HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
A CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION
CHARITY REGISTRATION NO. 1170666
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
A CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION (CHARITY NO. 1170666)
ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
CONTENTS
| Pages | |
|---|---|
| Trustees’ Report | 3 - 11 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 12 |
| Receipts and Payments Account | 13 |
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities | 14 |
| Notes to the Accounts | 15 - 17 |
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
TRUSTEES’ REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
Status Hounslow Community Foodbox (“FoodBox”) has charitable status and is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“CIO”). Charity registration number 1170666 Trustees The trustees who served during the year ended 31 March 2024 were: Corinna Smart (Chair, resigned October 2024) Edwin Guy Lambert (Since January 2020, Vice Chair) Claire Adams (Secretary from November 2023, resigned January 2025) Ashna Amarshi (Since November 2023, appointed Chair October 2024) Howard Dawson (Since January 2021, appointed Secretary January 2025) Sarah Gardner (Resigned December 2023) Michael Saunders (Since November 2023, resigned July 2024) Philip Jones (Secretary & Treasurer, resigned November 2023). Trustees who joined after 31 March 2024: Unsa Chaudri (Treasurer, since June 2024) Mark Sanders (Since December 2024).
Governing document
As a Charitable Incorporated Organisation whose only voting members are its charity trustees FoodBox adopted the “Foundation” model constitution when entered on the Register of Charities on 9 December 2016. The charity’s constitution was last amended on 28 August 2019.
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
TRUSTEES’ REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
Objects
FoodBox’s constitution sets out its objects as the relief of financial hardship amongst people in the London Borough of Hounslow and the surrounding area or in other parts of the United Kingdom in such ways as the trustees from time-to-time think fit, in particular, but not exclusively by: a) providing emergency food, essential toiletries, and household items to individuals and families in need and/or for distribution by charities or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty.
b) such other means, including (but not limited to) the provision of support or signposting to relevant information and other advisory services.
Principal offices
For correspondence: Brickfield Community Centre Brickfield Close Brentford TW88JN
For food parcel collections and donations: Rose Community Centre Hawthorn Road Brentford TW88NT
Website
hounslowfoodbox.org.uk
@HounslowFoodBox
Independent examiner
A and C Services Flat 68 Ranton House 1b Commerce Road Brentford TW8 8FU
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
TRUSTEES’ REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
The trustees of FoodBox present their report and the Receipts and Payments Account for the year ending 31 March 2024 and Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 March 2024.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Hounslow Community FoodBox is a registered charity. It was constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 9 December 2016 and is therefore governed by its Constitution which was last amended on 28 August 2019.
There should be a minimum of four trustees and a maximum of twelve. In selecting individuals for appointment, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the charity. Trustees are elected for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the trustees. A retiring trustee is eligible for reappointment. A charity trustee who has served three consecutive terms may not be reappointed for a fourth consecutive term but may be reappointed after an interval of at least one year.
FoodBox shall have the following officers, who will be appointed by a decision of the trustees:
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Chair
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Vice Chair
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• Secretary
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Treasurer
The trustees and officers who served during the year are listed on page 3.
An Independent Advisor, Oonah Lacey, provided support to the trustees and volunteers over this period. Oonah is no longer involved with FoodBox and the trustees thank her for her services over the years.
During the year there were around 80 active volunteers who provided the frontline services, this is approximately 20 less than in 2023.
All volunteers, the Independent Advisor and trustees provided their services on a voluntary basis and were only reimbursed for relevant expenses that have been incurred.
Two Operations Managers were appointed during the term, and both worked part-time. The service of the Operations Managers is provided to FoodBox by Adecco who employ them.
For beneficiaries to access emergency food and support, they obtain a referral voucher provided by a professional registered Referral Partner. FoodBox receives referrals from more than 650 professionals working with more than 200 active Referral Partner organisations.
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
TRUSTEES’ REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
MAIN ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT
FoodBox operates from the Brickfield Community Centre and Rose Community Centre in Brentford and provides emergency food parcels to residents in the London Borough of Hounslow. The Rose Community Centre is open 5 days a week Tuesday to Friday between 10am and 1pm and Saturday between 10am and 12pm.
FoodBox aims to give emergency food parcels to people in crisis who are referred by professional registered Referral Partners. These include Council officers in the Community Solutions team, housing and social services and officials at the Jobcentre Plus. Other partners include housing associations, Citizens Advice, health professionals, schools and other charities.
