2023-03-31-accounts

Trustees' Annual Report for the period

	Period start date	Period start date			Period end date
**From **	1	April	2022	To	31st March	2023

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name Food and Friendship

Other names charity is known by Formerly Hove Luncheon Club

Registered charity number (if any) 1178067

Charity's principal address Hove Methodist Church

Portland Road

Hove Postcode BN3 5DR

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole **year **	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany)
	Jacqueline Suzanne Edwards
	Karen Head	Treasurer
	Rachel Elizabeth Richards	Chair
	Michael Hill
	Gabriella Casemore		Appointed 6thJanuary 2023
	Julia Riches		Appointed 7thMarch 2023
	Anna Stavrianakis		Appointed 7thMarch 2023

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Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

Name Dates acted if not for whole year

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser Name Address
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution) How the charity is constituted

Constitution

Association

• (eg. trust, association, company)

Trustee selection methods Elected by the members

• (eg. appointed by, elected by)

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include All existing trustees have read and signed the relevant charity additional information, where commission documents pertaining to the duties of a trustee. relevant, about: Food and Friendship holds annually updated policies in the following • policies and procedures areas: Health and Safety – including Risk Assessment, adopted for the induction and Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults, Equality and Diversity, Data training of trustees; Protection and Privacy. • the charity’s organisational the charity’s organisational In addition, trustees, volunteers and staff attend emergency first aid structure and any wider training on a yearly basis.

• the charity’s organisational the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;

• relationship with any related parties;

• trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Section C Objectives and activities

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Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)

To promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society through the provision of, but not restricted to, low-cost lunch clubs.

Our main activities are running a low-cost lunch club twice a week from Hove Methodist Church for older people and adults with learning disabilities. We aim to tackle social isolation and loneliness and support people to develop new friendships and feel more connected to their communities. Alongside this we aim to offer advice sessions after lunch to signpost beneficiaries who might benefit from health, social and financial support organisations. We also aim to provide a low-cost nutritional meal using food donated by the charity FareShare Sussex to reduce food waste. We provide regular volunteering opportunities, some for older people and people with learning disabilities. Food and Friendship trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the charity commission on public benefit.

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

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You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

• policy on grantmaking;

• policy programme related investment;

• contribution made by volunteers.

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Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

Between 31[st] March 2022 and 1[st] April 2023 our twice-weekly lunch club provided communal low-cost dining and volunteer opportunities to over 150 isolated older people and adults with learning disabilities supporting their health & well-being. Lunch club continued to be an antidote to loneliness providing social support and a chance to connect with others and form friendships. This financial year brought with it many challenges as we recovered from the effects of the COVID pandemic and dealt with the cost of living crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine. Demand for places on our buses grew as more people were referred.

“Lunch club provides a lovely meal that somebody else has cooked and remembered what I can’t eat. I love it, I look forward to it each week” David, Tuesday guest

Our beneficiaries typically experienced multiple disadvantages impacting their physical and mental wellbeing and this year was no different. Guests reported feeling lonely because of bereavement, restricted mobility because of health conditions, sensory impairments and digital exclusion. 67 % of our beneficiaries lived alone and many were coping with close personal bereavements having lost partners, close friends and family which increased feelings of loneliness. Our increasingly technical society excluded many of our older guests and guests with learning disabilities who could not access digital opportunities to connect with friends and family.

More than 2 million people in England over the age of 75 live alone, and more than a million older people say they go over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member. (AGE UK 2023)

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Section D Achievements and erformance p

45% of our Tuesday beneficiaries were aged 80 or over. 47% were living with illnesses such as cancer, heart failure, diabetes and COPD or were recovering from a stroke or had reduced mobility and used wheelchairs, mobility scooters and walking aids. Accessing public transport in order to go shopping or attend social clubs continued to be very difficult for some of our beneficiaries. In addition many of our guests received pension credit, a marker of low income, which made paying for taxis prohibitively expensive. We continued to hire buses from Brighton and Hove Community transport to collect 42 of the most isolated guests from Portslade, Mile Oak, Hangleton and Hove. The experienced and friendly drivers and their fully accessible vehicles are an integral part of lunch club.

