ONE CAN TRUST LIMITED (A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES REPORT AND
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
For the year ended 31 August 2022
One Can Trust - Trustees Report
For the year ended 31 August 2022
Reference and Administrative Information
One Can Trust – Trustee Directors
The Trustees, who are also Directors for the purposes of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Graham Peart – Chair until 12[th] January 2022
Andy Ford – Chair from 12[th] January 2022
Kate Brewster
Peter Green – Treasurer
Philip Hynard – Secretary
Jennifer Johnstone – Elected 12[th] January 2022
Peggy Peckham
Gareth Pugh
Sarfaraz Khan Raja
Operations Manager
Jo Belshaw
Registered and Office Address - 11b Duke Street, High Wycombe Buckinghamshire. HP13 6ER Charity No. – 1148626 (Established in 2011)
Company No. - 8137465 (Registered in England and Wales)
Bankers - CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent. ME19 4JQ
Account No. 00024509 Sort Code: 40 – 52 – 40
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Structure, Governance and Management
Introduction
One Can Trust was formed in 2011 to provide emergency food parcels to anyone unable to provide food for themselves and their families, whoever they are, wherever they are from and whatever the circumstances.
The charity is an integral part of the network of charitable food banks across Buckinghamshire providing comprehensive geographical coverage to assist those in crisis.
We bring together people from all walks of life who so generously donate food items or money or give their time as a volunteer to enable the delivery to the doorstep of a carefully designed emergency food parcel that includes fresh produce and eggs, to anyone in need.
Over the course of the last year, we have broadened the scope of our operation to provide further support to those in financial hardship in our communities across the south of Buckinghamshire. Since February 2022, we have been running our Community Support Programme to provide additional help and advice to food bank clients. Since March, we have been operating our Food Programmes which include the provision of cookery classes, our Together We Can café and meals to those in need at certain times of the year.
The Board
OCT is a company limited by guarantee and a charity registered with the Charity Commissioners. One Can Trust Ltd (OCT) is controlled by its governing document, the Articles of Association.
The governing document of the company allows a minimum of 3 directors and a maximum of 15 directors. All directors of the company are also trustees of the charity.
New trustees are appointed by the existing trustees after a formal recruitment process including eligibility checks and interviews with the board followed by a vote and can serve for a maximum of 9 years.
Trustees are required to declare any competing or conflicting of interests at the commencement of each Board meeting and they are permanently recorded. When a conflict arises, trustees absent themselves from any discussion and decision making.
Trustees give of their time freely and no remuneration is made.
Role of the Board
At their bimonthly meetings, the trustees agree the broad areas of strategy and activity. They scrutinise performance against targets, our financial position, donor relations, HR matters, health and safety, risk, policies, procedures and other governance matters.
The day-to-day running of these matters is delegated to the food bank staff team under the direction of the Operations Manager. The trustees also oversee our Community Support and Food Programmes, with day-today operations delegated to the two managers responsible for running these programmes.
Employees
At the end of the year, there were four full-time and four part-time members of staff.
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Membership
The charity is a member of the Independent Food Aid Network that represents around 900 independent food banks and collates anonymised data for all to use. We are also supporters of Feeding Britain which is a campaigning charity that tackles food poverty.
We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a Data Controller.
Risk Management
The trustees have a robust Risk policy in place and appoint one of their number to lead on Risk to the Charity.
Most risks are recorded on our Risk Register along with mitigation measures, under five specific categories: Strategic and Governance, Financial, Operational and Reputational, Staffing and Culture. They are kept under active review so that consideration is given to whether the current mitigation measures are adequate or further action is required to address new or emerging risks.
For the reporting year, the risks identified primarily focused on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the sharp rise in the number of people being referred to the food bank for support.
Objectives and Activities
Our Charitable Object is the relief of financial hardship among people living or working in Buckinghamshire and surrounding areas by providing food parcels or services which they could not otherwise afford through lack of means.
Our Vision is to be here in South Bucks to help anyone in our local communities who is desperate with hunger, for as long as there is a need.
Our Mission is to bring together everyone who can contribute to the running of our food bank and provide the organisation and fundraising that is necessary to provide food parcels to anyone in crisis.
How we benefit the public
Our trustees have taken into account their duty under section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 and their obligations with regard to Charity Commission guidance on public benefit when planning our activities.
The objective of the food bank is to give relief to those in need by providing an emergency food parcel, typically containing 5 day’s food supplies, for an initial period of up to four weeks that can be extended after a review.
