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2025-03-31-accounts

2024/25

ANNUAL REPORT

North Paddington Food Bank Charity No. 1165272

www.npfoodbank.org.uk info@npfoodbank.org.uk

IT'S ABOUT MORE THAN JUST A MEAL — IT'S ABOUT DIGNITY AND EMPOWERMENT

2

INTRODUCTION FROM OUR CEO

Foodbank, not just in the day-to-day work of supporting households in crisis, but in shaping what the future of this organisation looks like.

The biggest development this year was being successful in our bid to operate The Exchange, Westminster’s flagship community hub. Winning this contract was a major moment for us. It gives NPFB a long-term home and a central base to deliver what a Cash First foodbank should look like in practice, a welcoming, dignified space with no crates, no queues, and real support that helps people move forward.

Alongside this, we continued our core crisis work across food, fuel and the Baby Bank, but importantly, we saw a 16% decrease in emergency aid demand compared to the previous year. In a national context where many areas are seeing demand rise, this reduction is a real win. It reflects the growing impact of our Income Maximisation team, and our focus on tackling the root causes of hardship rather than simply responding to the symptoms.

We also continued delivering our Cash First pilot in partnership with Turn2Us, completing the final phases with the remaining 50 households. Each household received £2,220 in cash grants, alongside advice and wraparound support. We already know from earlier stages of the pilot, and our ongoing tracking, that outcomes are incredibly strong, with more than half of participating households moving out of poverty and no longer needing a foodbank. We plan to publish the full report in 2026, once the three-year tracking period concludes, so we can confidently share both short and long-term impact.

This year also marked the start of our first major capital work. Through a £33,000 Greening Westminster grant, we transformed an underused space at King Solomon Academy into a growing garden, outdoor kitchen and education space, creating positive opportunities for young people after school and strengthening the link between food, learning and wellbeing. Thomas Delap Many of the families we support have children at KSA, so seeing this project come to life CEO, North Paddington Foodbank has been a real source of pride.

None of this happens without the commitment of our staff team, volunteers, partners and supporters. Thank you for backing this work, and for believing in a future where emergency food aid is no longer the default response to poverty. With The Exchange now open and our Cash First model continuing to prove what works, we are entering 2025/26 in a strong position to scale impact and keep pushing for long-term change.

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY IN

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

WESTMINSTER IN WESTMINSTER

3

FROM FOODBANK TO CASH FIRST

Founded in 2014, North Paddington Foodbank (NPFB) began as a small, volunteer-led, traditional foodbank supporting local residents through emergency food parcels. Over time, demand increased significantly, and during the pandemic the charity scaled rapidly to meet exceptional need, including large-scale emergency provision across Westminster.

As the pandemic subsided, volunteer capacity and donated food reduced, but the underlying hardship in our community did not. This period reinforced the limits of a model that depends on sourcing, storing and distributing food to address what is ultimately an income problem.

In response, NPFB transitioned to a Cash First approach, shifting the charity’s core service from providing pre-selected food parcels to providing dignity, choice and faster stabilisation through emergency financial support, combined with advice and routes into longer-term stability. This change reflects NPFB’s charitable objective to relieve poverty, while also working to prevent repeat crisis by addressing the root causes of financial hardship.

Cash First: Our Operating Model

Cash First is NPFB’s core delivery model. Instead of relying primarily on food donations, we provide supermarket vouchers, cash payments, and emergency financial support so households can purchase what they need most, in a way that suits their circumstances (including dietary, cultural and health needs). This approach strengthens dignity and autonomy for people experiencing crisis and reduces the practical barriers that come with a one-size-fits-all food parcel.

Cash First is delivered alongside advice, income maximisation and referral pathways. This means emergency support is not treated as the end point. It is used as a stabilising intervention while we work with households to increase income (for example through benefit entitlements and other support), reduce harmful costs, and connect people to wider services such as housing, debt and employment support. By combining emergency help with practical next steps, NPFB aims to reduce repeat reliance on emergency aid and improve household stability over time.

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

IN WESTMINSTER

4

EVIDENCE AND RATIONALE

To date, NPFB has delivered over 20,000 supermarket vouchers and more than 2,630 cash payments, totalling £1.1 million in direct support to over 4,000 households and more than 10,000 people.

