Chair of Trustees re ort to AGM Frida 215t March 2025 Welcome everyon¢ to our AGM foT the past year. l apologise for reading this report rather than just speaking tbut after this meeting it will be uploaded to the Charity Commission w¢bslte, along with the accounts for the financial year ending 31108124, where any membeT of th¢ public can access it, so l ILave to be word perfect. Som¢ of what I say Mill be duplicating OUT manager Briony's report but I will ty to minimise that. As we approach the fiftb anniversary tomorrow of the first covid lockdown I would like to look back over those five years and sbare the huge progress we have made together in our aim to end hunger now. Firsdy though. let me set the scene for how we were operating in March 2020. 1 started as a volunteer at Morecambe Bay Foodbank in about 2012, a year or so after it opened. Many of the volunteers here will remen]b¢r tbat time in the Gym Church. Ever growing dernand led to the tnove away froLD the church in 2017, the change of structure to become a registered charity and the forniation of the TnTrste¢ Board. A number of trust¢es here, including me, were founder members of that fst board. OUT foodbank has always looked to signpost people to additional support to help them with the problems that led them to need the foodbank in the first place. This was done through our volunteer listeners chatting clients and signposting them to agencies where this support was available. Sadly bowever by the end of 2019 we were so busy that this became impossible. I well remember a two hour session on a Friday afternoon before Christmas that y&qT when w¢ had clients queuillg out of the building and down the road as far &$ the bus stop. We distributed food paTcels fast as The could, but there was virtually no listening, no signposting and certainly no dignity. When covid struck in March 2020 it w&s clear that different emergency aTrangements would be lleeded. In liaison with Lancaster District Council Morecambe Bay Foodbank took responsibility for ¢mergency food distribution throughout the aTea covered by the Council, and the number of hous¢bolds we served increased more than ten fold to oveT 800 some weeks. using fkrst Salt Ayre Sports Centre and then The Plarforni as a base. I pay tribute to the work of our then Manager and Logistics Manager, together with other staff and volunteers, for rising to this enomious Challenge. In su]llmer 2021 we moved to these premises, and later that year had a signifi&2nt change in staffg. Thanks in particular to John Entwistle for hks work in negotiating the lease on this building. It is wonderful for us to have so much space to do our work, warehouse space, office space and this open space for meetings (when it isn't Ml of the terracolta warriors like racks of school unifonn!). Under Briony's leadership, our magnificent staff and volunteers have developed a very smooth delivery only operation. A d¢cision was taken at our Tne¢ Strategy day last September to continue for the foreseeable future as a delivery only service. We are one of only three Tnsell Foodbanks out of over four hundTed who still use tbis model. So, the key question then became how do we support our clients with their wider problems and Work towards ending hunger and the need for foodbanks. The Tnte¢ Board and Briony worked on this and through a successful bid to Trussell for Pathfmder funding we commissioned our first Citizens Advice worker for the schools project starting in April 2023. We also used our own fjnancial resources to commission a second Citizens Advice worker to work directly with our clients, especially those who were relatively new to needing to use the foodbank (and now supported by some N'olunteers as well). These projects were so successful that we commissioned another CA worker to widen the schools project from August 2024. The impact of these workers and the support they have given to our local community has been amazing. I will give som¢ figures shortly. Consequently, despit¢ the Pathfinder funding finishing at the end of this month the TrLL8te¢ Board have agreed to extend all ese CA contracts lo)l.
