HUNSTANTON AND DISTRICT FOODBANK TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2024-25 ## **INTRODUCTION** 1. Hunstanton and District Foodbank is registered with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation under Charity Number 1164060 and governed by our Constitution dated October 2023. Our official address, which is also our operational base, is St Edmund’s Church Halls, Church Street, Hunstanton, Norfolk, PE36 6BE. Our financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March. 2. The following served as trustees during this year: Samuel Abramian Elaine Coker Mark Fuchter Garry Langham Howard John Norman Kelly Stevenson ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND RECRUITMENT OF TRUSTEES** 3. Hunstanton and District Foodbank is part of The Trussell Trust’s nationwide network of over 400 foodbanks, working to tackle food poverty and hunger in our communities. We are a relatively small foodbank and we cover the northern part of North West Norfolk as far south as Dersingham and West Newton. 4. Trustees are recruited by placing adverts locally, inviting applications from volunteers who are asked to provide information about relevant skills and experience and sign that they meet eligibility criteria set out in our Constitution. No external persons or bodies are entitled to appoint trustees. Trustees review the applications and invite candidates for an informal interview. New trustees are appointed for a term of three years by a resolution at a formal meeting. During this year: - Howard John Norman resigned as a trustee on 11 July 2024, but remained as Treasurer; - Kelly Stevenson was appointed as a trustee with effect from 11 July 2024. 5. All trustees work on an unpaid and voluntary basis. At least one trustee attends each operating session, ably supported by a total of 15 volunteers who work on an informal rota system. ## **OBJECTIVES AND KEY ACTIVITIES** 6. We aim to relieve people in Hunstanton and the surrounding district who are suffering acute financial hardship by continuing to: - provide emergency parcels containing a minimum of three days’ nutritionally balanced non-perishable food, plus toiletries and household items where 1 HUNSTANTON AND DISTRICT FOODBANK TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2024-25 needed, to individuals and families who have been referred to us by a support agency. This is managed by a system of foodbank vouchers, issued by that agency and used by us to organise the parcel and for accounting purposes. We will also provide emergency parcels for those who have been unable to obtain a referral but are temporarily in extreme hardship. - provide top-up funds where clients are facing an imminent loss of their domestic energy supplies. We opened an account with Charis Grants Ltd, a platform for online vouchers that enables us to support clients not on prepayment schemes. We also accessed £950 of grant funding from the Cadent Foundation for energy support, which was disbursed by the FI support worker as it was to be used in conjunction with providing advice. - facilitate and work closely with the British Red Cross Financial Inclusion support worker under a 3-year joint Trussell / BRC pilot which started last year. Its aim is for clients to reach a point where their income meets their needs, and they no longer need food parcels. The focus is on clients accessing all entitlements, debt being under control, and money being managed: budgeting, reducing costs and putting aside savings - as well as wider advocacy and support. - signpost clients to agencies who can provide appropriate advice and support. However, the timely intervention by other support agencies in our area remains a challenge. In practice, the FI support worker can act as a link to further specialist support. - work with our local primary and secondary schools to support families in need. We provide food vouchers at the end of each school term to the families of local school students in receipt of free school meals, to help with the additional costs over the school holidays. These vouchers are redeemable at two of our High Street shops. In term time we fund the provision of breaktime fresh fruit for the primary school students. Both Hunstanton schools can refer families to the foodbank. - explore opportunities to provide additional support. In this year we were successful in securing a substantial grant of almost £23,000 from Norfolk Community Foundation’s Community-based Hardship Support Fund for a project to support hard-up and barely managing families of students at Hunstanton