A core benefit of the Cash First approach is the dignity and choice it offers. Rather than receiving pre-selected food parcels, households can purchase what they need most, in ways that reflect their dietary, cultural and health requirements. This shift has significantly increased autonomy and improved the experience of people accessing support.

99% Of our customers said they prefer vouchers or cash over a food parcel 97% Said that receiving vouchers or cash has a positive impact on their physical and mental wellbeing

Scotland's Transition to a Cash-First Strategy

Our transition aligns with broader initiatives, including those by the Scottish Government, which advocate for a 'cash first' strategy to address food insecurity. This approach ensures prompt access to emergency income and financial guidance. The Scottish Government's plan, "Towards Ending the Need for Food Banks in Scotland," sets out a human rights approach to tackling food insecurity and improve responses to financial hardship and reduce the need for emergency food parcels. By enhancing the availability, coordination, and access to cash-first support, they aim to put money into people's pockets during crises. This support, backed by financial advice, helps maximize incomes and prevent future crises, making food banks a last resort.

A notable initiative within their action plan is the Scottish Child Payment, one of five family benefits provided by the Scottish Government. This payment offers unparalleled financial support to families across the UK and has already helped slow the demand for food bank services in Scotland. Additionally, the government supports households through Discretionary Housing Payments and the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, mitigating the effects of UK government policies. While Scotland is the first part of the UK to commit to ending the need for food banks in the long term, achieving this ambition requires concerted action from the UK Government.

Leeds Cash Grant Pilot Scheme

At local level, Leeds City Council ran a cash grant pilot scheme from October 2021 to April 2022, in conjunction with three local Trussell Trust food banks. They provided 187 grants to households, totalling over £45,000. The purpose of the grant programme was to improve the emotional well-being of recipients, reduce their reliance on food bank use, and enable them to afford essentials.

The small-scale pilot demonstrated that cash grants provided short-term respite, with many recipients using the funds for food and immediate needs such as energy. However, most grant recipients anticipated they would continue to need food aid, partly because there was a lack of intensive advice and income maximisation support, and the amount of cash provided (£200) was insufficient to address their long-term financial shortfalls.

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

IN WESTMINSTER

5

WHO WE SUPPORT, HOW WE RESPOND

North Paddington Foodbank (NPFB) supports households across Westminster, with the highest levels of need concentrated in North Westminster, including Harrow Road, Queen’s Park and Westbourne. We work with households facing acute financial pressure linked to low income, insecure work, high housing costs, benefit delays or deductions, disability or long-term health conditions, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Many households include children, a significant proportion of service users are women, and we support households from ethnic minority communities who are disproportionately affected by financial hardship. Our approach focuses on responding quickly to crisis while reducing repeat need by strengthening financial stability and access to wider support.

Emergency Support Delivered

Emergency support is provided as part of NPFB’s Cash First approach and is targeted based on assessed need. Support includes:

Overall emergency support activity reduced during the year:

Total emergency support costs reduced year on year, reflecting improved targeting, stronger early intervention and increased household stabilisation, while continuing to prioritise support for those with the highest levels of need.

"Without the Baby Bank, I don’t know how I would have managed. Knowing someone is there to help me has been such a relief. It’s not just the items—they’ve given me hope."

6

EARLY INTERVENTION AND TAILORED SUPPORT

During the year, North Paddington Foodbank (NPFB) strengthened its referral and assessment processes to intervene earlier and reduce long-term dependency on emergency aid. Our model is designed to ensure individuals and families receive the right support at the right time, based on a holistic assessment of their circumstances.

All referrals now include an affordability assessment reviewing income, essential outgoings and financial risks. This enables us to identify the root causes of hardship, assess eligibility for additional support, and understand the risk of repeat crisis. Alongside this, we prioritise income maximisation, identifying unclaimed benefits, grants and entitlements, and connecting households to wider support where appropriate. Each household is supported through a tailored action plan, ranging from short-term crisis support to more intensive intervention for households facing ongoing hardship.

Changing Patterns of Need

While overall demand for emergency support reduced during the year, the profile of households accessing support changed, indicating increased complexity of need.

These trends highlight growing structural barriers related to income, housing, disability and immigration status.

How We Responded

In response to increasing complexity, NPFB strengthened both internal capacity and community-based interventions.