until the end of March 2026. For the next twelve months we will be using our OMTL financial reserves to fund these staff whilst we look for alternative sources of fidIng for future years after that. We have been helped with Pathfind¢r Funding from TThSell for two other areas of our operation. Hannah was appointed in February 2024 to work Nith our referral agency partt]¢rs to improve the quality of the infornmtion they give us and between us to Work together to provide better all Tound support. She made a huge impact in a short time but sadly personal circumstances forced her to leave last November. We wish her well for the future. Now that we are deliv¢ry only it is very hard lo find out the views of out Clients and bow we can improve our services for them. Natasha also start¢d part-time in FebrLW 2024 and did some magnificent work producing a survey of clients, views that has had a big impact on how we operate. She is ¢urrendy on n]aternity leave and we look forward to welcoming her back some time later this year. There Rs one other area of our operation that has grown hugely in th¢ past y&qT, namely the unifonn project. You can all s¢e in this room and the rooms at the far end how large this project h&$ groNsq]. The scale of the operntion and its almost militsry precision are a wond¢r to behold. Whilst the Treasurer John will go through the accounts in moTe details shortly I will give sojne explanation now about our reserves. I have readY mentioned our plans to allocate a considerable atnount of them in the next twelve months. They are also &rtificially boosted this year by the inclusion of a notional value of over £66000 for stock as reconunended by our accountant (although as we give our stock away free this value is not really there) and also £64000 ieceiv¢d in advance for future Pathfinder expenditure. This actllally means that OUT income bas fallen slighdy and our expenditure increased as we use some of our reserves to fulfil OUT charitable objectives. We continue to be highly regarded by the loc population. both individuals and businesses. This is the basis of our good financia] position. We have significant income from regular sLqnding orders from hundreds of individuals. Several people aIso mak¢ one off or regular donations. Local businesses also tnake a considerable contribution. I would just like to pick out a couple now, although our sin¢¢r¢ thanks go to all donors. Infinis Energy gave us £5000 this y¢ar, as they have done each year for many years. Last summer Briony asked me to come and join her showing round a representatsve of a local business we had never heard of who wanted to make a donation. At the end of the tour we were gobsmacked when he PTesent¢d us with a cheque for £1 0000, and also offered to help change our signs to the new Trussell logo. Many many thanks to Metamark for their generosity. Thanks to all our donors, including all those unknown people who put food in our donation bins, eontiibute to sehool and church food collections, and donate in other ways. Finally I would like to turn to the impact of what w¢ do. The provision of exnerg¢ncy food to people in need is the gateway to our services, but as described above we now provide much more than that. Briony will go through more details but I would like to give an overview. I think that the clearest way to do this is through looking at the value of the SOurCeS we have put into the local community. Every tin of food we give out, every Rtem of school uniforn] we distribute. every new benef1t gain we help people obtain, every debt we help get written off and many other exampl¢s ontribute to th¢ local ¢conorny and more importandy help people get through difficult times and make th¢ir lives better than they would otherwise be. The total of all these gains this year is a staggering £1.5 million. This is made up of approximately £200,000 of food, approximately £200, 000 of school uniforn], and an incredible £l.I million from our Commissioned CA advisors. We should all be really really pmud of what we have ac]]ieved together. Thank you to all our donors. Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers, including the trustees, and thank you to our wonderful staff. especially to Briony for her magnAficeni lead tyip. The support li 03
we gkve to our local community changes lives for the better. In these really difficult times it sometim¢s seems that we are like Sisyphus trying to push a stone uphill, but all I can say is that even though we cannot help everyone, every singl¢ person we help is better off because of our efforts. Thanks and well done to all of us.
MORECAMBE BAY FOODBANK STATEMENT OF FINANCIALAcfMTIES Date: 12 February Z025 relating to I" Sept 2023-31" Au8USt 2024 Total Funds £ Previous Year £ Unrestrickd Funds £ Restricted Funds £ Éndowment Funds £ INCOME & ENDOWMENTS Donation51 Leg3cies by Standing Order DonationslLegacles GIFrs CJRS Grant BaTrk Interest 97,866.12 97,866.12 96.864.89 142.339.92 109,804.99 252,144.91 288,418.93 19,994.60 19.994.60 5,665.74 Income from Artivities Total Intome & Endowmerrts 260,200.64 109.804.99 370.005.63 390,949.56 EXPENDITURE Raising Funds Charitable Activities Total Expenditure Net Gainslllossesl on investments Net Income / {Expenditurel Transfers between fvnds Other recognised gain51llosse51 fjèlnsl liosse51 on revaluation of fixed assets Actuarial gains Illossesl Other gains/l1055esl Net movement in funds Reconthllatlon of funds Total Funds brou8ht forward Total funds ¢arrled forward 180.199.13 180,199.13 89,043.93 89,043.93 269,243.06 269,243.06 266.064.23 266,lJ64.23 80.OOLS1 20761.06 i(X),762.57 124,885.33 80.fyJI.51 20,761.06 100.762.57 124.885.33 546.082.94 43.641.42 589,724.36 464,839.03 626.084A5 64,402.48 686.93 589.724.Y6 11103 LJ 25-
MORECAMBE BAY FOOD BANK BALANCE SHEET DATE.. 31" August 2024 TOTAL FUNDS PREVIOUS YEAR'S TOTALS FIXED ASSErs . Intangible Assets Tangible Assets .' Computers Vehicles Equipment Fixtures & Fittings 4,920.00 303.02 2.151.76 5,484.55 12,859.33 15.2W.48 Heritage Assets Investments TOTAL FIXED ASSET CURRENT AS$s . stocks Debtois and Prepayments Loan5 Investments Cash at Bank and in Hand -. 12,859.33 IS,2.48 66,427.86 97,588.96 118.25 59,979.80 1,118.99 Main Account Community Account Savings Account Charity Bank Flagstone Paypal Cash Food Vouchers 450.97 1701.46 46.495.53 102,662.36 363,775.21 2.25 578.81 234.70 515.901.29 608,532.29 TOTAL CURRETrff ASSErs 680,036.36 669.631.08 LIABILITIES; Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net Current a55ets or Liabilities Total Assets less Current Liabilities Creditor5 = Amounts falling due after more than oneyear Provision for Liabilities Net Assets or Liabilities excludlng pension assets or liabilities Defined benefit pension scheme asset or liabillty TOTAL ASSETS OR ABIL1ES 2.408.76 677.627.60 690.486.93 95.107.20 574,523.88 589.724.36 690,486.93 589,724.36 690,486.93 589,724.36 THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY: Endowment Funds Restricted Funds Unrestricted Funds Revaluation Resesve Pension Reserve Total Unrestricted Fund5 TOTALCHARITY FUNDS 64,402.48 626,084.45 43,641.42 546.082.94 626,084.45 690.486.93 546,082.94 589,724.36 cM4IA gr- fJ£LJiJ i 2(-:1.