In addition, over the last year we have invested in our Community Support and Food Programmes which are intended both to provide additional relief to those in our local communities experiencing financial hardship and simultaneously address the causes behind their poverty.
The direct public benefit that comes from our activities is the relief of hunger within households living in poverty.
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Our Values
We operate with openness and integrity – in all our actions we will operate openly and transparently, sharing the reasons behind any decisions we make and how these will progress the delivery of the vision. We value everybody in our community equally and strive to maximise the positive impact we can have without regard to any individual’s background.
We are inspired by our volunteers – in this we can ensure that all who work with us are united in delivering our vision for the greater good of our community.
We are led by and support our community – our initiatives are driven bottom up, deriving their strength from the community they serve, with our actions guided and focussed by the wishes of the community.
We strive for excellence – we aspire to deliver all we do to the highest possible standard and in this, inspire those living in poverty to strive to achieve their full potential.
We recognise the value of the individual and the power of community – in humbling ourselves to a common purpose we can each contribute to something far beyond the reach of any one of us, strengthened by our collective values and supporting one another as we need it.
Community Leadership
One Can Trust has a growing role in community leadership. As an independently funded organisation we are able to bring knowledge and expertise into the Voluntary and Community Sector. We work closely with the Buckinghamshire Council with feedback and statistics to assist with its mission to ensure that there is assistance to relieve poverty throughout the county.
OCT is one of the few organisations that has direct contact and a strong relationship with those struggling with poverty. We have expanded our role from being simply a reactive organisation, delivering food parcels when requested, towards being more proactive by pursuing a policy, when appropriate, of assisting clients on the path towards greater financial security.
We are able to signpost clients to other charities and grant making organisations who are often able to offer assistance that can sometimes be transformative.
Area Served
The food bank service and Community Support Programme cover a wide area that is similar to the communities previously serviced by the former Wycombe and South Bucks District Councils. During the last year, the Food Programme activities have largely focused on supporting vulnerable people and those in particularly difficult financial circumstances in areas of High Wycombe.
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Operations during the Reporting Year to August 2021
Cost-of-Living Crisis
The year began with the gradual easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Initially, this led to a reduction in the number of referrals for the food bank service. However, we very soon began to experience a sharp and sustained rise in the number of referrals, linked initially to the removal of the Universal Credit uplift and increases in food prices. With further inflation linked to the invasion of Ukraine at the start of 2022 and a broader cost-of-living crisis, there was a sustained pressure on our food bank service at unprecedented levels throughout the rest of the financial year.
Capacity and Staff Levels
At the start of the financial year in September we had four members of staff, two of whom were part-time. Our then Operations Manager was on maternity leave and her post was covered on an interim basis by our Food Sourcing Manager.
By January 2023, it was increasingly clear that this level of resource was not sufficient to meet the sharp and sustained increase in referrals that we were experiencing. In addition, some of the key day-to-day tasks that were being undertaken by volunteers were proving to be too demanding and we therefore decided to recruit paid staff to these roles. By the end of the financial year, we had six staff running the food bank service, three of whom were full-time.
We have also increased the number of volunteers supporting us each week to over 220. The Trustees would like to thank every individual and organisation for so generously supporting the food bank in so many ways during this very difficult year to enable every request for a food parcel to be satisfied.
Requesting a Food Parcel
To receive a food parcel, it is necessary to first obtain a referral from one of our local support agency partners. Anyone in need of help and not already being supported by another agency, can contact our office and they will be assisted with obtaining a referral. When a referral is received, the food parcel is made up in a format appropriate to the needs of that household.
Content of the food parcels
The principle is for a standard food parcel to typically provide sufficient food to sustain the recipient and family for 5 days or as is sometimes required, an enhanced food parcel for 7 days along with additional toiletries, depending on the circumstances. The standard food parcel contents have been designed with the assumption that basic food stuffs are available in the cupboard and the enhanced parcel is for those starting from scratch with no stock of the basics. The parcel content is regularly reviewed by the operations team to endeavour to include the most appropriate items, taking into account general welfare, a healthy diet, dietary requirements, allergies and simplicity of food preparation and cooking. Recipients can request food parcels that include vegetarian, vegan or halal meat products and also specify exclusion of certain products due to allergies. Parcels also contain toiletries such as toothpaste, toilet rolls and if appropriate, baby milk to a requested formula along with nappies.
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The standard parcels contain an approximate value of food as follows:
SA1 – Single Adult family £30.00 FA1 – Single parent family £45.00 FA2 – Small family £65.00 FA3 – Large family £75.00
Enhanced parcels contain a greater value of food and are specially tailored to suit the family requirements.
