Leeds North & West Q Foodbank Together with Trussell Annual Report and Financial Statements 2023-2024 The Trustees at Leeds North & West Foodbank would like to extend their thanks to all those who have been involved in making the achievements summarised in this report possible. The report covers the period 1st July 2023 - 30th June 2024 Report ofthe Trustees year ended 30th June 2024 Contents Trustee Information page 2 Objectives & Activities page 3 Overview & Key Statistics page 4-5 Achievements & Performance pages 6-8 Thank - you pages 9-11 structure Governance & Management page 12 Independent examiner's report to the trustees page 13 statement of financial activities page 14 Statement of financial position page15 Statement of cash flows page 16 Notes to the financial statements pages 17-25 Report of the Trustees year ended 30th June 2024 The trustees present their report and the financial statements of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation for the year ended 30th June 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of accounting and reporting by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice (SORPI applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Slandards applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS1021 (effective 1 $1 January 20191 (Charities SORP IFRS 102)) and the Charities Act 2011. The trustees who served during the period and up to the date of this report are identified below. Rg.gi£tp.rp.d r.harity nAmp.' I p.edq North and West Foodbank Charily registration number.. 1162983 Registered office.. Unil 3.3 Flexspace Burley Hill Leeds LS4 2PU Trustees- Julie Brownrigg (Chairperson} Brenda Leach Paul Maslin Tom Murphy Beard Ellen Fogden (appointed August 20241 Michael Gough (appointed January 2025} Independent Examiner.. DP Bohorun FCCA FCMI Bohorun & Co Ltd Tla Bohoruns 6 Howley Park Business village Pullan Way Leed8 L27 OBZ Bankers.. Unity TrLlgt Bank 9 Brindley Place Birmingham B12HB Virgin Money 10 Auslhorpe Road Crossgates Leeds LS15 8DL Report of the Trustees year ended 30th June 2024 Objectlves and Activities: The charity's objectives and principal activities are the prevention or relief of poverty in the northem and western districts of Leeds and its surrounding areas, in such ways as the trustees from time to time Ihink fit, in particular, but not exclusively by.. providing amergency food, e88enlial toiletries and hou88hold item8 to individualg and families in need andlor for distribution by charities or olher organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty, and such other means, including {bul not limited) to the provision of support and signposting to relevant information or other advisory services Leeds North & Wesl Foodbank worked towards the achievemenl of its charitable objectives by focusing on the following activities during the report period. Emergency food provision {reliefl- Leeds North & West Foodbank has worked to provide relief lo individuals or families in crisis through the provision of emergency food supplies. We also shared food with other Food Banks and similar charities so that we can balance stocks and make use of excess donated supplies. Signposting (relief andlor preventionl- the Foodbank has worked lo provide practical, mental and spiritual support either directly or through referral to approved partner agencies, to enable individuals and families to avoid future crises. Raising awareness {prevention)- we have worked to raise awareness ofthe causes of food poverty and to encourage both policy makers and local people to take action. Reports have also been supplied to the Food Aid Nelwork supplying facts and information on the level of need in the city and the impact of food poverty on individuals and families. Elimination of the need for food banks (prevention) - the trustees have long recognised that work needed lo be done to achieve the desire to end the need for food banks. During this reporting year, it has continued to develop significant initiatives under the auspices of the Pathfinder programme initiated by Trussell. At Leeds North and West Foodbank, we believe in Fairness, Compassion, and Dignity. Wo believe everyone should be able to afford the 688entials in lifa, including food, and wa want to see a future where no one needs to use a food bank. Throughout the period of this report, we continued to work alongside Trussell in 3 ways to achieve this.. Changing Communities- working to redu￿ the need for our setvices, helping people lo access targeted support that means they are less likely to access food banks. Changing Policy - working alongside Trussell and partners to provide stronger evidence of the drivers of food bank use and pushing for positive solutions that will ensure people have enough money for the essentials making it less likely they will need a food bank again. Changing Minds- increasing levels of underslanding and empathy amongst people in our local communities, lo build a movement that is willing to take action to create a just and compassionate society without the need for food banks. Report ofthe Trustees year ended 30th June 2024 Overview and Key Statistics: In the reporting year Leeds North and West Foodbank supported 17,494 clients of which 11,208 were adults and 6,286 children. The Wesl wards ofthe city saw the most referrals with 10,314 people being supported. Analysis of vouchers issued showed that in the reporting year people who have needed to turn to a food bank have most commonly been referred because Iheir income is insufficient- leaving them unable to afford the cost of essentials with over 79 % of people who have been referred living on benefits alone, with no other income. 