to rounding page 4 of 5 ## **Lunch Positive** **Registered charity: 1137186** ## **Breakdown of funds held at 31st May 2022** _Please note that errors of +/- £1 may occur due to rounding_ **----- Start of picture text -----**
Funds held at 31st May 2021
Restricted funds 30,253
Designated fund (1) Organisational development 78,969
Designated fund (2) Employment contingency 7,950
Free reserves 19,079
136,251
Funds held at 31st May 2022
Restricted funds 24,662
Designated fund (1) Organisational development 78,969
Designated fund (2) Employment contingency 7,950
Free reserves 33,760
145,341
Breakdown of restricted funds held at 31st May 2022
Arnold Clark Community Fund (received 21/22)` 3,500
Awards for All (1) (carried forward from 2018-19) 745
Awards for All (2, "Positive Times") (received 2019-20) 1,766
Brighton & Hove City Council Jubilee Fund (received May 22) 300
Brighton & Hove City Council Third Sector Prospectus (received April 22) 7,600
Brighton & Hove Community Works Reopening Fund (received Nov 21) 1,028
Brighton & Hove Food Partnership Food Safety Grant (received Feb 22) 444
Brighton & Hove Food Partnership Household Support Fund (received April 22) 1,376
Brighton & Hove Food Partnership LOP Fund (received Oct 21) 90
Brighton & Hove Rainbow Fund (received 21/22) 1,586
Brighton District Nursing Association (received 21/22) 291
Local Giving Wellbeing (received June 21) 500
Sussex Community Foundation Winter Support and Recovery (received Feb 22) 5,435
TOTAL of restricted funds held at 31st May 2022 24,662
**----- End of picture text -----**
NB some additions may vary by +/- £1 due to rounding Page 5 of 5