Only food within its ‘Best Before’ date is used with the exception of bread and fruit and veg. Bread may be used up to 1 or 2 days past its ‘Best Before’ date. Fruit and veg is visually inspected to ensure that it is of an acceptable quality before being distributed.
Teams work together to sort, date check and store the food donations, prepare fresh produce, pack the parcels or deliver to the recipients. Other volunteers collect food from drop points within supermarkets
Fresh Produce
We continue to include fresh fruit and vegetables and eggs in our food parcels which is quite unusual compared to similar food banks. Wonderful seasonal allotment surplus produce is included when available. This significantly increases the management workload especially with regard to food handling regulations. However, the move has been warmly welcomed by those receiving the parcels. When more unusual items of fresh produce are included, often straight from an allotment, a relevant menu card is also included.
Additional commercial fridges and freezers have been installed and prescribed HACCP food handling procedures introduced along with relevant food handling courses delivered to staff and volunteers.
During the year, we were subject to an Environmental Health audit and received five stars from Buckinghamshire Council, the highest rating possible.
Food Generation
The vast majority of the food that we distribute is donated. A weekly stock take is taken to assist management of stock levels of each category of food item. This stock take is used to inform advertising via social media of our most urgent items.
The sharp and sustained rise in the number of referrals to record levels in the last year has placed severe pressure at times on our food stocks. Since January, we have run food drives every weekend on a rotational basis at local supermarkets. We have also continued to invest in our innovative Street Heroes campaign. These and other initiatives have helped to ensure that food donations from the public have risen, despite the rising price of food that has impacted upon so many households. Approximately half of our donations now come from supermarkets, either through public donations or through the supermarket giving us surplus food. About one quarter of donations are generated via the Street Heroes campaign and the balance comes from a combination of workplaces, schools, clubs, charitable organisations, churches, mosques and community initiatives.
However, the increase in donations has not proven sufficient to meet the rising number of referrals and, consequently, we have frequently had to purchase food from suppliers. During the year, we spent almost £105,000 on food purchases compared with just under £13,000 in the previous financial year. While we have benefited from grant support to meet some of these additional costs, the net effect has still been significant.
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Funding
The management structure of the charity is very lean. The minimal team of paid staff is supplemented by over 220 outstanding volunteers. There is no regular income, so money has to be raised to pay staff salaries, rent, maintenance, energy supplier, broadband etc. The activity of one of the Trustees is focussed on making applications for grants from funding organisations and to make appeals for donations from individuals and companies. Funding and fundraising are an integral part of discussion at Board Meetings.
Development of the Charity
Governance
Each year we set out to make a number of changes to the organisation to improve professionalism, governance, Health and Safety, operational systems and sustainability and this reporting year is no exception.
Community Support Programme
During the course of the year, we have invested further in our Community Support Programme (previously called Insight Programme). This is now run by a full-time Manager who reports to the Board and who is assisted by a member of staff whose time is shared between this programme and the Food Programmes. The Community Support Programme operates with the support of approximately 10 trained and experienced volunteers.
The Programme involves contact with every household that is referred to the food bank for support. The Programme operates a triage system to determine additional support that would benefit the recipient household. That support may be provided by us or by partner organisations and could typically involve securing access to additional financial support such as fuel vouchers, the acquisition of white goods, advice on debt and access to training and other specialist support. The programme has also highlighted gaps in the provision of support for households in severe financial difficulty, for example parents with young children who are not able to afford current support. For this reason, we will be commencing our own Parent-Toddler group in High Wycombe in January 2023.
Food Programmes
In March 2022, our previous Operations Manager returned from maternity leave in a new role as our Food Programmes Manager. She is assisted in this role by a member of staff whose time is shared between this programme and the Community Support Programme.
Our Food Programmes initially consisted of running a series of highly successful cookery classes aimed at clients who were receiving support from the food bank or were identified by partner organisations as experiencing financial hardship more generally. Since spring 2022, we have run cookery skills programmes for clients with mental health conditions and for families referred to us by a school in High Wycombe.
We have also operated our Together We Can Café in collaboration with our partner organisation, Hills Café in Micklefield, High Wycombe. This has involved us providing free hot, healthy and nutritious meals to families in financial hardship in a safe space where they are able to socialise and access broader advice and support from our trained and experienced volunteers.