Alongside Cash First delivery, we continued surplus food redistribution in partnership with Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, and Waitrose, helping maximise available resources across while supporting collaborative local responses.

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY IN

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

WESTMINSTER

7

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP

NPFB works in partnership with a wide range of charitable and statutory organisations to address the root causes of financial hardship. These partnerships are central to our delivery model, enabling coordinated support across income, housing, debt, wellbeing and employment.

Since formalising our Cash First approach in 2022, partnership working has been integral to helping households stabilise more quickly and reduce reliance on emergency food aid. By combining emergency financial support with specialist advice and referral pathways, NPFB supports individuals and families to move towards greater financial security.

Turn2Us

Information and financial support to help people get back on track

Family Lives

Support for families with children

Community Living Well

Z2K

Providing housing, debt and benefit advice to people in London

Support for all Westminster residents including Wellbeing services, benefits, debt and employment advice

Nucleus

Advice and assistance in areas such as debt, housing, employment law & welfare

Westminster Employment Service

Training and support for unemployed Westminster residents

Cardinal Hume Centre

Support for young people and families with children including housing and benefits advice, employment support, immigration advice and general family support

The Passage

Supporting the homeless with a route off the streets with advice on education, employment, welfare rights and access to private renting

Age UK Westminster

Support and advice for older people (50+), their families and carers

Shelter

Free housing advice

StepChange

Westminster Family Hubs

Support for all Westminster residents including Wellbeing services, benefits, debt and employment advice

Debt advice and money management

Asylum Aid

Provides legal aid advice and representation on behalf of asylum seekers and refugees

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

IN WESTMINSTER

8

EXPANDING CASH FIRST IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TURN2US

Turn2Us is a leading charity in the UK dedicated to alleviating poverty and supporting individuals and families facing financial hardship.

This is a three-year programme, delivered from September 2022 to September 2025, and is now complete. The project has been delivered consistently throughout this period and has directly informed how NPFB now delivers its Cash First model.

A full monitoring and learning report will be published in NPFB’s next Annual Report.

Project Objectives

The primary objective of the programme was to provide crisis response grants to 150 vulnerable households in Westminster, supporting households facing acute financial hardship linked to rising living costs. Over three years, £330,000 was distributed through cash grants, with the aim of stabilising households, reducing reliance on emergency food aid, and supporting longer-term

Purpose of the Evaluation

The evaluation assesses the effectiveness of the Cash First model delivered in partnership with Turn2Us, examining the impact of crisis response grants on household financial wellbeing. It also captures key learning from the programme to inform future delivery, partnership working and wider policy discussions on tackling financial insecurity.

Scope and Delivery

The monitoring report, due for publication in January 2026, covers the full delivery period from September 2022 to September 2025.

The evaluation focuses on:

Partnership and Impact

Turn2us, a leading UK charity supporting people facing financial hardship, provided grant funding and learning support. NPFB acted as the local delivery partner, combining cash grants with assessment, income maximisation and referral to specialist services. This partnership model ensured emergency financial support was paired with practical steps towards stability, helping prevent households from falling deeper into crisis.

Learning from this programme now forms the foundation of NPFB’s ongoing Cash First approach, shaping how emergency financial support is delivered alongside advice and longer-term pathways out of hardship.

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

IN WESTMINSTER

9

RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

As NPFB continues to deliver and embed its Cash First model at greater scale, including operating from The Exchange community hub, the Trustees recognise a number of risks and uncertainties that could impact delivery. These risks are actively monitored through established governance and financial controls, with mitigation measures in place.

Financial Sustainability

External Environment and Perception

Risk: Expanding delivery through The Exchange, including increased staffing and longer opening hours, increases fixed costs and reliance on continued funding. Mitigation: Income is diversified across grants and partnerships, growth is phased in line with secured funding, and financial performance is monitored monthly with rolling forecasts.

Risk: Changes to welfare policy or misunderstanding of the Cash First model could affect demand or support. Mitigation: NPFB maintains strong partnerships, monitors policy developments and publishes evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of its approach.

Governance and Oversight

Capacity and Delivery at Scale

Risk: Operating six days a week for extended hours and delivering more intensive, holistic support places pressure on staff and systems.

