Swansea East Side Food Bank A charity registered in England and Wales, number 1163300
Trustees Report 2023- 2024
Section A Reference and administration details
The name of the charity is SWANSEA EAST SIDE FOOD BANK Registered number 1163300 The charity is based at Mount Zion Baptist Chapel 94 Mansel Road Bonymaen Swansea SA1 7JR
Section A
Trustees at April 2023 – March 2024
David Edwards (Treasurer) Mandy Evans Christopher Lewis (Chair) Paul Lloyd Ashley Mansell Kath Parry Milland Patel Rachana Patel Geoffrey Roberts Peter Rogers Lilli Stephenson
Section B
Structure, governance and management
As the charity is small and local, no formal training has been required for trustees as those who come forward have so far, been familiar with the role and induction takes place by working alongside those already in office.
Trustee meetings are held at roughly quarterly intervals, any matters arising in between are usually dealt with by electronic communications.
Like many food banks, we work on referrals from support agencies. Some people in need continue to have difficulty with obtaining referrals, this seems to be due to contraction / centralisation of some support services (e.g. closure of local housing office) and discretion has to be exercised in allowing self referrals. We continue to work cooperatively a range of agencies to ensure needs are met, we can guide service users to sources of support in the locality.
The charity continues to be supported by donations of cash and goods from the local community, businesses, schools and churches though with the continuing cost of living crisis support has fallen off. Other sources of stock have come through the Neighbourly and the Fareshare and Cwtch Mawr.
Risks Identified:
Heath and Safety : - procedures require that:
Anybody entering the building alone informs an appropriate person of their whereabouts;
A minimum of three trustees / volunteers must be on hand before applicants are served; when a support worker collects parcels, this can be relaxed. There is a potential risk of bad behaviour by service users under the influence of drugs /alcohol but we have had no incidents in the last year.
General health and safety matters are monitored;
Insurance - the charity has its own public liability insurance for operations & product. First Aid training for some volunteers has been provided
Tenure
The longer term tenure of the building remains unsettled but there are plans for the formation of a separate CIO ‘betterBonymaen’ to take it over as a community resource.
Data Protection
No computerized records containing client or volunteer details are kept. Such minimal paper records as are maintained for the currency of an applicant’s need are handled with care in use and kept under lock and key, so risk of a data breach is low. Any published statistics are anonymized.
Food Allergies
Service users are routinely asked if they have special dietary requirements. There may be some risk attached to ambient goods received from the Fareshare and Neighbourly charities. Allergy risks are normally indicated on packaging. We advise clients to check for themselves.
Food Handling
Our principal food handlers have food safety qualifications. Training is allowed for in budgets and we will maintain this.
Safeguarding
Three trustees are trained to level 3 by virtue of their offices (councillors / accredited Baptist minister).
Theft
Thefts of food from food banks have been reported but so far we have not been targetted, the out of town location overlooked by private homes and improvement of the chapel boundaries as part of the betterBonymaen is helpful in this matter.
Reputation
We depend on the good will of our donors and for this reason we exercise care in giving assistance to discourage the abuse of our service or over dependence. Applicants referred frequently by a single or by more than one referee are reviewed and the referees contacted.
Sustainability
Volunteer recruitment has become difficult since the pandemic. The trustee board is ageing and we will be loosing two of our (formerly) junior trustees to university. Some key trustees are for reasons of health, finding it harder to keep up the essential administration of the charity and the collection of supplies by car. Managers of third sector supply chain operations often seem to assume that volunteers’ time and resources are more or less unrestricted.
Viability
The increased expenditure on stock and legitimate overheads (energy, insurance, consumables) is also a trend which could threaten continuing operations.
Section C Objectives and Activities
The object of the charity remains to operate a food bank in the eastern part of Swansea.
The objective is achieved by gathering donations of foodstuffs and donations of cash. Foodstuffs are sorted, rotated and distributed to applicants referred by agencies (as above). Appropriate action is taken to dispose of any unfit or out of date foodstuffs to prevent their consumption.
Food stock is supplemented through the Fareshare and Neighbourly organisations redistributing supermarket surpluses. Additional, mostly non food items, toiletries etc. have come though Cwtch Mawr, redistributing surpluses and returns from on-line marketing
Donations of cash are applied to running expenses (heat & light), food storage equipment (freezer, refrigerator and hygienic storage boxes), cleaning materials, stationery and printing and ‘topping up’ stock shortages.
We consider that these activities are conducted with regard to the guidance of the Charity Commission on public benefit.
Additional Information on Objectives and Activities
The strength of the East Side Food Bank is its volunteer body. Though based at a Baptist Chapel, it is essentially a community activity and has harnessed the social capital of the by its open policy, skills, talents and expertise, experience of working in public office, common sense and good will.
Our volunteer team have over the years, evolved and efficient system of stock management and distribution. A great deal of attention is given to maintaining stock in good condition and its rotation with the disposal of any unfit stock. To reduce environmental impact, we sort recyclable waste.
Food banks are often referred to as a ‘sticking plaster’ measure. We have always tried to signpost or refer people to help with the causes of their crisis. We continue to do this and are seeking to play a part on a wider effort towards the relief of poverty and community resilience.
Since May 2022 the Mount Zion chapel the base for the Natural Law Project funded by the Welsh Arts Council under the Connect and Flourish initiative. Funding ends in September 2024 but further funding is being sought in conjunction with Swansea University for various programmes of social research. Our association with the University Law Clinic continues and we haver also strengthened contacts with local schools. The restoration of the chapel garden as part of the Natural Law / better Bonymaen project continue is providing some fresh vegetables for distribution and has generated some interest in gardening for edibles. Food security and energy security are among the aims to the project.
