2024-12-31-accounts - Christian Kitchen

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Annual Report and Accounts Financial Year ended 31st December 2024 Registered Charity No 1149052

Account Report 2024

Administrative Information

Christan Kitchen is a charity (No. 1149052), which has its registered address at 65 Blackhorse Road, Walthamstow, London, E17 7AS.

Trustees who served during the year (2024), were as follows:

Chair: Colin Carter

Secretary: Andrew Lock

Treasurer: Jerry Tawiah (Appointed 15th February 2024)

Other Trustees:

Carl Austrie

Angela Baptiste

Norman Coe

Maria De La Cruz Martinez Servan

Stephen Kearns

Mumtaz Khalick

Rosida Simrick (retired 12[th] June 2024)

Paige Singh

Bethelhem Tedela

David Williams

Post Financial Year-End Changes (Appointment / Resignations):

None

Banker: TSB Bank plc

Independent Examiner: Waqas Hussain

Structure, Governance and Management

Christian Kitchen is governed by a Trust Deed (executed 21[st] January 2012) which is based on the Charity Commission Model Trust Deed, relevant details for which can be obtained from its website under guidance for Choosing and Preparing a Governing Document (CC22).

Objectives and Activities

The key objective of Christian Kitchen is the relief of financial hardship among people living or working in Waltham Forest by providing such persons with goods or services, which they could not otherwise afford through lack of means.

Against that background its primary activities involve the provision of food to homeless and marginalised people in Walthamstow, London E17. This is achieved through the use of a bespoke

electric “soup” van, where volunteer workers serve meals & drinks safely seven-days a week, fiftytwo-weeks a year.

Users of the Service

This can vary depending on the time of year or weather conditions although user numbers will fluctuate between 30 and 40 individuals as a typical daily average throughout any given year.

Achievement & Performance

The Trustees have complied with the duty to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.

The next sections (below) report on the achievements and performance of the charity in various areas of our work.

Christian Kitchen - an introduction

Who are we?

As indicated above Christian Kitchen is a charity, based in the London borough of Waltham Forest that provides hot meals every night of the week to the homeless people of Walthamstow and surrounding areas.

The charity is run by a team of Trustees, some of whom have been volunteering or over 25years.

Each night, the van is operated by small teams of volunteers, some from church groups and others from people from the local area, who all want to give back and help those that need it.

What do we do?

We have been feeding homeless people for over 25-years.

The charity was created by a local woman originally, who wanted to help people on her “doorstep” that were hungry and homeless.

Christian Kitchen’s values and operations remain unchanged largely since its establishment (as “Christian Kitchen Word of Life Ministry” initially) but now with the addition of an electric van and website.

Funding Report - 2024

In order to operate efficiently Christian Kitchen (CK) continues to rely heavily on external sources of funding – both to fund capital expenditure but also, crucially, to support ongoing revenue expenditure to fund day to day running costs. Major funding received in 2024 is outlined below;

Walthamstow and Chingford Almshouse Charity supports CK on an on-going basis by donating up to £10,000 per year to fund core daily running costs such food and drink procurement, cutlery, food containers etc. In 2023 the funding was increased by a further £5,000 to cover additional waste removal costs that we have incurred.
We received at total of £1,500 from London Borough of Waltham Forest through their Community Ward Funding programme.
St James’ Big Local have given us a one-off grant totalling £10,000 to fund operating costs and additional costs arising from operational modifications that we have made following the COVID pandemic period.
Towards the end of 2024 we were notified that we had been successful in securing funding from the National Lottery Community Fund. This funding will cover a three period (late 2024 – late 2027). We received the first tranche of this funding, £20,500 in December 2024.
Donations – both monetary and in kind - from local individuals, schools, businesses and places of worship continue to be key elements supporting our on-going operation.
Donations of food from local shops and supermarkets, notably Sainsburys in Walthamstow High Street and South Woodford and also Waitrose in Buckhurst Hill, are also key to the service that we offer.

Over the past year we have experienced a continuing increase in the number of people whom we feed each night. We are now providing 35-40 meals per night, which represents about a 50% increase on the pre-COVID period. This obviously leads to pressure to increase the amount of funding raised.