Mitigation: NPFB has invested in staffing, strengthened internal processes, and uses The Exchange as a central hub to improve coordination, efficiency and partnership working.

Increasing Complexity of Need

Risk: While overall demand has reduced, the complexity of need has increased, including higher numbers of single-person, NRPF and disabled households. Mitigation: Enhanced triage, affordability assessments and income maximisation ensure support is targeted and paired with specialist advice and early intervention.

The Trustees oversee risk through approval of the annual budget and plans, monthly financial review and regular Board and subcommittee reporting, ensuring emerging risks are identified and addressed promptly.

“The decision to expand delivery through The Exchange represents a managed and positive risk, enabling NPFB to provide more intensive, preventative support while maintaining strong governance and

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY IN

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

WESTMINSTER

10

FINANCIAL REVIEW OUR SUPPORTERS

Statutory and Large Grants (£100,000+)

These grants provided significant programme funding and enabled delivery at scale, including Cash First provision and associated support services.

Corporate and Trust Funding (£10,000 and Under)

Smaller corporate and trust donations provided flexible and project-specific support across NPFB’s services.

Medium Grants (£10,001–£50,000)

These grants supported targeted programmes and crisis response activity.

Goldman Sachs – £26,000 The Mikheev Trust – £18,000 Islamic Relief – £33,300

Additional smaller donations (£1,000 and under) were received from a range of corporate and trust supporters, including British Land, Citibank, Oakray, Chesterhill, Simons Charity, St George’s School, Westminster Almshouse, Society of Redress and others.

Alongside grant funding, NPFB received:

The Trustees consider NPFB’s diverse funding base to be a key strength, reducing reliance on any single source and supporting financial resilience. A balance of statutory funding, trusts and foundations, corporate support and public donations enables NPFB to combine strategic programme delivery with flexible, community-led response.

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY IN

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

WESTMINSTER

11

FINANCIAL REVIEW FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE & POSITION

In 2024/25, North Paddington Foodbank experienced a planned shift in both income and expenditure compared to the previous year. While total income reduced and operating costs increased, this reflects a deliberate strategic decision to pursue and implement the role of operator for The Exchange, Westminster’s flagship community hub.

During the year, total income was £618,598, with total expenditure of £632,453, resulting in a planned operating deficit of £13,855. This deficit was covered through reserves, with £218,520 brought forward, maintaining four months of unrestricted reserves — the same strong financial position as the previous year.

In 2023/24, total income reached £720,378, representing a 32% increase on the year before. This growth was driven by strong fundraising momentum, with £556,720 secured from statutory bodies, corporate partners and trusts, alongside £114,306 from individual donations and legacies. Expenditure was largely focused on frontline delivery, with £597,558 invested directly in charitable activities and £40,891 allocated to governance, research and strategic development.

By contrast, 2024/25 was a year of transition and investment. Fundraising income was lower than the previous year, while expenditure increased. This was the direct result of NPFB committing significant organisational capacity to a six-month competitive commissioning process to become the operator of The Exchange, an incredible opportunity to secure a long-term home for our work and to demonstrate what a Cash First foodbank looks like in practice.

Following the award of the contract in December 2024, the organisation entered an intensive implementation phase to prepare the hub for opening in April 2025. This required substantial leadership, staffing and operational investment, which temporarily reduced fundraising capacity in the final quarter of the year and increased costs as services, systems and spaces were brought online.

Crucially, this investment was intentional and strategic. The Exchange marks a fundamental shift towards a welcoming, dignified community space, no crates, no queues — where people can connect, access cash-first support, and learn, thrive and grow. Securing the hub for five years positions NPFB to scale its Cash First model, deepen partnerships, and significantly increase impact from 2025/26 onwards.

Despite short-term financial pressures, the organisation has remained financially resilient, maintaining reserves at a consistent level year-on-year. This places NPFB in a strong position to move from a year of transition into a period of growth, sustainability and long-term systems change, aligned with our mission to end the need for foodbanks altogether.

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY IN

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

WESTMINSTER

12

FINANICAL REVIEW TRUSTEE RESPONSABILITES

Key Management Personnel

The remuneration of all staff is reviewed annually. The Trustees review the remuneration of key management personnel, and draw on their knowledge of the sector, the formal appraisal process, and common practice in other charities of similar size, to ensure that the remuneration set is fair and not out of line with that generally paid for similar roles.