and Brancaster primary schools over the summer holidays. We used an online voucher scheme to provide grants through the school holidays and a one-off energy voucher during winter that was extended to families of students at Docking school. We also funded some back-to-school uniform and stationery items through this project. - maintain our agreement with a local charity shop who will provide free clothing for a foodbank client upon receipt of a letter of recommendation from a foodbank trustee. - maintain close links with Hunstanton Town Council’s “Helping Hands Hub”. This enables us to refer respective clients to each other and enables clients to access support agencies who regularly attend the Hub. The Hub also included the Coastal Community supermarket, a “pantry” scheme selling 2 HUNSTANTON AND DISTRICT FOODBANK TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2024-25 cut-price groceries, until the service was discontinued in August 2024. - maintain food collection points in two local supermarkets, in many of our local churches and elsewhere. ## **RESULTS IN 2023-24** _Table1: Emergency food parcels: summary of latest 3 years_ **----- Start of picture text -----**
2024-25 2023-24 2022-23
Total no of Parcels 508 549 939
- Provided to Adults 338 384 591
- Provided to Children 170 165 348
Stock (nearest Kg)
- Out 5,753 6,365 10,286
- In 5,466 6,958 9,964
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **Summary of Activities** 7. The number of emergency food parcels continued a downward trend since Covid and the fuel bills crisis of winter 22-23, though the number to children increased slightly. Overall, 66% of the parcels went to households with children. 52% of the households using the foodbank did so for the first time, whilst 59% of households only used the foodbank once in this year. This was the first full year of the BRC Financial Inclusion support, and we believe that this has had a positive effect, reducing the need for some clients to fall back on the foodbank. 8. The top reasons given by support agencies for referring clients to the foodbank mirror the national picture, namely: - The rising cost of essentials; - The ongoing impact of an adverse health condition; - Priority debt reducing money left for essentials; - Delays in receiving benefits. 9. Energy top-ups by the foodbank totalled £1,630 (23-24: £970, 22-23: £2,700) in addition to energy grants disbursed by the FI support worker. 10. Ongoing support to local families via schools came to £10,460 in High Street vouchers and a further £931 on daily fruit for primary pupils. 11. The summer support project funded by the NCF grant provided £120 per family in grocery and energy vouchers over the 6 weeks of the summer 3 HUNSTANTON AND DISTRICT FOODBANK TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2024-25 holidays for 131 families, plus a further £2,918 on uniform and stationery. The second phase provided a one-off £25 energy voucher from November 2024 to 148 families at Hunstanton, Brancaster and Docking primary schools. The total cost of both phases, including fees, came to £23,003. 12. We continue to benefit from the sustained generosity of our supporters who donate the food, groceries and money that enable us to operate. Harvest Festival remains an important time and we are grateful for the impressive efforts of local churches and schools in supporting us. Donation of stock, however, continued the downward trend, mirroring a wider picture among foodbanks. We spent £901 this year on purchases to maintain stock levels. 13. We are fortunate to receive significant financial donations from corporate bodies, local businesses and individuals, including those who donate monthly. We also received grants of £2,500 from the Borough Council of KLWN and £560 from Hunstanton Town Council, a donation of £700 from a Sea Shanties evening held at Docking Church in April 2024 and substantial donations totalling £9,280 from Chiplow Wind Farm. 14. Our wonderful volunteers prepare the emergency parcels, ensuring we have a number ready to go out at an instant. In doing so they sort and stack all donations, carefully checking every _Use B_ y and _Best Before_ date and then stacking in date order, as we only distribute in-date food. They also collect the customer in-store donations from Hunstanton Sainsbury’s every week. 15. Outreach activities this year included an annual event where we meet a group of social science students from the University of East Anglia, together with Councillors running the Helping Hands Hub, to share our perspectives on rural deprivation and loneliness and how community support can help. Informal talks included one to the Hunstanton Guides group. We also provided regular briefings at the Church of England Deanery Synod to update them on the nature and level of local poverty and our efforts to address it. ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW 2024-25** _Table 2: Summary of Hunstanton and District Foodbank Accounts (nearest £)_ **----- Start of picture text -----**