As we receive no regular central or local government funding, Christian Kitchen needs to continually raise significant sums of money to be able to offer the level of service to which we are committed – namely providing a free, three course meal each night to local homeless and vulnerable people. We would like to thank all those who support us – individuals and organisations – who are so instrumental in helping us meet this objective.

Steve Kearns, Trustee; October 2025

Financial Review - 2024

Christian Kitchen is an unincorporated charity where given its income threshold is below £250k typically, it has adopted a “Receipts & Payments” accounting approach to its reporting protocols over recent years, including this period review.

This methodology requires the reporting of cash movements only; ‘Receipts & Payments’ accounts are statements that summarise cash movements into and from the charity in the financial year. In this context ‘cash’ includes cash equivalents, e.g. bank and building society current and / or other cash accounts into which money is banked or used to make payments.

Accounting Basis

As outlined above, Christian Kitchen has opted to prepare its accounts using the ‘Receipts & Payments’ methodology.

Report and Accounts

If gross income is below £25k per annum, there is no requirement to submit accounts to the Charity Commission but an annual return still needs to be filed. In 2017, Christian Kitchen income exceeded this threshold for the first time and the Trustees considered it to be a best practice irrespective of income received to submit formal accounts, which has been its core operating practice ever since. In this reporting period (to December 2024), income exceeded the threshold at £26.6k.

An Independent Examination is a form of external overview to confirm whether there are any areas of material financial concern, and the Trustees have concluded that the review of the accounts for the period 2024, is appropriate (see below).

Financial Review - Period 2024 (1st January to 31st December)

Underlying unrestricted income of £26,608 represented a 17.5% decline year-on-year (2023: £32,262) where once again it is appropriate to recognise that this sum was underpinned by the significant contributions from ‘Walthamstow & Chingford Almshouse Charity’ (WCAC); WCAC funding equated to 41% of unrestricted funds (£26,6k) vs. 59% in the prior year (2023).

Stripping out WCAC funding, general donations totalled £15,654, which is a slight improvement vs. 2023 (£13,102) albeit it serves to highlight the ongoing macroeconomic challenges that many UK charities, including Christian Kitchen continue to experience. Indeed, it is conceivable that geopolitical events could exacerbate current cost of living dynamics and hence, disrupt the support channels (e.g. individuals, funding partners) that UK charities have tended to rely upon in recent years.

Looking ahead the Trustees will continue to consider a full range of strategic & financial initiatives to underpin the charity’s operational viability in the medium-term, which will include actions to encourage increased engagement of its local donors.

As noted above WCAC continued to provide significant support during the period (41% of core income) and it remains a key strategic partner, as the charity seeks to further its objective to support vulnerable individuals in local communities.

Beyond this principal income flows were via our JustGiving platform, which returned to 2022 levels (£6,393 vs. £6,227).

No grant funding was received during the review period although this is a financial channel that has underpinned Christian Kitchen’s operating profile in recent years, and similar funding opportunities will continue to be explored in the future.

Against a backdrop of an uncertain economic outlook, Christian Kitchen continues to receive material support from a range of donor groups, including Christian churches / groups and other organisations (many local) and in this respect, the Trustees would like to express their thanks, for on-going contributions provided (both financial / non-financial), to:

Blackhorse Road Baptist Church
Broadmead Baptist Church
Chingford Mount Baptist Church
Cornerstone Leyton
Destiny Community Services
Gateway Church
Highams Park Baptist Church
Our Lady & St George
Our Lady of the Rosary and St Patrick’s
Parish of Christ the King
St Luke's Church Walthamstow
St Mary’s Church Walthamstow
Walthamstow & Chingford Almshouse Charity
Woodford Baptist Church

Operating expenditure increased slightly (6%) to £34,084 (£32,054), which included significant capital expenditure relating to an upgrade of kitchen facilities - £10,471. Spending during 2024 was not wholly comparable to 2023 given the operating changes that occurred (i.e. adjusting the co-ordinator role profile), so it is conceivable 2025 will provide a more sustainable illustration of the operating way forward.