Beneficiaries receive emergency supplies of food and other necessities, such as toiletries, for themselves and family dependents. Emergency food includes non-perishable items supplemented with fresh and frozen food. Local businesses and individuals, community and religious organisations donate a substantial proportion of food needed with FoodBox buying food using donations and grants to ensure there is sufficient to satisfy the needs of beneficiaries. Vegetables grown in the FoodBox community garden are added to food parcels.
The trustees have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit and consider that the work of FoodBox fully meets the requirements
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
TRUSTEES’ REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
REVIEW OF THE YEAR
The principal achievement of FoodBox in the financial year was to provide emergency food parcels five days a week supporting 5,208 adults and 3,670 children (8,878 in total) (2023: 9,200 2022: 8,400) in the London Borough of Hounslow. By way of comparison prior to the pandemic 2,000 adults and children were supported in the financial year to March 2020.
FoodBox volunteers continue to deliver food parcels to those who were unable to collect for health, mobility, and financial reasons. More than 74% of food parcels were delivered in the year to March 2024, an increase of 4% (2023).
The number of people requiring support remains very high, which could be due to the lingering macro-economic conditions or other side effects of the pandemic, impacting people from the end of 2022. What is certain is that we are now supporting many more people who are suffering ill health.
Receiving a food parcel should only ever be a temporary substitute for shopping for yourself and your family. We are able to tailor food parcels to specific dietary needs and family sizes using a variety of standard packing lists. There is guidance when preparing food parcels for people with different requirements: halal, South Asian, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, lactose intolerance, diabetes and those with no cooking facilities. We aim to supplement food parcels with fresh fruit and vegetables (including seasonal vegetables from our community garden at Brickfield), eggs, butter and bread. And fresh or frozen meats for families. From January 2023 the Hounslow Gurdwara provides 100 one-person frozen vegetarian meals each week.
We took steps to improve our food safety procedures in 2023 taking on board the recommendations from a food safety inspection. This is now embedded in our daily activities to make sure we live up to our 5-star rating.
Christmas Hampers for residents have been an annual and welcome treat for many years, with over 400 residents receiving hampers at Christmas 2023 and in April 2023 (and April 2024) we were also able to provide Easter Hampers with chocolate eggs and treats and spring flowers to 550 adults and children. Support from Alexanders, a storage and logistics company who delivered many of the hampers, Brentford FC and Hilton Heathrow made this possible.
In April, we planted apple trees in our garden to further enhance our fresh fruit offer, with great support from volunteers, the local MP Ruth Cadbury, the Mayor of Hounslow (20232024) Councillor Raghwinder Siddhu and local neighbours. The trees were provided through the London Borough of Hounslow’s tree scheme.
In June we held a stall at the Brentford Canal Festival. This raised awareness of FoodBox as well as increasing donations.
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
In August 2023, a picnic fun day was held for families in the local vicinity of Hounslow Community FoodBox. This was sponsored by Alexanders.
In autumn 2023 we ran a Remember November campaign to encourage support in the run up to Christmas. We set a target of £11,000, which we exceed by £925 through generous support.
Ruth Cadbury MP raised over £2,000 by completing a 10k and through Utilita Giving, Brentford FC fans were invited to donate non-perishable food items and make donations in the lead up to and on matchday of Brentford’s fixture against Luton, raising £2,000 and 10 crates of food. We also received a visit from Ben Mee, who helped pack food parcels for residents and helped increase awareness of our aims and mission to support local residents.
University of West London also ran a Christmas Campaign asking students, staff and visitors to donate items throughout December.
In December we set up donation opportunities at Brentford Christmas Market and at Easter we joined the Eggstravaganza Market, where we received donations from local residents and visitors to the Market.
In February 2024, Borras Construction built and installed planters at our centre in Brickfields, that enabled us to grow more fruit and vegetables. We also worked in partnership with Cultivate London to bring in local schools to participate in food growing, using the planters. As the beds are knee-high, it enables us to work with older people and those with disabilities in the future.
As FoodBox works on a referral basis we rely on our key partners to identify people in genuine need for us to provide emergency parcels.
We carried out a referral partner survey and we took on the following suggestions on how we could enhance our service by:
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working with our referral partners to reduce reliance on food parcels by raising awareness of other support services
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signposting sources of information for healthy and cost effective recipes.
.
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
FUTURE PLANS
FoodBox will continue to make a positive difference to the lives of many adults and children in Hounslow principally by providing food parcels to those in need. We will work with our supporters and volunteers to ensure that we can always meet the demands placed on FoodBox. These are uncertain times for many in our community who will struggle with food insecurity as food, fuel and general inflation impact their daily lives.
