Feeding those in need since 2015 TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2021
Who are we?
Salaam Shalom Kitchen Nottingham A joint Muslim / Jewish charity project We are a joint Muslim/Jewish project founded on the belief that working together across communities and perceived boundaries helps build community cohesion and break down barriers.
Our Ethos
To bring together volunteers from many communities, to make friends and work together for social change.
The Need
The charity used to provide 60-80 meals each week; however, during the pandemic this rose to 160-180meals, with many more people affected by food poverty.
Contents Page
Messages from our Co- Chairs 4
Our Objectives 6
- Our Activities
7
The Effect of the Pandemic 9
Our Amazing Volunteers 11
Achievements and Performance 13
Donations and your support 16
- Celebrating Success
17
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Structure, governance, and management 18
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Financial review 18
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CO CHAIRS
Thank you for giving help and hope to those in need!
Sajid Mohammed CO-CHAIR
The period of the covid pandemic has been difficult, for everyone, but especially for people in the deprived inner city communities that we serve. We are proud to say Salaam Shalom Kitchen has continued to work together and offered a beacon of hope in 2020- 2021 to all those who needed us.
Many people are now in food poverty due to cuts in benefits and services. This has become more acute during the Covid Pandemic, with more people who are in paid work also needing assistance, due to low pay and rising food prices.
Karen Worth CO-CHAIR
Salaam Shalom Kitchen serves those in need in our community but also helps those who volunteer in the project, by building friendships across perceived barriers and giving additional meaning
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“These are the best friends I could ever have. They look after me and they f d ”
Our Objectives
Our main objective is to help to relieve food poverty in Nottingham.
To help break down isolation and loneliness for service users, by providing a warm and friendly environment every week for people to attend for a hot meal and to build connections and friendships.
We work to build cohesion and understanding primarily between the Muslim and Jewish Community in Nottingham but also building links with other faith and non-faith groups.
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Our Activities
Each week people work together preparing and cooking food, and creating a friendly welcoming environment for our guests. Working together cooperatively in this way allows us to understand each other better and build cohesion between individuals and groups. It allows many groups and individuals who would not otherwise mix or get to know each other to build better understanding and friendships. Students are enabled to integrate and be involved in the community in which they are living and to give back to that community.
This year the demand has grown hugely and we are now providing 160-180 hot meals each week. We have many regulars who attend every week and who have developed friendships/connections with others who attend the project. The people attending have changed over the past year and has included many more families and people from different communities.
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Every Wednesday between 5-7 pm we provide a hot meal to people from the local community, who are in need. Anyone is welcome to attend. No one is turned away nor have to provide evidence of need. People have diverse range of needs and issues, including: mental health problems, substance misuse issues, food poverty, asylum seekers and refugees, recent immigrants from Eastern Europe especially Polish/Lithuanian, and Roma community, many of whom speak little English. Elderly and isolated individuals also attend. Mostly adults attend but an increasing number of families with children are making use of our service. People are signposted from other organisations such as Nottingham refugee forum (NNRF), Prostitute Outreach workers (POW), Framework,
local GPs and community groups, or word of mouth.
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The Effect of the Pandemic
Many people are now in food poverty due to cuts in benefits and services. This has become more acute during the Covid Pandemic, with more people who are in paid work needing assistance due to low pay and rising food prices.
This year the demand has grown hugely, and we are now providing 160-180 hot meals each week.
We are now using almost entirely surplus supermarket waste food to cook with and give out 80-100 bags of groceries per week.
The project serves from The Bridge Centre, Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham NG7 5JA, but we have been unable to use the building for people to attend inside, since the covid pandemic. We moved all the cooking and grocery sorting to
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Many people are lonely and isolated and have benefitted from having a regular weekly meeting to break down this social isolation. This was particular severe during covid lockdown periods but was an issue before covid also.
Many groups/individuals are marginalised from mainstream society and find it hard to integrate into existing services. This project offers them an easy to access, reliable weekly place to meet others and to eat a hot, nutritious meal.
