West Berks Foodbank Charity Registration Number 1151996 o # **West Berks Foodbank** (A Charitable Incorporated Organisation) Charity of the Year, 2023 Greenham Common Trust Charity Awards ## _**Relieving Hunger Restoring Dignity Reviving Hope**_ # **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT TO THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024** AGM Review 30-09-2024 Page 1 West Berks Foodbank Charity Registration Number 1151996 |**Charity name**
|West Berks Foodbank| |---|---| |
**Charity registration number**
1151996|| |**Principal office**
Unit 80 First Street,|| |Greenham Business Park,|| |Berkshire|| |RG19 6HW|| |
**Registered office**
Liberty House,|| |Greenham Business Park,|| |Newbury,|| |Berkshire|| |RG19 6HW|| |
**Trustees**(as at 31 March 2024)
Jason Paul Collis (Chair)|| |Philip Bevan|| |Peter Collins|| |Ronald Alexander James Herd|| |Julia Hoaen|| |Sarah Antoinette Wylie|| |**Treasurer**
Dave Carter|| |**Minutes Secretary**
Lynn Portwood|| |**Foodbank Manager**
Fran Chamings|| |**Deputy Manager**
Laura Iaschi|| |**Benefits Adviser**
Amelia Gourlay|| |**Independent Examiner**
David R Weller DMA, ONC/HNC
|| AGM Review Page 2 30-09-2024 West Berks Foodbank Charity Registration Number 1151996 ## **1. Structure, Governance and Management** ## a. General West Berks Foodbank became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Associated Model Constitution) on 13 May 2013 with Charity Registration Number 1151996. During its preceding foundation period, it had operated under a Trust Deed as a Charitable Trust under the name of Newbury and Thatcham Foodbank. West Berks Foodbank (WBFB) is an independent social franchise partner of the Trussell Trust Foodbank Network – the largest Foodbank network in the United Kingdom. It adheres to the policies and procedures laid down in the Trussell Trust Operations Manual, which have been developed and proven in over 1300 actively operating Trussell Trust model foodbanks in the UK network. The trustees manage the affairs of the CIO, and for that purpose exercise all of the powers of the CIO. Each trustee is charged to exercise their powers and perform their functions as a trustee in the way they decide in good faith would be most likely to further the purposes of the CIO. They are expected to exercise, in the performance of those functions, such care and skill as is reasonable in the circumstances, having regard to any special knowledge or experience that they have or hold themselves as having. A WBFB trustee must be over the age of 16 years; have not retired from, or been removed from, office; have expressly acknowledged acceptance of the office of charity trustee; and be a practising Trinitarian Christian. In seeking new trustees, the Foodbank looks for people who strongly endorse, and seek to further, the charitable objectives of the charity; have the vision, enthusiasm, drive and contacts to make things happen; and bring complementary skills that ensure there is the broad range of relevant skills needed to successfully direct and manage the charity. The trustees are responsible for the vision, strategic direction, fund raising, financial health, regulatory compliance, and general well-being of the Foodbank. ## b. Charitable Objects - to relieve persons in West Berkshire and local surrounding areas who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress, by providing free food, and in such other ways as the trustees from time to time think fit, and also in other parts of the United Kingdom and in such ways as the trustees from time to time think fit, thereby demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ for all; - the prevention or relief of poverty in West Berkshire in particular, but not exclusively, by providing emergency food to individuals in need and by supporting other charities and organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty; - to provide services to people who have need of them by reason of their age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage by signposting them to additional support services. AGM Review Page 3 30-09-2024 West Berks Foodbank Charity Registration Number 1151996 ## **2. General activities of WBFB** ## a. Satisfying Short Term Crisis Food Needs WBFB directly serves people in short term crisis food need. It has established a wide network of referrers - a total of 275 referral partners by March 2024 - who, knowing the circumstances of the referred beneficiary, can vouch for their crisis food needs. It has also established a wide range of generous food donors – the general public (especially via food supermarkets and churches), schools, businesses, local organisations and other sources. It sorts, stores and manages the supply of food to its Foodbank distribution centres. Here it provides, on presentation of each referral food voucher or e-voucher number, a minimum of seven days of nutritionally balanced emergency food for the family group affected. Where appropriate, it also signposts clients to other charitable organisations who can help them overcome their longer-term difficulties. ## b. Assisting with Longer-Term Food Needs WBFB supports other local organisations that deal with vulnerable people who have longer- term food needs. The main