Whatever the challenges are for the future, we know that our volunteer community and all our supporters will be there to help us meet these challenges.
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Total income for the year ended 31 March 2024 was £151,456 (2023: £161,035) comprising cash donations of £110,002, grants of £40,000, and interest.
Total expenses for the year ended 31 March 2024 were £156,692 (2022: £143,155) of which £20,000 were the use of restricted funds spent for food purchases. Total food purchases in the year were £67,543. Rent and rates, utility and waste collection costs totalled £10,884.
The fees of the independent examiner came to £800.
During this period two part time Operations Managers were recruited, with their employment costs totalling £54,674.
Cash balances as at 31 March 2024 were £168,183, of which £20,000 represented funds from the grant received at the end of March 2024, the remaining being unrestricted funds.
Non-cash donations, principally food and some toiletries, are a substantial source of incoming resources for FoodBox but are not included in the Receipts and Payments Accounts. In the year ended 31 March 2024 around 65,000 individual items (packets, jars, tins and etc.) of food were donated (2023: 73,000, 2022: 104,000 individual items).
Whilst physical donations have reduced in recent years from 160,000 in the year to 31 March 2021 to 65,000 in the year to 31 March 2024, some of this has been compensated by the generosity of our supporters who have made cash donations.
RESERVES POLICY
FoodBox aims to maintain minimum unrestricted cash reserves of £20,000 to enable core activities to continue without interruption over the short-term in an emergency such as increased demand for food parcels outstripping cash and food donations.
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
TRUSTEES’ REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT AND STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
The trustees of FoodBox have a duty to maintain accounting records as set out in section 130 of the Charities Act 2011. The accounting records kept must be sufficient to show and explain all the FoodBox’s transactions and disclose at any time, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the FoodBox at that time.
As permitted under section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 the trustees have elected to prepare a Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31 March 2024 and a Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 March 2024 instead of a statement of accounts under section 132(1) of the Charities Act 2011. The Receipts and Payments Account and Statement of Assets and Liabilities has been reviewed by an independent examiner.
The trustees are responsible for safeguarding the assets of FoodBox and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees are also responsible for the contents of the Trustees’ Report, and the responsibility of the independent examiner in relation to the Trustees’ Report is limited to examining the report and ensuring that, on the face of the report, there are no inconsistencies with the figures disclosed in the Receipts and Payments Account and Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
This report was approved by the trustees on 25[th] November 2024.
………………………. …………………………… Unsa Chaudri Ashna Amarshi Unsa Chaudri Chair Treasurer
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
I report to the trustees on my examination of the Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31 March 2024 and Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 March 2024 (the accounts) of Hounslow Community FoodBox (FoodBox).
RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF REPORT
As the charity trustees of FoodBox you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of FoodBox’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 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.
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT
I have completed my examination of the accounts on pages 13 to 17. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the FoodBox as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records.
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no 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.
A and C Services Flat 68 Ranton House 1b Commerce Road Brentford TW8 8FU
26 January 2025
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
| Unrestricted Restricted Funds Funds Receipts £ £ Donations Interest 110,002 1,454 - Grants - 40,000 Total incoming resources 111,456 40,000 Payments Employment costs Telephone 54,674 1,167 - - Volunteer travel and other related expenses 330 - IT expenses 1,583 - Food 47,543 20,000 Insurance 645 - Storage - - Other expenses 15,245 - Subscription 223 - Training 750 - Energy 7,146 - Waste collection 2,584 - Rent and rates 1,154 - Equipment purchases 2,848 - Professional fees – Independent examiner 800 - Total resources expended 136,692 20,000 Net (expenses) / receipts in year (25,236) 20,000 Cash funds last year end 173,419 - Cash funds this year end 148,183 20,000 |
Year ended Year ended 31 March 2024 31 March 2023 £ £ 110,002 1,454 119,796 239 40,000 41,000 151,456 161,035 54,674 1,167 - 1,136 330 358 1,583 1,269 67,543 102,429 645 557 - 161 15,245 22,031 223 174 750 - 7,146 6,185 2,584 1,996 1,154 6,859 2,848 - 800 - 156,692 143,155 (5,236) 17,880 173,419 155,539 168,183 173,419 |
Year ended Year ended 31 March 2024 31 March 2023 £ £ 110,002 1,454 119,796 239 40,000 41,000 151,456 161,035 54,674 1,167 - 1,136 330 358 1,583 1,269 67,543 102,429 645 557 - 161 15,245 22,031 223 174 750 - 7,146 6,185 2,584 1,996 1,154 6,859 2,848 - 800 - 156,692 143,155 (5,236) 17,880 173,419 155,539 168,183 173,419 |
|---|---|---|
The notes on pages 15 to 17 form part of this Receipts and Payments Account
Approved by the trustees on 25[th] November 2024
Unsa Chaudri ………………………. ..………………………… Ashna Amarshi Unsa Chaudri Chair Treasurer
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Assets | ||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 168,183 | 173,419 |
| Balance held by Bankuet | 1,439 | 568 |
| ______ | _ | |
| 169,622 | 174,047 | |
| Unrestricted funds | 149,622 | 174,047 |
| Restricted funds | 20,000 | - |
| ______ | _ | |
| 169,622 | 174,047 | |
| ====== | ======= |
Liabilities
Rent from August 2023 to March 2024 owed: £3,667
This Statement of Assets and Liabilities is not a balance sheet. Only monetary assets and liabilities are disclosed. In particular, it does not include non-cash donations held, details of which are set out in note 2(c), or the purchase of equipment, including IT equipment, which is expensed in full in the year of acquisition.