Our Amazing Volunteers
We have volunteers from lots of different organisations and also many individuals not aligned to organisations. Groups include, but are not limited to:, Catholics from St Barnabus Cathedral; Trent and Nottingham University students; several different Muslim organisations including Himmah, Pakistan Forum; Nottingham Liberal synagogue; and Nottingham Environment Agency. Many individuals come regularly every week to volunteer.
Each week people work together preparing and cooking food, and creating a friendly welcoming environment for our guests. Working together cooperatively in this way allows us to understand each other better and build cohesion between individuals and groups. It allows many groups and individuals who would not otherwise mix or get to know each other to build better understanding and friendships. Students are enabled to integrate and be involved in the community in which they are living and to give back to that community.
During the covid pandemic many new volunteers signed up as they were furloughed from work, or not engaged in their usual activities. The project gave them an opportunity to meet other people in a safe way and to engage in meaningful activity. For many volunteers this was a very important, to help them through the pandemic and to give them meaning and purpose and reduce social isolation.
Some of our ‘guests’ also volunteer at the project so
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Achievements and Performance
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and National lockdown, Salaam Shalom Kitchen had to close suddenly at the end of March 2020. At the start of August 2020 we re-opened to provide food for people struggling during the pandemic, and have continued to operate every Wednesday throughout the year since then.
Our operation had to change substantially as the premises of The Bridge Centre, which is owned by The United Reform Church closed and has not yet reopened. We were able to move to Nottingham Liberal Synagogue to cook each week. The demand for food has massively increased and so we have responded by making an increasing number of meals. Prior to the pandemic, when we served food in person in a café environment, we would provide 50-70 meals each week. One month into our new way of working we were cooking and giving out 160-180 takeaway meals each week. We have served a hot meal every week throughout the year, from start of August, regardless of the weather. We have provided in excess of 5,000 meals during the period between August 20- March 21.
YOUR GIFTS IN ACTION
Your compassion and generosity provided help to those in need in our city with . . .
160-
5,000 80+ MEALS BETWEEN BAGS OF GROCERIES GIVEN
We had to adapt very quickly to the changing circumstances…. and have developed different teams of volunteers. We have a large pool of people who volunteer to help each week. This includes teams to help prepare and cook food at the synagogue under the guidance of our chef, a group who sort and bag up the donated groceries, a team to give out food at The Bridge and also drivers to collect donated food from supermarkets and transport hot food and donations between the venues. Each week there are between 25-30 people involved in helping provide the service. Over the period this report covers we have had more than 100 different individuals volunteer, Many are regular but some are ad hoc.
In addition to a hot meal we also gave out 80+ bags of groceries each week. The bags contain a range of grocery items and fresh food and bakery goods, some of which can be cooked at home. Some bags contain snack foods which do not
require any preparation, especially to give to street homeless people or anyone who doesn’t have or use cooking facilities. We also have a table of fresh fruit and vegetables which people are able to choose from if they wish. The grocery items are from supermarket surplus donations and are collected from individual supermarkets via Neighbourly, by a group of willing drivers who do this each week. We have also signed up to Fairshare and pay to receive 80kg of surplus supermarket
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food each week.
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Under the guidance of our chef we use as much of the donated surplus food as possible in the cooking of the hot meals – often including a fresh vegetable or fruit salad, thus reducing food waste and putting it to good use. As the Synagogue is not large enough to easily cook enough food for 180 people, St Barnabus Cathedral have a rota of their members who cook and deliver carbohydrates each week to The Synagogue. Each week they cook enough rice or pasta ( or another carbohydrate) for 180 meals.
The hot food is then packaged up in sustainable takeaway packaging and transported by different volunteers to The Bridge Centre. There, is a different team of 4-5 people set up tables outside the venue, as we are unable to use the inside, and serve hot food takeaways , grocery bags and additional fresh fruit and vegetables as available. In bad weather we erect a gazebo and serve from there.
Donations and your support
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We have received small financial donations from individuals and organisations and have maintained a healthy bank balance
throughout the year. We also received a generous donation of £5,000 from The Duchess of Sussex’s Charitable Trust which we have managed well and used throughout the year.
people/ agencies as possible. Food costs are kept extremely low by using surplus supermarket food donations. We also have received fresh vegetables from a local allotment group.