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Section D Achievements and erformance p

Referral Partners

Over the year, we have developed and maintained relationships with a range of stakeholders: funders, referrers, other charities, community groups, the local community and the wider public. This has helped us to raise the profile of Food and Friendship, which we hope will increase self-referrals and have a positive impact on fundraising. We hope this will help us to extend our future partnership working and help us to develop our medium and long term strategies.

In particular, we worked with Ageing Well Brighton and Hove, TogetherCo social prescribing team, The Stroke Rehabilitation Service, The Grace Eyre centre, the Carers Centre and received referrals from family members, doctors surgeries, relatives and social media.

“The Lunch club is really the only resource I can refer my clients to that struggle to leave their homes but would love to meet with others as they often see no one in person for weeks on end. The impact when these clients attend is transformative.

They have told me this is the only opportunity they get to go out in the week and meet others. Eating, chatting with others, and having a laugh, has drastically improved their wellbeing and social health to the extent that they feel more connected again and look forward to this all week.”

Mary Finlay, Social Prescribing Link Worker, West Hove PC

Volunteers

We now provide voluntary placements for 42 people aged between 18 and 86. Half our volunteers are retired and 10 have learning disabilities. Volunteering at lunch club provides structure and a sense of belonging as well as social contact and a chance to give something back. Increased social networks, connecting with others, doing something purposeful and meaningful, all help increase a sense of purpose, especially during retirement. Volunteers also learnt new skills around food

and food prep, developed inter-personal skills and also had the chance to take part in accredited training such as Food hygiene and first aid as well as having access to regular social events.

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Section D Achievements and erformance p

“I really enjoyed my lunch today the atmosphere was great as usual I have made lots of new friends and met the lovely volunteers so a very BIG THANK YOU to everyone involved you are all marvellous I think I would be lost without my outing on Tuesday now”. Tuesday guest The cost of living crisis

As food and fuel prices began to increase in the aftermath of the Ukraine War the Autumn of 2022 looked particularly bleak for many of our guests, particularly those on low incomes with health conditions. We were able to work with a wide range of organisations throughout the city to ensure that our most vulnerable guests got some support. These included:

• Household Social Fund

We partnered with Brighton and Hove City Council to help deliver Household Support Funding from the Government to families receiving free school meals with the help of Hove Methodist Church. We set up an account with Tesco and gave out vouchers worth £25 per family member which enabled recipients to buy food and other essentials such as clothing and toiletries and could be tailored to individual need. This arrangement has been ongoing as HSF funding has been made available to local councils.

• Ageing Well Brighton and Hove

Supermarket vouchers were distributed via Ageing Well Brighton and Hove. We were able to chat with every guest and volunteer and if they were over 66 and worried about rising food prices we could refer them to receive supermarket shopping vouchers. We were also active in referring guests to the Age UK Home wellbeing service which was open to anyone over 18 who professionals felt could benefit from welfare checks at home. This was intended to alleviate pressure for emergency, hospital and community services and try and keep people safe at home.

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Section D Achievements and erformance p

• Warm Homes Equipment

Food and Friendship became referral partners for Citizens Advice Brighton and Hove who distributed warm home equipment to lunch club attenders over the age of 66 who were experiencing fuel poverty who would benefit from equipment to help keep them warm in the winter of 2022. Thirty-nine Items such as thermal slippers, flasks, heated clothes airers, electric blankets, duvets, oil fired heaters, men’s and women’s thermals and lamps were purchased and distributed to our vulnerable guests at a cost of £1182. • Energyworks We also partnered with Energyworks who aimed to fight fuel poverty in Brighton and Hove. Via the Fuel Hardship Grant 202223, 23 one-off payments were made of around £250 to our guests on low incomes who had fuel debt, or were not adequately heating their home who also had a cardiovascular or respiratory health condition, mental health illness or other long-term health condition or disability. “From the minute I stepped into lunch club today the atmosphere was so warm and friendly. It’s run brilliantly and each and every person I met today was clearly so happy to be there! It was like a family gathering- where everyone is interested and welcoming”. Kathryn, Hove Jigsaw Club