Approved by the trustees on 25[th] November 2024
Unsa Chaudri ………………………. ..…………………………. Ashna Amarshi Unsa Chaudri Chair Treasurer
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
1. Basis of preparation
As permitted under section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 FoodBox trustees have elected to prepare Receipts and Payments Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 and a Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 March 2024 instead of a statement of accounts under section 132(1) of the Charities Act 2011.
2. Accounting policies
The following accounting policies have been used consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the Receipts and Payments Account.
a) Going concern
The nature of FoodBox’s funding is inherently uncertain as it is dependent on both non-cash and cash donations and grants. Should such funding from existing sources be reduced in future years FoodBox would have to find other sources of funding or significantly curtail its activities.
b) Incoming resources – cash donations and grants
Cash donations and grants are included in full in the Receipts and Payments Account as they are received.
c) Incoming resources – non-cash donations
Non-cash donations, principally food and some toiletries, are a substantial source of incoming resources for FoodBox but are not included in the Receipts and Payments Accounts. In the year ended 31 March 2024 around 65,000 (2023: 73,000, 2022: 104,000) individual items (packets, jars, tins and etc.) of food and toiletries were donated.
d) Resources expended
Expenditure is recorded in the Receipts and Payments Account only when paid. Expenditure that has been incurred but not paid as at the year-end is noted as a liability in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Resources expended include VAT which cannot be recovered.
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
e) Taxation
Subject to agreement with HM Revenue and Customs, FoodBox is exempt from the payment of any taxes to the extent it is a registered charity and therefore is not liable for Income Tax or Corporation Tax on income derived from charitable activities. FoodBox does not have an obligation to register for VAT.
f) Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of FoodBox. Restricted funds are subjected to a restriction on the permissible expenditure imposed by the donor.
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the FoodBox in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
g) Equipment
Purchases of equipment, including IT equipment, are expensed in full in the year of acquisition and are not disclosed as assets in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
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HOUNSLOW COMMUNITY FOODBOX NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
3. Statement of Cash Funds
| Balance at | Incoming | Resources | Balance at | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Mar 2023 | Resources | Expended | 31 Mar 2024 | ||
| Restricted Funds | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| London Borough |
of |
- | 40,000 | (20,000) | - |
| Hounslow | |||||
| Unrestricted Funds | 173,419 | 111,456 | (136,612) | 168,183 | |
| Total Funds as at 31 | March | 173,419 | 151,456 | (156,692) | 168,183 |
During the year the London Borough of Hounslow awarded FoodBox two grants from the Household Support Fund of £20,000 each. The first grant was used to meet the immediate needs of Hounslow residents by purchasing food which was a permissible expense. The second grant received in March 2024 was still available as at 31 March 2024 to meet the food needs of Hounslow residents and was fully expensed after the year end.
4. Employment costs
Two Operations Managers were appointed during the year ended 31 March 2024, and both worked part-time. The service of the Operations Managers is provided to FoodBox by Adecco who employ them.
5. Financial commitments
With effect from February 2022 FoodBox has occupied the Rose Community Centre under a licence with an annual rental of £5,500 per annum. The licence expired on 31 July 2023. Since that date FoodBox has continued to occupy the premises and the licence had been renewed until January 2025 with rentals charged from August 2023. The trustees are in the progress of negotiating with the Council to renew the licence once it is expired in January 2025.
6. Payments to trustees and connected persons
There were no payments to trustees or connected persons during the year.
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