## Ledbury Food Bank
## Lead Team Report November 2022
The last year has been the busiest in Ledbury Food Bank’s ten year history and this has required significant changes in the way that we operate and the services that we offer.
The statistics to start with:
In 2021 we had 1762 visits to the food bank, we distributed 3865 food parcels and had 63 new visitors.
By the end of October 2022, we had 2052 visits to the food bank, we had distributed 5240 food parcels and there had been 86 new visitors.
At the beginning of 2021 we were supporting approximately 70 households every month, that figure has increased to over 100 in the last two months.
As you may recall from last year’s report the figures had started to increase and we reminded you that in 2019 there had been just over 1000 visits to the food bank.
Unfortunately, it seems very likely that the number of people relying on the food bank will continue to increase in 2023. The cost of living and in particular the cost of domestic fuel are the main drivers of this increase.
The move to the new premises was about to happen when we reported last year and that happened in December 2021. Those premises have proved to be very popular with both volunteers and visitors alike.
As a lead team we have had to think of innovative ways in which to help people in addition to the simple provision of food and other necessities and to ensure that we have the funds to enable us to implement them.
We became a Talk Community Hub in 2022. This means that we are part of a wider community of organisations within Herefordshire and have access to the Talk Community website which helps us to advertise our offering more widely.
Other new (or revived) initiatives include:
- Cookery lessons for visitors
- The provision of cooking appliances to visitors*
- Providing supermarket vouchers*
- Obtaining fuel grants
- Obtaining a laptop for use by visitors when they come to the food bank
- School uniforms
These are in addition to the changes that we reported on last year.
*The funding for these initiatives has come from the Government’s Household Support Fund. We had a grant of just under £9,000 in August and have just had a further grant of £24,500 this month to continue and expand that initiative over the next six months.
None of this work would be possible without the efforts of the volunteers. We currently have in excess of 65 volunteers who give their time to help those who come to us in need.
The increased number of visitors inevitably means that we need more food to give out. Donations of food have been generous throughout the year at the various collection points throughout the town and from schools, churches and individuals who bring them to the food bank. Local businesses have also made important donations. These contributions form a vital part of our offering, but they cannot meet the demand and we are dependent on weekly deliveries of fresh fruit and vegetables and other staples which we have to pay for. The spending on these items has more than doubled this year.
Financial donations are vital to the continuation of our work, and we are enormously grateful to those individuals, businesses and organisations who have contributed to the food bank.
To enable us to continue and expand our offering we have been given free use of the office premises adjoining the main unit until March 2023 and are in negotiations with the landlord for a longer lease. We are fortunate that we have the support of a very generous donor who has agreed to pay the rent for the new unit for three years. We could not have contemplated this without that support.
The new unit will be used for storage of additional stock and items bought for distribution to visitors and for the storage and distribution of school uniforms. In addition, there is a room that will be used for meetings and as a consultation room so that visitors can be seen more privately.
The advice work that is carried out both through our contract with Citizens Advice and by our retired social workers is another important aspect of our work. To assist our own volunteers, we also have regular visits from representatives of Christians Against Poverty (CAP), Platform Housing and other organisations who can assist visitors with debt and housing problems. The new unit will enable this to be carried out more efficiently.
The next year is likely to be as challenging as 2022 but with the continued support of our donors and volunteers we are sure that the challenge will be met.
ML
24[th] November 2022
## **LEDBURY FOOD BANK**
## **Registered Charity No 1159727**
## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2022**
|**RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT**||||
|---|---|---|---|
|**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2022**
**General Account (Unrestricted Fund)**
RECEIPTS
Donations Gift Aid
Other
individuals
groups and corporate
Income tax refund on Gift Aid
Bank interest received
PAYMENTS
Food purchases
Hall heating
Room hire
Stationery and telephone
Information technology/website
Citizens advice
Rent
New premises set up
Premises running costs
Maintenance
Equipment
Training
Volunteer expenses
Insurance
Bank charges
Excess of payments over receipts on running c
Restricted Funds
Community Fund income
Community Fund expenses
Balance carried forward
Household support income
Household support exp
Balance carried forward
Community hub funding
Community hub expenditure
Platform Housing Grant
Platform housing expenditure
Surplus/(deficit)
**ASSETS AT 31 OCTOBER 2022**
Bank current account
COIF deposit account
Cash in hand/net transfers
Note
Gift aid recoveries of £11,000 are outstanding||**2022**
**2021**
19,267
17,261
35,469
32,989
see note
see note
259
5
54,995
50,255
42,632
21,426
3
21
60
2,706
704
92
801
1,700
2,957
2,957
12,081
9,758
1,500
2,495
3,110
425
400
223
42
272
272
87
133
76,007
31,451
21,012
-
18,804
5,000
4,396
604
9,870
9,895
25
-
1,557
1,392
165
3,000
3,000
**17,268**
**-**
8,883
28,580
42,923
42,670
2,310
134
**54,116**
**71,384**
27,453
8,016|17,261
32,989
see note
5|
|||76,007
5,000
4,396
9,870
9,895
1,557
1,392
3,000
8,883
42,923
2,310||
|||**54,116**||
CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examiner's
report on the accounts
Section A
Independent Examinerfs Report
Report to the trusteesl
members of
Ledbury FCKXI Bank
On accounts for the year
ended
31 Si October 2022
Charity no
{rf any)
1159727
Set out on pages
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the atK)ve
charity (llhe Trust'l for the year ended 3111012022.
Responsibilities and As the chartty trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation
basis of report of the accounls in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act
2011 {'the Acr).
I report in resped of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out
under seclion 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I
have followed the applicable Directions gtven by the Charity Commission
under section 145{5Xb} of the Act.
I have compleled my examination. I confirni that no material matters have
come to my attention (other than that disclosed below ') in connection with
the examination vA)ich gives me use to believe that in, any material
respect:
accounting rewrds were not kept in accordance with section 130 of
the Act or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
Independent
examiner's statement
I have no concems 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.
Please delete the words in the brackets rf they do not apply.
Signed:
Date:
30" January 2023
Name:
Luke Keegan
Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body
{if any):
Associate Member. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Address:
Greendawn Accounting Limited
1A The Homend. Ledbury. Herefordshire. HR8 1BN