Food and Nutrition

Through our continued relationships with FareShare Sussex and Surrey, UK Harvest, Lidl and Sainsburys we prevented over 10 tonnes of surplus food from going to landfill, using it to provide over 5460 nutritious meals. We also appreciated donations from Chris and friends at the Weald Allotments. Some of our guests lacked the personal resources to provide themselves with a hot nutritious meal. Living alone can be demotivating when it comes to cooking, especially if a partner used to do all the cooking. There were many barriers to eating healthily including poverty and the cost of living crisis, a lack of equipment, limited mobility, reduced chances to shop for food, lack of digital connection limiting opportunities to access online food provision and delivered meals, a lack of cooking knowledge or a combination of several of these. Health conditions such as dementia and sensory impairments as well as learning disabilities made cooking difficult. Our service was there to fill in the gap serving fresh fruit and vegetables and freshly cooked meals using natural ingredients. In addition our new cooking clubs have enabled us to teach a new generation of cooks about eating healthily on a budget and avoiding ultra processed food. Cooking club In September 2022 we received funding from Brighton and Hove City Council and the Co-op community fund to trial a new twilight cooking club after feedback from some of our guests. This ambitious pilot identified three main drivers: feedback from beneficiaries about the rising cost of food, a lack of cooking skills, and loneliness in the evenings.

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Section D Achievements and erformance p

We ran 12 cooking clubs focussing on life-skills such as low-budget cooking, store cupboard meals, costeffective shopping, healthy home made ‘fast food’, cooking with limited equipment and cooking with reduced mobility. The mixed sessions were very successful with participants being drawn from existing beneficiaries of the Thursday club for adults with learning disabilities who had specifically asked for help with cooking independently. Along the way, we reinforced healthy eating messages about salad and vegetables and alternative sources of protein, whole grains and the importance of fibre. Most of our participants lived alone or in supported living accommodation and really enjoyed the shared meal part. They reported that having a sociable place to be between 4 and 7pm seemed to be perfect timing as it wasn’t too late for them to make their way home either with or without support. One participant was able to attend independently after a few weeks and was really pleased to be able to take leftovers home to share with his parents.

“Its been so good to have somewhere friendly to come to where we enjoy cooking and eating together rather than me sitting alone in my flat” Vince

“Terry said he loved it and always enjoyed the whole process and people there. He would definitely like to do it again as he felt really comfortable at cooking club. It was also really good for him to learn to make healthy dishes” Darren, Terry’s support worker.

“I’ve seen Ben’s confidence really develop since he started coming to cooking club. To begin with, he wouldn’t sit with us for the meal and would walk away a lot. Now he stays with us the whole session and eats with us. He talks about cooking club all week.” Support worker.

For our third 6 week course we focused on young people from the local sixth form college BHASVIC who acted as brokers between us and some of their students who were interested in learning cooking and budgeting skills before they left home and went on to higher education. We offered the course to young people who had experienced disadvantage in receipt of a bursary. Five of the young people were young carers for parents or siblings and one student was from Ukraine and was staying with a sponsor family in Lewes. As the students got to know each other we found that they were able to share their experiences of being young carers with each other and to talk about their forthcoming A level exams, their part time jobs and support each other with ideas and thoughts about their next steps and how this might impact on their families. The students gained a lot of confidence as the weeks progressed both socially and also in terms of cooking skills. The group really

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Section D Achievements and erformance p

bonded which was of particular importance to the student from Ukraine who had been feeling quite isolated because his friends and family were abroad, not to mention the language barrier and challenges of negotiating exams in a different language.

“I’d love to come back here to volunteer in the future. I’ve enjoyed cooking as a team and eating at the end like it’s a family dinner. Cooking club has inspired me to try new things!”

“Cooking with others has been enjoyable as I usually do it alone. Learning to cook with a range of ingredients. I’ve learnt cutting/prep skills for different meals and a better understanding of time management/multi-tasking.”

Signposting

Attending lunch club continues to be a gateway to other social events that take place in the building such as the Friday Chatty café, street parties, musical concerts, church services and discos throughout the year. Many of our guests now attend the building regularly and in fact their social life is centred in the church where social connections are developed. The lunch club offers a chance to be referred to other support agencies. Over the year we have signposted vulnerable guests when they had problems with their housing or social care issues and arranged fire brigade safe home checks.

