The Hive Food Bank (Registered Charity Number: 1162363)
Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31 December 2024
Date of Report: 13 October 2025
The trustees present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 and confirm that they comply with The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008.
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity Name The Hive Food Bank Charity Registration Number 1162363 Principal Office 13 Halstow Road London NW10 5DB Board of Trustees Andrew Hill Bryony Hirsch Tamsin Merchant Eppie Leese
Structure, governance and management
Governing document
The Hive Food Bank is constituted as a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission on 24 June 2015. It is governed by a Constitution of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation whose only voting members are its charity trustees, which was submitted to the Charity Commission on incorporation of the charity.
Organisational structure
The charity trustees are responsible for the general control and management of the charity. The trustees give their time freely and receive no remuneration or other financial benefits.
The trustees meet together regularly on an informal basis and have a formal quarterly trustee meeting. They are responsible for all decisions taken in relation to running the food bank and the activities provided by the charity.
Recruitment and appointment of trustees
The Constitution of the charity dictates that there must be at least 3 charity trustees and that the maximum number of charity trustees is 7. If the charity wishes to appoint more trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the charity. In addition, the charity will make available to each new charity trustee, on or before his or her first appointment: (a) a copy of the current version of the constitution, and (b) a copy of the charity’s latest Trustees’ Annual Report and statement of accounts.
Objectives and aims
Our aims
The objects of the charity are set out in the charity’s Constitution and are summarised as follows:
The prevention or relief of poverty in London by providing items and services to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty;
The relief of financial hardship or distress among people in need living or working in London by providing such persons with food which they could not otherwise afford through lack of means and in such other ways as the trustees think fit from time to time.
How our activities deliver public benefit
The trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties.
During the period the report relates to, weekly sessions distributing food supplies to people in need continued throughout the period. New volunteers were recruited and trained during the period, in order to assist with both weekly sessions and fundraising activities. Shift managers were also recruited from the charity’s existing pool of volunteers, who took on leadership positions with responsibility for running distribution sessions and management of other volunteers. The trustees continued to organise food donations and developed relationships with supermarket distribution centres in order to provide a steady buffer of food supplies for weekly distribution sessions. Relationships with local community service providers who act as referrers were developed and strengthened, with such referrers continuing to identify those in need and refer them to the charity.
Achievements and performance
The charity continued the weekly distribution sessions and provided food supplies to beneficiaries in need. Food donations were also given to the charity during this time, and support from local charitable organisations enabled the stock of a buffer of food provisions for the charity. Strong relationships were built and maintained with local community organisations, strengthening the support given by the charity to beneficiaries in the local community.
Financial review and results for the period ending 31 December 2024
Reserves policy
The trustees have maintained a reserves policy of £1000.
During the period in question, the charity had income totalling £33,327 and expenditure totalling £39,128. Please see Appendix 1 for the financial statement for the period in question.
As the charity had an annual income in excess of £25,000 for the financial year ending 31 December 2022, the trustees have arranged for Margaret Laithwaite, an independent person who has experience in charity accounting to carry out an independent examination of the charity’s accounts. Pursuant to the Charities Act 2011, the trustees reasonably believe that Margaret Laithwaite has the requisite ability and practical experience to carry out a competent examination of the charity’s accounts.
The examiner’s report to the trustees is appended as Appendix 2 to this report.
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Eppie Leese in her capacity as a trustee of The Hive Food Bank
Appendix 1 Financial Report for Year End 2024
Charity name: The Hive Food Bank Registered Charity Number: 1162363
| Incoming | Outgoing | Balance at 31 December 2024 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Hive monies to end of December 2024 |
£33,327 | £39,128 | £37,818 |
Appendix 2
Examiner’s Report to the Trustees
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ members of
Charity Name
The Hive Food Bank
On accounts for the year ended
December 2024
Charity no (if any)
1162363
Set out on pages
5-6
(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
Responsibilities and basis of report
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2024.
As the charity trustees of the Trust, 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 Trust’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 in 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.
Signed: Date: 17[th] October 2025 Name: Margaret Laithwaite Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): ACMA CGMA Address: Leacroft, Stoke Road, Maidencombe, Torquay, Devon. TQ1 4TN Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .