2024-03-31-accounts

Wisbech foodb Annual Report 2024 Registered Charity 1172525

The Wisbech Food Bank Registered Charity No.1172525

Annual report of the activity of The Wisbech Food Bank covering the period 1[st] April 2023 until 31[st] March 2024

Legal and Administrative Information

The Wisbech Food Bank was set up in 2013 as a part of Churches Together in Wisbech. In 2017, the trustees sought and achieved CIO status.

The Trustees of The Wisbech Food Bank present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31[st] March 2024 and confirm they comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011, the Wisbech Food Bank constitution and the Trustees Act 2000.

Trustees

The Trustees of The Wisbech Food Bank who served during the period from 1[st] April 2023 to 31[st] March 2024 were :-

Bryan Baker Chantelle Fiddy Eilis Gardner – resigned 31.8.23 Susan Hillyer – resigned 22.5.23 Simon King Monika Mazeikaite – appointed 27.11.23

Catherine Noonan Jeremy Pallant Paul Unwin – resigned 31.8.23 Julie White

Address

The correspondence address for the charity is 358 High Road, Newton in the Isle, Wisbech, PE13 5HS

Wisbech Foodbank Annual Report 2024

The Objects of the Wisbech Food Bank as set out in the Constitution are:

The relief of hardship for people in Wisbech 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.

Review of Activities and Achievements during the year

• The Distribution Centre at the Wisbech Baptist Church was open for two hours on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. A total of 3096kgs of food was distributed to 4533 clients, of which 2852 were adults and 1681 were children. Fresh fruit and vegetables along with meat vouchers for the local butchers were distributed along with food parcels.

• Thanks to grants from Trussell Trust we were able to employ a Citizens Advice advisor and a “buddy” to help maximise our clients’ income and minimise their outgoings and support them to achieve this. During this year financial gains for people using this service totalled £294,023 and managed debt totalled £48,803. 108 people no longer need to use the Foodbank.

• Our Assistant Project Manager has been overseeing volunteering and the warehouse. A very successful Volunteers Day was held and a networking lunch for the referral agencies.

• A large monetary donation towards Christmas allowed us to give clients a voucher to spend in Tesco. Also Cadent gifted money to Trussell Trust who in turn gave Project Managers access to the Charis platform to issue fuel and supermarket vouchers which were very well received.

• The number of referral agencies has continued to increase and the database of referral agency contacts has been updated to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations.

• Collections have, once again, been arranged in the local supermarkets and the total for all donations received during the year is 29,912kgs. Food distributed for the year came to 31,820kgs

• During the Harvest Festival period, Trustees have given talks about food poverty to local schools and organisations.

• Three Trustees resigned, Eilis Gardner, Susan Hillyer and Paul Unwin. A new Trustee was appointed: Monika Mazeikaite with responsibility for Safeguarding.

• The Trustees secured further grant funding of £6,000 per year from the Elizabeth Wright Charity towards the staffing costs.

Wisbech Foodbank Annual Report 2024

• The Trustees have renegotiated their relationship with Wisbech Baptist Church in the light of increased Food Bank usage and the associated increase in heating and lighting costs.

• The Trustees held ten quorate, minuted, Trustees’ meetings in order to arrange the collection and distribution of food, to purchase food to balance demand to supply and to deploy our team of volunteers to store, pack and distribute food to our clients.

• The charity regularly entered data on the Trussell Trust management information system to allow monitoring of the supply and demand for food and to understand the needs of its clients.

• The Trustees have regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in their administration of the charity.

• The Trustees have reviewed their policies for Health and Safety and Safeguarding and associated Risk Assessments.

Future Plans

The Trustees will:-

• consider options to expand the service and to maximise the impact for beneficiaries;

• explore the potential for new partnerships with the County Council and other statutory agencies;

• develop additional signposting materials;

• organise training and support for volunteers and Trustees; and

• continue to update the volunteer and client records to ensure compliance with GDPR.

Financial Position

The trustees believe that the charity’s financial position is strong. The accounts show income of £90,759 set against expenditure for the year of £88,313, resulting in a surplus of income over expenditure for the year of £2,446 and total funds held of £87,290.

The main sources of income are donations from supporters, either on a regular basis through standing orders, or in one-off donations, online giving via Give.net, grants from local charities, and donations from Tesco plc and Asda Stores Ltd based on the quantity of food collected at their stores through a scheme run by the Trussell Trust.

The main areas of expenditure are food, meat vouchers, salaries, rent, insurance, and administration costs.

The charity continues to benefit greatly from free use of storage facilities both at Fenland Haulage & Storage and the Remo Eco Superstore, also from the use of facilities at Wisbech Baptist Church at minimal cost.

The charity holds sufficient reserves to provide alternative facilities for warehousing and distribution whilst they seek alternative sources of funding, should the need arise.

Wisbech Foodbank Annual Report 2024

The Trustees would like to record their thanks to the following:-

Our team of hardworking volunteers The Trussell Trust Margaret Gibbs and Derek Carter Wisbech Baptist Church Nikki & Marcus from Remo Eco Superstore Fenland Haulage & Storage Cadburys Earth Breeze JS Holmes Robin Hine Ivan Cooper Dave Gibbs Monika Mazeikaite Julie Bush Adriana Vysniauskaite Aija Zemdega Citizens Advice Rural Cambs The Trustees of the Elizabeth Wrights Charity The Paragon Charitable Foundation Rotary Club of Wisbech Cubico Sustainable Investments The Lodge of United Good Fellowship 809 The Masonic Charitable Foundation The Charity Girls Kevin Smith from the Horsefair Shopping Centre Our network of donors, collectors and our network of referral agencies Asda, Heron Foods, Morrisons, Tesco, and Wisbech Library.

Wisbech Foodbank Annual Report 2024

Reporttothetrustees	TheWisbechFoodbank
Onaccountsforthe year ended	31March2A24	Charityno
Setoutonpages	1and2

uffi CHARITY COMMISSIO FOR TNGLANDANDWALTS	uffi CHARITY COMMISSIO FOR TNGLANDANDWALTS	The	Wisbech Foodbank	Wisbech Foodbank	Wisbech Foodbank
			R	ecer		nts anopa me accounts d
		Fortheperiod from				01t04t2023		To	31t0312024
		Unrestricted funds			Restricted funds			Endowment funds	Totalfunds		Last year
		to thenearestt			to	the nearestf	to the nearest€		to the nearestf	to	the nearestg
A1Recei
Donations			22,488						22.488		30.163
Gift Aid				1.086					1,086		1,530
Grants				6.500		54.463			60,963		68,695
Trussell Trusl				4,277					4.277		3.679
Bank lnterest				1,935					1,935		1.135
Sundry lncome				10					10		1,388
	stncomelor
	AR)			36,296		54,463			90,759		106.590
A3
Salaries&Waoes				7,091		10,380			17.471		11.520
-ees				280					2AO		290
qdmin Expoenses				1.116					1,116		't.305
:quipmentPurchases				71		97			168		345
lnsurance				331					331		327
Premises Cosis				1,040					't.040		1.O40-
Food Purchases				14,196					14,196		18,609
Carrier Bags				594					594		867
Other Costs				6,987		1,295			8,282		7,804
:inanciallnclusion Proiect						44.835			44,835		22,4',t8
	Subtotal			31,706		56,607			88,313		64,525
AsTransfersbetweenfunds		I		-lI			-lI	ll	-ll		-l
Cashfunds	thisyearendl			4,5e01l	'	2,144,1		{l	2,4461	1	42,0651