We invited students on the street law project at Sussex University to chat with guests about legal issues they had and referred some guests to the city council post-covid financial support scheme. We were also able to help guests get connected digitally with the continued support of Digital Brighton . Two volunteers attended regularly to help guests get connected to the internet for the first time and learn about texting and using social media or doing shopping online. These drop-ins became invaluable for guests and volunteers who had no one else to ask for help with their mobile phones and ipads. Bereavement Navigator Mark Rickson from Age UK West Sussex Brighton and Hove visited and brought some very useful information about where to find support. We were also able to offer a pre-lunch exercise class on a Thursday thanks to the charity Nam Yang who provided a kick boxing and Tai Chi class. This was a fantastic precursor to lunch club for 8 guests and volunteers with learning disabilities who benefitted from the increased self esteem and physical challenge of the sessions.

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Section D Achievements and erformance p

Other visitors to lunch club

Peter Kyle our local MP visited Thursday club on the 20[th] October 2022. This visit also happened to be the day that prime minister Liz Truss resigned. Brighton People’s Theatre visited us to recruit participants and

collect stories about living in Brighton over the years for their production called “Born and Bred”. Our accordion lady Janet had a staring role and Jack collected lots of material.

Prospective local councillors Olly Sykes and Bella Sankey visited us to chat with guests and encourage them to make use of their

vote in the local elections. Pam Gordon from Rise Life Brighton – donated several sessions of seated entertainment.

Hanneke from Carousel visited with lots of information about clubs for adults

with learning disabilities. Kathryn from Hove Jigsaw swap visited and donated jigsaws and we had a visit from Jo Clarke from Age UK West Sussex, Brighton and Hove. Angelika from BHCC came to chat with guests about falls prevention and she organised an older people's dance event on Monday 25th July that several guests attended.

We were also fortunate to have lots of entertainment including singers TJ and the Karaoke man and Ann from the Martlets choir. Partnerships and funding

Hove Methodist Church continued to provide a warm, friendly and accessible home for our club and we are very lucky to have their enthusiastic support again this year.

Brighton and Hove Community Transport continued to partner us in providing vital transport to isolated older guests on Tuesdays. Our drivers Mike, Paul and Phil are a part of the lunch club family. Fareshare Sussex and Surrey and more recently, UK Harvest were also an integral part of what we did and despite food shortages continued to support us with appropriate donations of surplus food that would have been prohibitively expensive for us to buy.

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Section D Achievements and erformance p

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Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

The net funds of the Charity at 31.3.2023 were £41,898 of which £5594 was restricted. We hold 3 months of operating costs (£12,000) in reserves so the remainder of £24,304 was carried over to the next financial year to fund our ongoing work.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

Further financial review details (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

• the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);

• how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;

• investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

Sponsorship Kingsway care continued to sponsor us by helping us pay for ingredients each month and providing extra support in the form of volunteers and offering us their café as a meeting place. At Christmas 2022 their supporters donated and wrapped 80 presents for us to give to our guests and we appreciate their enthusiastic support. Grant Funding Funding from the following organisations continued to help us overcome loneliness experienced by older people and adults with learning disabilities. Brighton and Hove Food Partnership who were able to allocate us £8500 to help us with costs of Tuesday club during the summer of 2022. They also donated and packed 80 luxury food parcels for our Tuesday guests. Sussex Community Foundation who donated £10,000 to help us with core costs. This was made up of grants from the Cullum Family Trust Fund and the Sir George Earle Benevolent Fund. The Postcode Society Trust who allocated us £6000 to help us cover our transport costs. The Talent Fund who donated £5000 in December 2022. The grant from the HughBonGo Fund supported our core costs for the final quarter of this financial year with the remainder being carried forward to next financial year helping to fund vital things such as staff costs, rent, ingredients, and equipment. Co-operative Community Fund which we used to fund our cooking clubs. Shoppers at the CO-OP chose us to benefit from 1p in every pound spent they spent. Brighton and Hove City Council who also donated £3300 to start our cooking club in the Autumn of 2022. The Arnold Clark Foundation donated £2500 towards core costs. Hove Rotary Club who donated £1000 The Dodgeson Foundation who donated £1000 The Osbourne Trust £250 for Christmas costs Food and Friendship trustees would also like to acknowledge and thank the following individuals and organisations for their generous donations: Sophie Kennard memorial fund, Good times pubs The Colin Chinchen estate, Councillor Chris Henry Ward budget, The Lloyds Bank Foundation, Jamie Gillespie, Richard Baker, G Nutbeem, and ‘ ’ everyone who made a donation via our donation platform Givey .