We are monitoring progress on the development of around 150 social housing spaces on brownfield sites, the impact this may have on us remains to be seen.
Section D
Achievements and Performance
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Comparison of statistics over the year shows demand has been slightly lower as the cost of living crisis receded somewhat.
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Donations from our loyal donors have diminished and we are still using cash to top-up by purchase, this is evident in the financial section of the report.
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Cooperation and inter-working with statutory bodies and other third sector organisations have secured grants, supplies and training. We also do our best within limited resources to refer service users to sources of support and help.
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The dedication of our volunteer team is admirable, bringing knowledge, skills and life experience to what they do with a genuine concern for a functional and supportive community. We are inclusive, we have become to an extent, a multi-racial, faiths and no faith group. This was always the aspiration. It is our impression that the locality is becoming more ethnically diverse. Language barriers with service users quite often helped by translation apps on smart phones thse days.
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Being ‘embedded’ in the community in this way seems to engender a sense of ownership by the community and it may make our operation more approachable for those who need our help and means for example, in the case of suspicious activity neighbours have ‘eyes on’ the building. We continue to receive appreciative feedback on the empathy of our team, the efficient organisation of our service and flexibility by which we can respond to some if not all emergencies.
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Inevitably, there is turnover in volunteers, regular volunteering helped one young person into work which she is enjoying. We have also welcomed the help of year 5 / 6 pupils of Ysgol Gynrad / Pentrechwyth / Primary School with joint supervision by teachers as part of of a work experience programme.
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Statistics continue to be compiled monthly and can help with intelligence on how poverty is being tackled. Demands on our volunteers make it difficult to be as active as we would like in social policy action.
Section E Financial Review
See Treasurer’ s Report.
Section F
Optional Information
We constantly monitor communications for potential sources of gifts / funding to add value to what we offer.
Section G - Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees report above Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
| Trustee 1 | Trustee 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Signature | A Mansell | P Lloyd |
| Full name | Ashley Mansell | Paul Lloyd |
| Position | Volunteer | Volunteer |
| Date | 24 June 2024 | 24 June 2024 |
Sheet1
Swansea Eastside Foodbank
Final Annual Accounts 1st April 2023 – March 31st 2024
INCOME
| Opening Funds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Funds at 1st April 2022 | Funds at | |
| 1st April | ||
| 2023 | ||
| Bank balance B/F | £44,461.05 | £53,079.05 |
| Petty Cash | £37.90 | £0.00 |
| In hand | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| **£44,498.95 ** | £53,079.05 | |
| Unrestricted funds | ||
| Donations | 22/23 | 23/24 |
| Corporate Cash/Cheque | £6,008.45 | £232.42 |
| Personal Cash/Cheque | £7,341.59 | £8,425.00 |
| Donations in memorium | £70.00 | £0.00 |
| TOTAL | £13,420.04 | £8,657.42 |
| UNRESTRICTED | ||
| INCOME | ||
| Restricted Funding | 22/23 | 23/24 |
| Grants | ||
| Swansea Council | £1,500.00 | £1,888.00 |
| Household Support Fund | ||
| Swansea Council Food | £349.00 | £0.00 |
| Support Fund | ||
| Swansea Council Period | £547.00 | £0.00 |
| Poverty Fund | ||
| TOTAL RESTRICTED | £2,396.00 | £1,888.00 |
| INCOME | ||
| TOTAL INCOME | **£15,816.04 ** | £10,545.42 |
| Expenditure | 22/23 | 23/24 |
| Unrestricted expenditure | ||
| Equipment | £1,656.12 | £2,095.98 |
| Repairs/Renewals | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Utility costs to Chapel | £593.23 | £1,686.20 |
| Supplies | £1,917.80 | £8,042.97 |
| Grants to other | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| organisations |
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| Sheet1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sundries | £261.26 | £430.74 |
| Exp Sybil Crouch fund | £50.00 | £0.00 |
| Phone charges | £117.96 | £123.53 |
| Insurance | £243.57 | £254.52 |
| Total unrestricted | **£4,839.94 ** | £12,633.94 |
| expenditure | ||
| Restricted Funding | ||
| Expenditure | ||
| Swansea council | £1,849.00 | £0.00 |
| Household Support Fund | ||
| Swansea Council Period | £547.00 | £0.00 |
| Poverty Fund | ||
| Total restricted | £2,396.00 | £0.00 |
| expenditure | ||
| TOTAL EXPENDITURE | **£7,235.94 ** | £12,633.94 |
| Net Inflow/(outflow) of | £8,580.10 | -£2,088.52 |
| funds | ||
| Reconciled any cash | ||
| Petty Cash | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| In Hand | £37.90 | £0.00 |
| TOTAL | £8,618.00 | -£2,088.52 |
| Total in Bank at start of | **£44,461.05 ** | £53,079.05 |
| year | ||
| Total in Bank at the end | **£53,079.05 ** | £50,990.53 |
| of year | ||
| Difference | £8,618.00 | -£2,088.52 |
Note to the accounts:
Trustees have agreed to operate a reserve of £10,000.00 on the bank account. The bank account cannot drop below this level without the agreement of Trustees. This will ensure the Food Bank will have sufficient funds to continue to operate in the event of a reduction in donations and operate whilst trustees seek a solution to the funding issue
I confirm the above accounts provide an accurate record of Eastside Foodbank's financial transactions for the year 1st April 2023 – March 31st 2024
Signed C G I LEWIS Date 24/09/24 FULL NAME CHRISTOPHER LEWIS
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