charities it supports are: - - **Two Saints** , which provides two hostels in Newbury for those without shelter and works with them to the goal of independence. - **Loose Ends** , a charity offering homeless and vulnerable people five home-cooked meals each week. - **Bramlings House,** sheltered accommodation for young people aged 16-24 years. - **Homestart West Berkshire,** supporting families with young children. - **West Berkshire Housing Team** . - **Foodbanks and breakfast clubs** operated by a number of schools. ## c. Supporting Other Ad Hoc Food & Essential Items Shortage Needs WBFB also supports ad-hoc calls for food from other organisations supporting those in crisis need, including the Berkshire Women’s Aid and local women’s refuge; Newbury Soup Kitchen; Fairclose Day Centre; Bridge for Young People (formerly known as Young People and Children First); All Yours; the Community Furniture Project; Thatcham Larder; Homestart; Babybank; Eight Bells for Mental Health; and Speen Community Café. ## **3. Operational report** ## a. Introduction One of the highlights of another challenging year for the West Berks Foodbank was winning ‘Charity of the Year for the Disadvantaged’, and then overall ‘Charity of the Year’, at the 2023 Greenham Common Trust Charity Awards in October 2023. This achievement was marked by a letter of congratulations from the Mayor of Newbury, Nigel Foot, by considerable publicity, and by much deserved celebration. And then in March 2024 we commemorated the tenth anniversary of the formal launch of WBFB with a celebration of our volunteers at St George’s Church attended by many of the volunteers who have been associated with the Foodbank since its inception. AGM Review 30-09-2024 Page 4 West Berks Foodbank Charity Registration Number 1151996 These two occasions highlighted both how much work the Foodbank has done already and how well it has done it – a major contribution to the well-being of the people of West Berkshire. And they also highlighted the continuing need for the work of the Foodbank, which was underlined by our many activities during 2023/24. ## b. The Team This work is the outcome of a massive effort by a large and diverse team, and we are extremely grateful to everyone involved for their unstinting commitment to improving the lives of those who seek our support. The team is led by our three excellent salaried staff – Fran Chamings, Laura Iaschi and Amelia Gourlay – and includes about 150 volunteers working in many different locations and roles; innumerable individuals whose generous donations make it all possible; individuals and organisations who refer those in need to us; organisations with whom we collaborate to broaden our reach; and a large number of organisations, businesses and charitable trusts who support us with funds and many other timely interventions, including providing short-term volunteers for specific occasions and many imaginative fund-raising initiatives. We are most grateful to them all: without such support, our work would simply not be possible. Food poverty is a many-sided issue, and alleviating it requires a correspondingly many-sided approach. WBFB is, in effect, strongly embedded in its community. It came into being through the efforts of local churches, and it works particularly closely with local churches, local schools and other community groups, giving talks, helping with collections, providing opportunities for visits and AGM Review 30-09-2024 Page 5 Charity Registration Number 1151996 ## West Berks Foodbank volunteering, and spreading awareness of the problems that exist and approaches to helping address them. Most of our distribution centres are located in church buildings. During the year we welcomed two new trustees: Julia Hoaen in April 2023, and Peter Collins in October 2023. Julia has taken on overall responsibility for safeguarding, and ensures that all relevant individuals have formal training in safeguarding – a key requirement for operations like ours. We also welcomed two new full-time members of staff: Laura Iaschi in April 2023 as Deputy Foodbank Manager, and Amelia Gourlay in June 2023 as Benefits Adviser helping individual clients navigate their way round the benefits system. Their appointment had an immediate and lasting impact on our ability to deliver our services. Laura had previously worked as a volunteer during the early days of the Covid pandemic, so came with valuable experience of the Foodbank’s operations. ## c. Distribution Centres During the Covid pandemic we had to close all the distribution centres. More recently we have been gradually reopening them and increasingly focusing operations on these centres, in part because of the opportunities they offer for interactions with clients. During the year we were able to open a new, sixth, centre to serve Calcot, Theale and Tilehurst. Initially located in Tilehurst, this was moved after a couple of months to the more conveniently located Calcot Centre, where it is now well established. And such is the demand in Newbury that we also opened an additional centre at the Salvation Army building in January 2024, where we had operated before Covid. We therefore now have distribution centres at Burghfield & Mortimer, Calcot, Hungerford, Newbury (at the Kennet Christian Centre and the Salvation Army), and Thatcham. In addition, we have satellite foodbanks (where we have pre-packed foodboxes available) at St John’s Church, Newbury; Two Saints Hostels at Newtown Road and London Road, and West Berks Council Housing. In addition, we deliver parcels direct to some clients throughout West Berkshire three times per week. These extra operations give us greater flexibility in responding rapidly to clients’ needs. ## d. Diversification The year has, in fact, been marked by a considerable expansion not just in scale but also in the range of services we are offering. The availability of benefits advice is meeting a clear need, and Amelia has a full caseload. In addition to mainstream benefits, this can include accessing emergency vouchers for fuel meters, referrals for fuel advice, and referrals for support for homelessness and alcohol and drug addiction services. AGM Review 30-09-2024 Page 6 West Berks Foodbank Charity Registration Number 1151996 In addition, some distribution centres host the Samaritans, Recovery in Mind, and Sovereign Housing at regular intervals, so that the specialist support provided by these organisations can be offered where needed. The distribution centres at Hungerford and Thatcham now offer cooking lessons. Thatcham is also addressing adult illiteracy, and Burghfield champions a pet food Foodbank in its area. We have also diversified the range of products that we are able to offer those in need – not just different types of food but also, during 2023/24, air fryers, slow cookers, and heated throws, which have proved essential in this time of cost of living crisis. We have become more active in social media, too, with a volunteer, Paul Grist, appointed in June 2023 to oversee this important but complex area of our operations. This complements a considerable amount of work with more traditional media, especially the press and local television where WBFB had good positive coverage during the year. ## e. Hungry Holidays One of the biggest projects of the year was Hungry Holidays, an attempt to alleviate the problems associated with families not having access to free school meals over the long summer holidays. This was, again, a massive effort during June and July, and was generously supported by special grants from the Greenham Common Trust and West Berkshire Council and by practical help from the Community Furniture Project. Schools were invited to identify families that they knew to be in real need of help: about half the schools in West Berkshire responded, with information about 375 families – 550 adults and 934 children, a total of 1484 individuals. The food required was then procured and distributed to the schools, which in turn distributed it to the relevant families before the summer holidays began. Our warmest thanks to the many people who put in a great deal of extra effort to ensure the operation went smoothly. ## f. Summary Statistics for year ended 31 March 2024 - 140.0 tonnes of stock received - 141.2 tonnes of stock distributed - 8065 parcels of food distributed direct to clients – 4591 to adults and 3474 to children - 49% of vouchers were for households with at least one child, and 20% were for households with at least one person aged over 65. - Many clients were working. - Many clients had disabilities. - 50% of clients visiting the Foodbank during 2023/24 were doing so for the first time. ## **4. Financial summary** In the year to 31 March 2024, our overall balance increased from £319,399 to £391,702. This figure includes £24,314 of restricted reserves (from Trussell Trust for expenditure in 24/25 on a Benefits Advisor), together with our reserves of £20,000 for Payroll and a General Reserve of £30,000, leaving an overall healthy operating balance of £317,388 (which currently equates to just under 2 years running costs). AGM Review 30-09-2024 Page 7 West Berks Foodbank Charity Registration Number 1151996 Income in the year of £273,261 was similar to last year (£272,659). Significant donations (over £2000) were received from West Berks Council £76,000, Greenham Common Trust £20,000, Trussell Trust (Tesco Top up) £13,019, St Nicholas Newbury Xmas Appeal £7617, W Oloman £4,000, West Berks Car & Coffee £3,457 and St James Place £2,500, together with other Corporate Grants/Donations and the continuous regular donations from Churches and Individuals. We are most grateful to all our donors and supporters. Expenses in the year of £201,137 were £71,328 higher than last year, reflecting higher staff costs @ £44,000 (additional person), increased spending on food @£14,500, support for heating costs @ £7500, increased warehouse costs @ £5000. ## **4) Declaration** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity trustees** ……………………………………………..……. ………………………………………………………… Name……………………….………………… Name………………………………………..……… AGM Review Page 8 30-09-2024 '[1 It, 111111 111111 111111 OIIB 111 1111 11111 111111111 111111111: 11111 11111 11 ill •iwot 191I15T l55IN Iiivjty 1$6¢•ri f1111V 111411 I'￿•5* I'Tirr *¢sT "s •i•F •TSi ¥ur *v¢ '[1 It, 111111 111111 111111 OIIB 111 1111 11111 111111111 111111111: 11111 11111 11 ill •iwot 191I15T l55IN Iiivjty 1$6¢•ri f1111V 111411 I'￿•5* I'Tirr *¢sT "s •i•F •TSi ¥ur *v¢