Operations Income Expenditure Operating
Account surplus
2024-25 £97,827 £93,909 £3,918
2023-24 £28,238 £22,567 £5,671
Reserves
Opening bal. 1.4.2024 £65,716
Closing bal. 31.3.25 £69,634
**----- End of picture text -----**
4 HUNSTANTON AND DISTRICT FOODBANK TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2024-25 16. The higher receipts and payments figures reflect receipts and payments in relation to the FI support worker. Figures included all restricted and unrestricted funds. Further information is in the attached accounts. 17. The Trustees’ reserves policy, updated and approved in July 2024, is to maintain a minimum of £12,000 operating funds for resilience and disaster recovery, ensuring we can still provide ongoing support during unforeseen and catastrophic events. The above balances also include sums earmarked for future payments in relation to the Financial Inclusion pilot. 18. Hunstanton and District Foodbank has no debts. We do not act as custodian trustees in any respect. We have given no guarantees that create an extant potential liability at this time. 19. In managing how the foodbank pursues its aims and objectives set out above the trustees have had due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit. 20. In conclusion, the trustees wish to reinforce our gratitude for the generosity of every one of our donors, of funds and of groceries, and all those who respond so generously to events such as the harvest festivals. Donors’ generosity means we can step in when people run out of food, have no money and so face going hungry. Too many people locally remain trapped in poverty, some in poor health. In winter it can be “heat or eat” so providing top-up funds for energy bills has become a normal part of the support we offer. We remain committed to doing our best in support of those most in need in our area. Sam Abramian Chair of Trustees, Hunstanton and District Foodbank 15 January 2026 5 ## **HUNSTANTON AND DISTRICT FOOD BANK - CIO Number 1164060 Receipts and Payments Account for the Year 01/04/2024 to 31/03/2025** |**Receipts and payments**
**Receipts**|**Restricted funds**
**Total funds**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**20,978 - 20,978**
**1,156 - 1,156**
**22,133 - 22,133**
**13,058 36,134 49,191**
**- 22,902 22,902**
**2,500**
**2,500**
**560**
**560**
**16,118 59,036 75,153**
**540 - 540**
**540 - 540**
**38,791 59,036 97,827**
**1,630 20,085 21,715**
**901 - 901**
**10,460 - 10,460**
**35 - 35**
**330 - 330**
**670**
**670**
**-**
**-**
**- 53,212 53,212**
**75 - 75**
**2,500 - 2,500**
**- -**
**931 - 931**
**- 202 202**
**- 2,716 2,716**
**163 - 163**
**17,694 76,215 93,909**
**21,098**
**(17,179) 3,918**
**27,151 38,564 65,716**
**48,249 21,385 69,634**
**Unrestricted funds**|**Restricted funds**
**Total funds**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**20,978 - 20,978**
**1,156 - 1,156**
**22,133 - 22,133**
**13,058 36,134 49,191**
**- 22,902 22,902**
**2,500**
**2,500**
**560**
**560**
**16,118 59,036 75,153**
**540 - 540**
**540 - 540**
**38,791 59,036 97,827**
**1,630 20,085 21,715**
**901 - 901**
**10,460 - 10,460**
**35 - 35**
**330 - 330**
**670**
**670**
**-**
**-**
**- 53,212 53,212**
**75 - 75**
**2,500 - 2,500**
**- -**
**931 - 931**
**- 202 202**
**- 2,716 2,716**
**163 - 163**
**17,694 76,215 93,909**
**21,098**
**(17,179) 3,918**
**27,151 38,564 65,716**
**48,249 21,385 69,634**
**Unrestricted funds**|**Restricted funds**
**Total funds**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**20,978 - 20,978**
**1,156 - 1,156**
**22,133 - 22,133**
**13,058 36,134 49,191**
**- 22,902 22,902**
**2,500**
**2,500**
**560**
**560**
**16,118 59,036 75,153**
**540 - 540**
**540 - 540**
**38,791 59,036 97,827**
**1,630 20,085 21,715**
**901 - 901**
**10,460 - 10,460**
**35 - 35**
**330 - 330**
**670**
**670**
**-**
**-**
**- 53,212 53,212**
**75 - 75**
**2,500 - 2,500**
**- -**
**931 - 931**
**- 202 202**
**- 2,716 2,716**
**163 - 163**
**17,694 76,215 93,909**
**21,098**
**(17,179) 3,918**
**27,151 38,564 65,716**
**48,249 21,385 69,634**
**Unrestricted funds**|**Last Year**
**£**| |---|---|---|---|---| |**Donations, legacies and similar income**||||| |Donations|**20,978**|**-**|**20,978**|**26,623**| |Gift Aid|**1,156**|**-**|**1,156**|**1,057**| |**Sub total**|**22,133**|**-**|**22,133**|**27,680**| |**Grants**||||| |Trussell|**13,058**|**36,134**|**49,191**|**-**| |Norfolk Community Foundation|**-**|**22,902**|**22,902**|**-**| |Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk|**2,500**||**2,500**|| |Hunstanton Town Council|**560**||**560**|| |**Sub total**|**16,118**|**59,036**|**75,153**|**-**| |**Investment income**||||| |Bank interest|**540**|**-**|**540**|**558**| |**Sub total**|**540**|**-**|**540**|**558**| |**_Total Gross Income_**
**Payments**||||| |||||**28,238**| |||||| |**Charitable Payments**||||| |DBS Checks||||**58**| |Donations||||**300**| |Energy Vouchers|**1,630**|**20,085**|**21,715**|**970**| |Food and Toiletries|**901**|**-**|**901**|**550**| |Food Vouchers|**10,460**|**-**|**10,460**|**13,330**| |General Expenses||||**416**| |Information Commissioners Office (ICO)|**35**|**-**|**35**|**35**| |Insurance|**330**|**-**|**330**|**244**| |Phone and Broadband|**670**||**670**|**806**| |Printing and Stationery|**-**||**-**|**18**| |Red Cross|**-**|**53,212**|**53,212**|**12,453**| |Repairs and Maintenance|**75**|**-**|**75**|**240**| |Rent|**2,500**|**-**|**2,500**|**1,830**| |School Goody Bags||**-**|**-**|**889**| |School Snacks|**931**|**-**|**931**|**1,579**| |School Stationery|**-**|**202**|**202**|**-**| |School Uniforms|**-**|**2,716**|**2,716**|**-**| |Training||||**1,140**| |Volunteers Xmas Meal|**163**|**-**|**163**|**163**| |**_Total Gross Expenditure_**|**17,694**|**76,215**|**93,909**|**35,020**| |**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**||||| |||||**(6,782)**| |||||**72,498**| |||||**65,716**| |||||| |**Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year**||||| |**Restricted funds**
**Total funds**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Cash funds**
Barclays Community Bank Account
**48,249 118 48,366**
Barclays Premium Bank Account
**21,267 21,267**
**48,249 21,385 69,634**
**Unrestricted funds**
**Total cash funds** **(Agree balances with receipts and**
**payments account(s))**||||**Total funds**
**£**| |**Cash funds**||||| |Barclays Community Bank Account|**48,249**|**118**|**48,366**|**26,598**| |Barclays Premium Bank Account||**21,267**|**21,267**|**39,117**| |**Total cash funds** **(Agree balances with receipts and**
**payments account(s))**|**48,249**|**21,385**|**69,634**|**65,716**| CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Reporl to the trusteesldWrsl hory? 31 &21 On accounts for the year ended Charlty no.: Company no.: Set out on pages I r8P(Mt to the trustees on Company for the year ended 3 1 As the tharity's trustees of the Ccynpany {wfio ar8 also the dlrectors of the company for the purposes of company law), you ar8 responsible for the preparation of the acwunts in accordanc8 with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (Ihe 2006 Acr). 8xaminalion of the accounts of the Responslbllltlas and basls of report Having Satisf￿ myself that the accounts of the Company are not requiréd to b8 audtted for this year under Part 16 of thè 2006 Act and are eligible for indèpendent examinatKffi, I r8POrt in r8SPeCt of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under s8Ction 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (Ihe 2011 Acf). In caryw'ng OLrt my examination. I have followed the Directions gNen by the Chanty Commission (under section 145(5)(b} of the 2011 Act. Independent examinerfs statsment an undertake the 8xaMina￿n by being 8 qualffied member of linsért name of applicab18 listed body1]. Delete [ ] rf not applicable. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters hav8 ') whith gives me cause to beli8V8 that: • accountir¥J records ￿re not kept in accordan¢8 with section 386 of the Compani85 Act 2006,. or • the accounts do not ac￿rd with suth records; or . the ac(x)unts (lo not t￿mplY with Televant accounting requir8m8nts under section 396 of the Companies Act 20C6 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fairf view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examirk8tion; or .the accounts have not been pr8par8d in accordan￿ with the Charities SORP (FRS102). IER October 2018 I have no concerns and have rx)me across no other matters In connection with the examination to ￿lch attention should be dravm in this report in order to enable a W¢)per understarNJirKJ of the accounts to be reached. ' Please delete the words in the brackets rfthey do not appty. Slgned: Name: Micil