Risk management

The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate our exposure to the major risks.

Going Concern

After making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees aim to hold three months of direct charitable expenditure as reserves (estimated to be approximately £105,000), which will allow the organisation to run efficiently, and meet the needs of its members and staff. The unrestricted funds available to the charity as at 31 March 2023 was £155,567

REPORT & ACCOUNTS APRIL

ENDING POVERTY IN

2024 - MARCH 2025

WESTMINSTER

13

FINANICAL REVIEW TRUSTEE RESPONSABILITES

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Charity law and good practice require trustees to ensure that financial statements are prepared which give a true and fair view of the charity's affairs and of the profit and loss of the organisation for that period. In order to achieve this, trustees must comply with their obligation under the Charities Act 2011 with regards to, the keeping of accounting records for the charity, the auditing or independent examination of the statements of account of the Charity, the transmission of the statements of account of the Charity to the Commission and the preparation of Annual Return and its transmission of the commission.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

a) select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;

b) observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

c) make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

d) state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

e) prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on: 30th January 2026

And were signed on its behalf by:

Michelle Huggins, Chair of Trustees

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

I N W E S T M I N S T E R

14

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF REPORT

As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act'). Independent examiner's statement.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

I report in respect of my examination of the charity's accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the Act. I am disclosing the accounts are produced in line with the recommended practice.

payroll year ended 31 March 2025, which comprise the Statement of Income, the Statement of Financial Position, and Trustee Report to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies.

give a true and fair view of the state of the charity activity as of 31 March 2025;

have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the charity commission.

BASIS FOR OPINION

Ethical Standards, and I have fulfilled ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

opinion.

I have no concerns and have come across any other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed by: Ambia Ali - Chartered Management Institute 30th January 2026

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY IN

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

WESTMINSTER

15

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES ANNUAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

UNRESTRICTED RESTRICTED ACTUAL
FUNDS FUNDS TRANSACTIONS
£ £ 2025 £
INCOME FROMPUBLIC
DONATIONS & LEGACIES 99,584 360 99,944
STATUTORY, CORPORATE, 126,913 389,940 516,853
TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS
OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES 0 0 0
INVESTMENTS 1,801 0 1,801
TOTAL INCOME 228,298 390,300 618,598
EXPENDITURE ON
FUNDRAISING 5,821 0 5,821
CHARITABLE OPERATIONS 61,302 390,300 589,792
GOVERNANCE 36,839 0 36,839
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 103,962 528,491 632,453
SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) FOR 124,336 (138,191) (13,855)
PERIOD
TRANSFER BETWEEN FUNDS 0 0 0
FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD 94,184 138,191 232,375
FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 218,520 0 218,520

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities.

There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above.

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

ENDING POVERTY

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

IN WESTMINSTER

16

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES ANNUAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

2025 2024
BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 22 £ £
FIXED ASSETS 525 525
CURRENT ASSETS
STOCK 0 0
DEBTORS 55,000
PREPAYMENTS AND ACCRUED INCOME 93,000 0
TOTAL BANK & CASH 133,238 204,609
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 226,238 260,134
CURRENT LIABILITIES
CREDITORS 0 0
NIC & PAYE/STUDENT LOAN 3,271 (1,019)
PENSION CONTROL DUE 1,374 0
2021 HISTORICAL INTEREST OWED TO HMRC 2,835 0
ACCRUALS AND DEFERRED INCOME 0 0
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 7,718 27,758
NET CURRENT ASSETS 232,376
NET ASSETS 218,520 232,376
FUNDS
UNRESTRICTED FUNDS 218,520 94,184
RESTRICTED FUNDS 0 138,191
TOTAL FUNDS 218,520 232,376

REPORT & ACCOUNTS APRIL

ENDING POVERTY

2024 - MARCH 2025

IN WESTMINSTER

REPORT & ACCOUNTS

APRIL 2024 - MARCH 2025

ENDING POVERTY IN WESTMINSTER

CONTACT US

North Paddington Food Bank 57 Goldney Road London, W9 2AR T: 07932 623443

www.npfoodbank.org.uk info@npfoodbank.org.uk Charity No. 1165272