Core expenditure items centre on:

Maintenance Costs; £9,475 (~28%) - primary operating / trading expenditure
Operating Expenses; £6,096 (~18%) - waste collection services, operational management costs
Rental; £3,000 (~9%) - donation to St Michael & All Angels, Walthamstow re operating accommodation
Vehicle Insurance; £2,079 (~6%) - relevant cover for the electric van

The Trustees’ focus remains around its health & safety protocols aligned to operating simplification and cost efficiency. It is clear more work is needed to deliver long-term financial sustainability, and so income generation, cost improvements will remain key financial priorities noting the unique challenges this charity faces to deliver its local mission objectives.

Net cash resources totalled £126,804 (at 31[st] December 2024) reduced from £134,280 (prior year); all cash was Restricted.

Approval

Approved by the Trustees 15[th] October 2025

Independent examiner’s report to the Trustees of Christian Kitchen (Charity no.

1149052)

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Christian Kitchen (“the Charity”) for the year ended 31[st] December 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the Trustees of the Charity, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Name: Waqas Hussain FCCA Address: 10 Knebworth Avenue, Walthamstow, E17 5AJ Date: 23/09/2025

Signed:

	Christian Kitchen	Christian Kitchen	Christian Kitchen	No 1149052	CC16a

	Receipts andpayments accounts
	For the period from	1st January2024	To	31st December


Section A Receipts and payments
	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds	Total funds	Last year (2023)
	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Just Giving- Donations	6,393	-	-	6,393	5,317
Regular Deposits - StandingOrders	3,636	-	-	3,636	2,250
Large Individual Deposits(>£250)	3,524	-	-	3,524	2,600
EasyFundRaising	40	-	-	40	125
Charities Aid Foundation	481	-	-	481	260
General Deposits	1,580	-	-	1,580	2,549
Walthamstow & Chingford Almshouse Charity	10,954			10,954	19,160
London CommunityFoundation				-	10,000
Crest Waltham Forest - St James’ Big Local				-
LBWF(Winter Appeal 2022)				-
LBWF CommunityWard Funding	-	-	-	-	6,000
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	26,608	-	-	26,608	48,262

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
Bank(at 1st January 2024)	- 3,346	137,626	-	134,280	118,072
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*	- 3,346	137,626	-	134,280	118,072

**Total receipts **	23,262	137,626	-	160,888	166,334

A3 Payments
Kitchen Services	2,747	-	-	2,747	9,027
Vehicle Insurance	2,079	-	-	2,079	5,691
Kitchen Equipment Costs	10,471	-	-	10,471	-
OperatingExpenses	6,096	-	-	6,096	13,672
Rental(St Michael's)	3,000	-	-	3,000	3,000
Maintenance Expenses	9,475	-	-	9,475	449
Miscellaneous costs	216	-	-	216	216
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	34,084	-	-	34,084	32,054

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
			-	-
	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	-	-	-	-	-

**Totalpayments **	34,084	-	-	34,084	32,054

*Net of receipts/(payments)*	- 10,822	137,626	-	126,804	134,280
A5 Transfers between funds	-	-	-	-	-
A6 Cash funds lastyear end	-	-	-	-	-
*Cash funds thisyear end*	- 10,822	137,626	-	126,804	134,280

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories	Details	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds
		to nearest £	to nearest £	to nearest £
B1 Cash funds	Closing Balance at 31st December 2024	- 10,822	137,626	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
	*Total cash funds*	- 10,822	137,626	-
	(agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	OK Unrestricted funds		OK
			Restricted funds	Endowment funds
	Details	to nearest £	to nearest £	to nearest £
B2 Other monetary assets		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-

	Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
B3 Investment assets			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-

	Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-

	Details	Fund to which liability relates	Amount due (optional)	When due (optional)
B5 Liabilities			-
			-
			-
			-
			-

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees	Signature	Print Name		Date of approval
	Colin Carter	Colin Carter		15/10/2025
	Andrew Lock	Andrew Lock		15/10/2025