330/0 of our food parcels were delivered directly to client's homes by our volunteer drivers. During this period, we opened 3 new centres to enable clienls to visit a food bank and therefore gel further support from our on-site services. We opened Armley in November 2023, Bramley in February 2024 and the Farnley & Wortley ￿ntre in April 2024, bringing the number of distribution cenlres to 7. Some 219 people have volunteered at the Foodbank during the year with new volunteers joining on a regular basis. Volunteer turnover is low., volunteers clearly enjoy the work they do and have a good camaraderie between them. The trustees express their heartfelt thanks to the volunteers, without whom the PoodbanK could not operate Charity donations continue to be generous albeit dropping compared to previous years., 25.530/0 of the stock was purchased., this was required to allow the Foodbank to meet the increased need for emergency food supplies. The previous reporting year we only needed lo purchase 1 Ok of our stock. In total the Foodbank distributed 130,312.37kg of food {120,141.67kg in FY 22123) lo local people in crisis during the reporting period. Food received was 123,755.83kg1118,398.36kg In FY 22123}. Groups donating food Percentage of stock other Truss611 Food banks Other charities 0.55V Church donations 4.360 Community groups Corporate teams 4.5% Schools, Colleges & Universities 3.20 Individuals either directly or at supermarket collections 45.70 Thls thgur• l& 61% 108S than th¢ pr•vlou8 yoar. Report of the Trustees year ended 30th June 2024 The figures below show some of the statistics in graphical form. Reasons for multiple visits: Other Awaittng 1st Benenr paymenr 3.2°Ai Benef6t Sancmon or Delay 12.0% Debt J3.8% Low Income 30.0% Fleeing Domesdc Abuse 2,9, Addlcdon Issues 7.3° Immlgrat(on INoAccess to Su... Homelessness 1.3UJ. Health Conditlon (Long Term) 10.1% Unemployment (Long Term) 4.2% Source of Income: No Income 6.91, Income but no or Insufficlent... l.G'Y Earnlng 3.7% EarnIng￿th add5Uonèl beneftts 6.31, Benefit5 81.5-. Food Parcels by Age Group 12-16 11.2'A 17-24 9.7, 25.34 13.3% 5-11 16.3% 8.5. 75+ 35-44 18.5% 65-74 55.64 6.7, 45-54 14.0%, Report of the Trustees year ended 30th June 2024 Achievements & Performance: The year under review was one where operations were once again mainly on a one-to-one interpersonal basis, the sharing of conversation, cups of tea and meals in warm meeting places alongside the giving out offood parcels and much-needed advice, support and signposting. Efforts were made so Ihal people in need could be treated with dignity and our volunteers could feel that they were directly making a real difference. Invaluable input to this came from participatory groups based on the lived experience of those involved. We have continued to seek the thoughts of people using our service. We did this by supporting the Trussell research 'Hunger in the UK 2024, project by facilitating the distribution of questionnaires for this important research. We also worked within our communities, when engaging people in focus groups, where we disGussed ways we can improve our service and work towards ending the need for the Foodbank. and by collecting permission from people using the service to gain their thoughts and feedback. Feedback was collected through the use of focus groups and by telephoning clients after their visit. Universally, people have reported that the atmosphere in the foodbank session was welcoming, warm and friendly. People appreciated the hot drink and biscuits and some said il was"Good to have a chat." Pressure was tsken off just by a listening ear" There were some comments about the food parcels and in response to Ihese we have amended the picking lisl. In addition, team leaders at each Distribution Centre can buy bread and fresh items for each session. One client's comments encapsulated the Ihoughts of a number of respondents. "It was a life saver. No onejudged me. l am so grateful." We have continued to work with Trussell, most notably during this reporting period when we campaigned on the 'Guaranteo our Essentials, (GOEI day of action on Briggate in September 2023 where we encouraged people to sign the petition to GOE. ARCAOE Ipi ii'stlmeto G •￿•1 150,66 1 And in February 2024 we allended the handing in of the petition in Westminster. Report of the Trustees year ended 30th June 2024 In June 2024 we recruited our Campaign Coordinator who is responsible for delivering Trussell's influencing and mobilising work in Leeds by building strong relationships with other food banks in the Combined Local Authority. The Campaign Coordinator supports the implementation of Trussell's national strategy, by using organising techniques to put pressure on the MPS in each Combined Local Authority. Our Campaign Coordinator is building and empowering local community teams who support 'Ending the need for food banks,, securing commitments from our MPS to 'prioritise the problem of people going without essentials, acknowledging the role soclal security needs to play In tackling it., The Campaign Coordinator is Ihe link between our food bank and the Mobilisalion Team at Trussell, as we build a movement to end the need for food banks. Partnership work has continued to be an important part of our Pathfinder Programme with our Client Services Manager keeping our referral partners updated with our vision to see the end for the need for food banks in Leeds and working with our partners towards this reality. This year we have sent out two referral partner surveys and held a Referral Agency workshop to share our vision and look at ways we can work together to reduce the impact of poverty in our area. The referral partner SU￿eyS were well received with 112 referral agency workers submitting a response, representing over 30 different referral partners. All respondents lo the survey agreed that poverty is a 'fairly big, or 'very big, problem in the UK, showing an opportunity for further partnership, working with these agencies lo address the root causes of poverty and working togetherto end the need forfood banks. 44.5 10 of respondents knew that this is our vision. This figure shows that engagement with referral partners, through surveys and other means, is influencing their view of what we are working towards, but there is still work to be done spreading our vision amongst our partners. One respondent said "Your food banks are a brilliant Ilfeline for our entlre communlty and we all appreciate it so much" Following on from the results of the survey, our Client Services Manager held a Referral Agency Workshop in order to bring people from different organisations together. Not only to share Leeds North & West Foodbank's vision and what we are doing behind the scenes of the foodbank, bul also to provide an opportunity for different agencies ID connect with each other and share their own stories of hardship and hope that they have seen in their work. This workshop had 14 attendees from 7 different organisalions. Everybody who attended had positive feedback and really valued the lime lo reflect together. One attendee said it was so important and reassuring "to know my organisatlon Is not In thls fight alone" citliens •dvl