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Section F Other optional information

The trustees of Food and Friendship would like to thank funders, volunteers, beneficiaries, referrers, partners and friends of Food and Friendship for their continued support during 2022-23. As a small charity we have a wide reach and we hope to continue to support isolated people to build meaningful relationships with each other for many years to come.

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date	Rachel Richards	Karen Head
	Rachel Richards	Karen Head
	Chair	Treasurer
	9thJanuary 2024
	9thJanuary 2024

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Food	and Friendship CIO	No (if any)
	Receipts andpayments accounts			CC16a
For	the period from Apr-22	Mar-23 To

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total funds Last year funds funds funds to the nearest to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ £

A1 Receipts

A1 Receipts
Grants	2,500		37,800					40,300		28,906
WeeklyIntakes	15,070		-					15,070		10,698
Donations	11,831		1,500					13,331		10,578
Sponsorship	1,300		-					1,300		-
Bank Interest	-		-					-		-
Other	35		-					35		-
								-		-
								-		-
Sub total(Gross income for AR)	30,736		39,300		-			70,036		50,182
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see
table).
	-		-			-		-
	-		-			-		-		-

A1 Receipts
Grants	2,500		37,800				40,300		28,906
WeeklyIntakes	15,070		-				15,070		10,698
Donations	11,831		1,500				13,331		10,578
Sponsorship	1,300		-				1,300		-
Bank Interest	-		-				-		-
Other	35		-				35		-
							-		-
							-		-
Sub total(Gross income for AR)	30,736		39,300		-		70,036		50,182
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).			- -		- -		- -
	-		-		-		-
	-		-		-		-		-
Sub total	-		-		-		-		-
Total receipts A3 Payments
									50,182
Transport	-		6,840				6,840		3,894
Ingredients	1,237		2,451				3,688		2,180
Sessional Worker	6,435		20,745				27,180		25,740
FairshareFees	-		750				750		273
Volunteer Expenses	155		603				758		1,398
Publicity, administration,insurance andfund	r806		659				1,465		1,179
Training	12		-				12		2,098
Room hire	-		2,650				2,650		2,600
Equipment	339		1,150				1,489		1,493
Household Social Fund	-		5,000				5,000		10,000
**Sub total **	8,984		40,848		-		49,832		50,855
A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
	-
	-
**Sub total **	-								-
Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end
									50,855
	21,752		- 1,548		-		20,203		- 672
	-		-		-		-		-
	14,552		7,142		-		21,694		22,367
	36,304		5,594		-		41,898		21,695

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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B1 Cash funds	Total cash funds (agree balances w ith receipts and payments account(s)) Details Details Cash in bank c/fwd 2022 Cash in bank after receipts & payments Apr 2022/ Mar 2023	Total cash funds (agree balances w ith receipts and payments account(s)) Details Details Cash in bank c/fwd 2022 Cash in bank after receipts & payments Apr 2022/ Mar 2023	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Endowment funds to nearest £
			14,552 21,752 -	7,142		-
				- 1,548		-
				-		-
			36,304 OK Unrestricted funds to nearest £	5,594		-
						OK
						Endowment funds to nearest £
			- - - - - -	-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
	Details		Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)		Current value (optional)
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
	Details		Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)		Current value (optional)
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
				-		-
	Details		Fund to which liability relates	Amount due (optional)		When due (optional)
	Staff costs		Restricted Restricted	600		April 2023
	Transport			748		April 2023
	Signature R Richards K Head		Print Name Rachel Richards Karen Head
						Date of approval
	R Richards		Rachel Richards			09.01.2024
	K Head		Karen Head			09.01.2024

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Food and Friendship

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report Report to the trustees/ Food and Friendship CIO members of On accounts for the year 31 March 2023 Charity no 1178067 ended (if any) Set out on pages (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/03/2023.

• Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed 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. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or

• the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

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

• Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.

Date: 10.01.2024 Signed: Name: Chris Hill Relevant professional FCA – Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 177 Nevill Road Hove BN3 7QN

October 2018

1

IER

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

Not applicable.

October 2018

2

IER