We continue to employ a worker who as a trained chef, organises the cooking at the project each week involving and directing the many volunteers. Everyone else at the project are volunteers.
The project continues to develop its links with other organisations and has continued to build its high standing and profile, within the community and the city of Nottingham.
We have continued to keep our costs as low as possible by using donations from as many
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Celebrating Success
We also gave all our volunteers and guests reusable calico shopping bags with our printed logo to encourage less plastic use.
At Christmas 2020 we provided a huge number of presents for our guests including lots of children’s toys. These were collected as donations from both individuals and from local businesses Over the winter/ cold weather, we also bought a large number of warm hats, gloves, socks and scarves to give to people who were homeless or living without adequate heating/ warmth.
Our steering group is robust and functioning well. We have 7 committed members of the steering group who have met regularly on zoom throughout the past year to manage the general running of the project. We have 2 steering group members at The Bridge each week and one at synagogue to ensure smooth functioning of the processes.
In June 2021 we celebrated Salaam shalom kitchen’s 6[th] anniversary. We held a small gathering at the synagogue and invited up to 30 of volunteers to attend an outside gathering ( this was during the limited gatherings due to covid rules).
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Structure, Governance and
Management
Type of governing document – Constitution Charitable incorporated organisation Trustee selection methods - Appointed by existing trustees.
Trustees
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Trustee Office (if
name any)
Karen Worth Co-chair and
treasurer
Sajid Co-chair
Mohammed
Bilal Hussain
Tanya
Sakhnovich
Eve Cina
Andrea
Chipman
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Financial Review
The charity’s reserve policy is to aim for at least 4months running costs in reserve. This equates to £4,000
We receive regular small individual donations and more sizeable donations from groups.
We are currently managing well on the grant awarded to us from The Duchess of Sussex’s Charitable Trust.
We have used Virgin Money Giving throughout the year and receive regular and one off donations from both individuals and groups via this. Gift Aid is therefore automatically collected.
Thank you for your support of The SaSh Kitchen! Together we are providing help and hope to people who are in need!
Bridge Centre Boulevard United Reformed Church, 49a Gregory Boulevard, Hyson Green, Nottingham NG7 5JA
www.salaamshalomkitchen.co.uk i n f o @ salaamshalomkitchen co uk
SALAAM SHALOM KITCHEN INANCIAL STATEMENT 2020-2021
| INCOME Income Category |
3556.52 543.82 7500.00 11600.34 29 0 |
| Donations (Virgin Money and regular electronic) | |
| Other donations (Cash/cheque) | |
| Charitable Trust Donations | |
| Misc. / Refunds | |
| TOTAL | |
| Income adjustments | |
| Adjust unclaimed expenses donated by Steering Group members | |
| Adjust other expensesmade as goods by others | |
| Adjust other donations received 2019/20 deposited 2020/21 | -373.75 |
| 11255.59 | |
| Final Income Total | |
| 2137.00 500.00 492.67 0.00 213.39 718.29 125.00 898.79 2813.97 7899.11 -517.04 253.85 29 7664.92 |
|
| EXPENDITURE Expenses Category |
|
| Wages | |
| Rent | |
| Food | |
| Volunteer expenses | |
| Publicity | |
| Equipment | |
| Laundry | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Take Away Packaging | |
| Total | |
| Expenses adjustments | |
| Adjust payments made 2020/2021 relate to 2019/20 | |
| Adjustpayments made 2021/2022 relete to 2020/2021 | |
| Adjust expenses paid by donations | |
| Final Expenses Total | |
| Bank Reconciliation | |
|---|---|
| Opening balance 01/04/2020 | 7410.48 |
| Total Income | 11600.34 |
| Total Expenses | 7899.11 |
| New total | 11111.71 |
| Closing balance 31/03/2021 | 11113.71 |
| This is a minor entry error to be written off | -2 |
| Surplus end of year | |
| Total Income after adjustments | 11255.59 |
| Total expenses after adj. | 7664.92 |
| TOTAL SURPLUS FOR 2020/2021 | 3590.67 |