Notes to the accounts l) Debtors & Pre ments The amourht of £97,588.96 in the debtors and prepayments is made up of the following.. Prepayments- £32,711.03 Accrued Income Irestrictedl- £64,383.27 Lancaster City Council-dated 01108124-£494.66 21 Creditors The amount of £2,408.76 in the creditors Is made up of the following expen5es= Ca5tlegate Security SeNices- dated 31108124- £74.40 Everclean- dated 28108124- £170.00 Infinity Print Soluttons- dated 29108124- £25.55 Johnson5 Workwear- dated 25108124- £2.10 ISH PlMbing & Heating- dated 31108124- £125.(XI The Uniform & Leisurewear Company- dated 28108124- £58.50 WCF Fuels-various August 2024- £125.98 We5tgate Tyres- dated 05109123-1£183.801 VAT Liability- £303.79 Pension contributlons for August 2024 (paid in Sept 241- £716.23 Accountancy attrual- £300.00 Other accruals- £691.00 ,(b31,
31 enditure An Type Amount 31,022.63 90.826.71 3CK).tKI 166,427.861 111,342.76 2,303.14 5,988.60 18,328.20 18,075.68 1.955.95 416.10 3,990.10 357.80 70.96 1,119.95 2,950.80 16,130.57 2,200.26 4,727.99 9,170.23 4,033.06 2,594.81 654.00 1,637.47 1,335.20 4,(K)4.08 133.87 269.243.06 Client purchases Outreach work Local projects Closing StcKk Wages and Salaries Employers National Insyfance Pension Contributtons Rent Rates, Heat & Light Phone & Internet Equi ment Hi Insurance Subscriptions Advert Printin& PostaEe and stationery Cleaning & Watte Disp0531 Motor Travel office Q>5ts Repairs Refurbishment Expenses Legal and professional fees Accountancy Miscellaneous eXnSeS Bank chaeS Depreciation of assets Loss on disp0531 of asset Totsl 2i
nt examlne orocambè B odb 657 Acco 1Au rlhe r gnded R•specdve r¢¥pon$lbllltes of tho tru#tae and oxamingr Thg charitlB tru$tees are respon8lble for the preporation of the accounts. The chariVJ Iru8lees considers that an audrt b not requlr8d for this year under seGtlon 144(2> of the Ch8Titl8s Act 2011 {th0 2011 Act) and that an irKlop8ndent examlnalon Is neetsj. It Js my re8ponslbility to • examlne th8 COUnts under sedon 14S ofthe 2011 Actr, . to foliow the proc&Jures lald d¢)wn Sn tho Genw81 Direc16on8 giwen by the Charfty Commlsskn lunder Sectyen 145(51{bl of the 2011 Actl-, and . to State wheth¥ pathu18r mattors have to my attgnuon. Baslg of Indèpondgnt Examln•ffa Report 8xamSnathJn was caffi&J out In accor<lance wlth the General Dlrectltsns givèn by the Charty CommissKM and Indudes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparigon of the accounts presented wilh ih08e re¢ords.11 also include$ conslderallon ol any unusual Iterns or dl8cbsures in the accou¥ts. and 88ekin9 expkqrJatKJn fTom the trustses concemlng any such matter8. The prlwdures undertaken do not pde all the evldence that be required In an audit and cSeqUent no gplntonls gen as to wh&ther the accounts present a'true and fr YW and thg rel18 Umited to Ihg Statsment below. IndepoDdent EX•mlnè9 8tst¢mgnt In connection wlth my 8xamination. no malier has th) to my attenllon.. 1) vA)kh glves me r9ascn8bie cause to belteve th8t, In any nwterial TwieGt the qu1rWn)ts.' to keep accounting record¥ in ac%trrdance SeOn 130 of tho 2011 A¢ and • to prepare accounts whlth accord wlh thg countIng r5 and to ¢ompty wth the ecoounling wulrements of the 2011 ACL have not boen met or 21 to whh in my opinhm, attènllon should be dr8wn In crder to en¥blo a mer underslandlng of the aco)unts to be reached. JA Dawn Nayknr FCA BJM Group RNerby House Morecambe R"oad Lancaster LAI 2RX 41212025 i(