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Achievement and Performance
Food Bank Statistics
During the year to 31[st] August 2021, our food bank service received 13,283 referrals that were delivered to 1,282 different households each receiving assistance for an average of 10.4 weeks. This compares to 11,322 referrals delivered to 1,341 different households for an average of 8.4 weeks in the previous year. The average number of referrals received was 1,106 per month, up from 943 per month for the previous year. These statistics show both the sharp increase in the number of referrals (17%) and also that the people we were supporting typically needed that help for a longer period of time (an increase of 25% in the length of time).
These annual figures mask a sharp increase in demand during the year for the food bank service. In September 2021, we distributed 692 parcels. By December, which had risen to 1,236 parcels. It then never dipped below 1,000 parcels per month for the rest of the financial year, peaking at 1,418 parcels in March. By August 2022, we were delivering 70% more parcels than in the same month in the previous year.
Single adults accounted for about 40% of the overall number of referrals. Small families consisting either of an adult couple with no children or a single parent with 1-2 children accounted for about one quarter of referrals, while larger families of two adults and two children or a single adult with three or four children accounted for about 20%. The balance was made up of larger families.
Geographically, about two-thirds of referrals were for households with a High Wycombe postcode. Other areas that generated significant levels of referrals were Burnham and Iver, Flackwell Heath and Wooburn, and Princes Risborough.
The most commonly cited reason for referrals was that the financial value of benefits received was insufficient to buy food. Other common reasons were problems with the administration of the benefits system, household debt, the inadequacy of income from paid employment and homelessness.
Our estimate is that we distributed food with a retail value of approximately £600,000 during the year.
This remains a remarkably cost-efficient system considering the complexity of the process of collecting, sorting, storing, picking, packing and delivering the parcels. The overhead expenses of the premises and salaries of the employees are the significant on-going costs. All this is possible due to the readiness of a team of well around 220 willing volunteers who each week sort and store incoming food, pick and pack parcels and others who collect food from drop centres and supermarkets and deliver packed parcels to the doorstep.
Community Support Programme Statistics
Between January 2022 and the end of the financial year, the Community Support Programme Team made 383 telephone calls to clients receiving support from the food bank. Of these, 147 felt they needed no further support at that stage from One Can Trust or our partner organisations. We supported another 88 clients with simple signposting to other services for extra help. In the remaining 148 cases, our team worked extensively with the client to assist them in accessing other help or services, including additional financial support. Between January and the end of August 2022, we secured additional funding of over £12,000 for clients to help them with the costs of fuel, water, children’s clothes, white goods, general household expenses or the costs of returning to work.
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Food Programmes Statistics
We ran two cookery courses during May and June for a total of 15 clients referred to us by Wycombe MIND. We also ran cookery courses during the same period for families with children at Beechview School and a further course for adults during August. The qualitative feedback we received from all these courses was very strong. We ran two supper clubs during August for families in Micklefield who were struggling financially during the school holidays. A total of 23 people attended these sessions. Between the start of May and the end of the financial year, we ran nine Together We Can open café sessions at the Hills Café in Micklefield that have attracted a total of 109 people.
Acknowledgements
The Trustees are most grateful for the incredibly generous donations of food and money that come from residents in the South Bucks and surrounding areas. Community spirit is clearly very much alive.
The Trustees would like to make a special thank you to the numerous volunteers who so generously and reliably gave their time to sort and store food, another group of volunteers who picked and packed the parcels, yet another group of volunteers who collected food from supermarkets and drop centres and yet more who collected the completed parcels from Duke Street within designated time slots and delivered them to the client’s doorstep. The Trustees would also like to thank all the other volunteers who involve themselves with the foodbank in so many different ways to assist with marketing current needs, producing videos, setting up spread sheets and a host of other ‘hidden’ activities.
The Trustees would also like to warmly thank the many volunteers who are our gallant Street Heroes, hosting a local food drop point in their front gardens and regularly delivering the proceeds to our warehouse. We also want to thank the volunteers who have helped to organise and run our weekly supermarket food drives, standing in draughty entrances handing out leaflets to encourage food donations which have been absolutely essential to our success in meeting the sharp increase in the number of referrals over the last year. Without these volunteers there would be no emergency food bank as it would not be economically viable to pay staff to carry out the same work. We would also like to thank the volunteers who have invested so much energy, time and commitment in making our Community Support and Food Programmes so successful.
The Trustees would like to thank all the donors and supporters who have made financial contributions and donations of food, large and small, and without whom the charity could not exist. This includes many individuals and community service organisations. We are most grateful to Buckinghamshire Council who made very generous grants towards rent, administration and food costs during the year and to the King Cullimore Trust for their financial support.
And finally the Trustees would like to thank every one of the small staff team who have risen to the many challenging situations that the last year has presented.
Signed on behalf of the trustees
Andy Ford, Chairman 12[th] January 2023
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ONE CAN TRUST LIMITED
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES For the year ended 31 August 2022
| --------------------2022-------------------- £ £ £ Notes Unrestricted Restricted Total Income: Local Giving/Stewardship 154,160 154,160 Individual Donations 73,975 73,975 Church Donations 6,178 6,178 School Donations 816 816 Community Groups 44,574 44,574 Company Donations 26,832 26,832 Fund raising 1,169 1,169 Grants received 2 117,500 13,000 130,500 Interest 1,163 1,163 _ _ _ TOTAL INCOME 426,367 13,000 439,367 Expenditure: Wages and Employment Costs 3 181,896 4,702 186,598 Vehicle Purchase Cost - - - Building and Premises 4,458 4,458 Furniture and Equipment 5,091 5,091 Other Office Support Costs 5,724 5,724 Vehicle Running Costs 4,205 4,205 Travel and Delivery Costs 3,720 3,720 Rent 6,000 6,000 Service Charge 7,579 7,579 Electricity 2,952 2,952 Insurance 1,356 1,356 Stationery and Postage 3,528 3,528 Telephone 2,056 2,056 Cleaning and Safety 7,534 7,534 Food Purchase and Bags 4 111,752 13,599 125,351 Publicity and communications 4,404 4,404 Cookery Project - 8,298 8,298 Training 24 24 Bank charges 207 207 Miscellaneous 200 200 _ _ _ TOTAL EXPENDITURE 352,686 26,599 379,285 _ _ _ Surplus for the year 73,681 (13,599) 60,082 |
2021 £ Total 165,574 97,897 13,865 1,800 37,268 53,003 948 99,282 63 _ 469,700 149,562 21,594 5,928 18,691 4,235 2,757 1,306 7,156 5,770 3,682 1,356 4,470 1,438 9,747 12,892 3,874 - 1,004 97 229 _ 255,788 _ 213,912 |
|---|---|
ONE CAN TRUST LIMITED-
BALANCE SHEET
As at 31 August 2022
| -------------------------2021/2022------------------------- £ £ £ £ Notes Unrestricted Designated Restricted Total CAF Cash Account 87,671 87,671 CAF Deposit Account 5 85,216 160,000 245,216 Shawbrook/CAF-60 day Account 250,839 250,839 Petty Cash 150 150 _ _ _ _ 423,876 160,000 583,876 LESS: Creditors 6 (22,203) (22,203) _ _ _ _ 401,673 160,000 561,673 Represented By: B/Fwd. 1 September 2021 327,992 160,000 13,599 501,591 ADD: Surplus for the year ended 2022 73,681 (13,599) 60,082 _ _ _ _ Total 401,673 160,000 - 561,673 |
2020/21 £ Total 67,111 185,063 250,000 50 _ 502,244 (633) _ 501,591 |
|---|---|
| 287,679 213,912 _ 501,591 |
For the year ended 31 August 2022 the company was entitled to exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act relating to the filing of accounts by small companies
No members have required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.
ONE CAN TRUST LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 August 2022
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The financial accounts have been prepared under the Companies Act 2011 (2014 version of Accounting and Reporting by Charities). The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention to show the position of the Trust’s financial activities for the year 2021/2022
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The Trust received grants during the year which totalled £130,500
| Unrestricted Sainsburys Neighbourly Fund King Cullimore Charity Bucks County Council Restricted Bucks County Council |
1,500 25,000 91,000 £117,500 £13,000 |
|---|---|
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During the year the Trust commenced the Insight Programme in teaching Cookery and the Community Support Programme. This saw an increase in staff numbers resulting to higher Staff Employment costs.
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Purchase of food supplies amounted to £125,351 of which £13,599 was met from a restricted grant for the purchase of food brought forward from the previous year.
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The Designated Fund balance of £160,000 was created by Trustees in previous years. The fund was to cover the possible future winding up costs of £80,000, known relocation of the Trust premises at a future date £30,000 and the planned Insight Programme of Cookery and Community Support £50,000.
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At the end of the year creditors of £22,203 related to staff pension contributions of £1,372 still to be collected by the pension provider plus bulk food purchases in August 2022 of £20,831 not paid until after the end of the financial year.
INDEPENDEYT EXAMINER'S REPORT ON THE AccouNrs
Report ts the Trustees or:
One CAn Trult Limited
Charity No. 1148626
the •c¢ounts for the ye¥Jr ended: 31 AgUIt 2022
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