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← Food Matters Foundation

2023-03-31-accounts

Food Matters Foundation ANNUAL REPORT

Review and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023

Encyro E-Sign ID: 7a6bc99488c64555aed714625457dd6a (2024-Jan-29 09:51:12 UTC)

Foreward

This year started on the back of what was a slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and an increasingly prolonged and difficult cost-of-living crisis, which continued the financial pressure and health burdens felt by communities up and down the country. The war in Ukraine also had massive impacts on communities through food price increases and availability of basic food items, and whilst there was financial support for people struggling to make ends meet, and to enable local authority and community services to address poverty and household food insecurity, it was inadequate for the level of need. The number of people having been plunged into food poverty, and the pressure on public sector meal providers including schools and prisons, has been profound.

Despite this increased food insecurity crisis driven by global pressures, this year has seen a lack of action on the national sustainable food agenda, including the national food strategy being kicked into the long grass - a missed opportunity to take a systemic approach to food security in the UK. Through our work on prison food reform Food Matters supported the call to strengthen statutory procurement standards to ensure more healthy and sustainable food reaches the most disadvantaged, including those in the criminal justice system. Along with many other organisations we continued to campaign on these issues through the Sustainable Food Places programme, which called for a local food partnership in every local area to address food related climate and health issues.

The Sustainable Food Places network has also grown significantly during this year, with over 90 local places taking innovative actions to tackling the most pressing issues, including household food insecurity, local food economies through circular economy principles, food related climate change, and making community food growing more visible and viable.

At the end of this year, we were awarded core grant funding to continue our work supporting women in the criminal justice system. We also continued our work highlighting the need for prison food reform, an increasingly important issue amidst the state of the prison sector. Over the next two years we will be developing key projects supporting women’s health through highlighting the positive role food plays in helping reduce the high levels of mental and physical ill-health and trauma found amongst women in the criminal justice system.

This year we have been able to grow our work on innovative facilitation and participation programmes, both nationally and locally. From working with care-experience young people to those experiencing health issues such as dementia we have been successful in supporting those communities to take a more active role in their food environment: increasing food use confidence to campaigning for better food in prison, to securing more food growing spaces.

Tim Marsh

Chair of Food Matters Board of Trustees

Trustees during the financial year covered by this report:

Address: Community Base, 113 Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3XG Charity number: 1178078 Accountants: West & Berry Ltd IE: Woodgate Accounting Services

Food Matters

The trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (as set out in note 1) and comply with the charity's governing document, and the Charities Act 2011 and "Accounting and reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice" applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)."

Food Matters – campaigning for sustainable, fair food systems to create a better food future for all. We do this by work nationally and locally on our own projects and in partnership with other organisations, and at both strategic policy and community levels.

Our current areas of focus include:

Objectives

Food Matters was set up to combat the inequalities in the food system by creating opportunities to bring about changes to see healthy, sustainable, fair food become a reality for everybody, every day.

  1. To advance the education for the benefit of the public in issues relating to food, including health, ethics, economic and social studies, science, public policy, sustainable development and the protection, enhancement and rehabilitation of the environment.

  2. To advance and promote community food work as a mechanism for community development and the improvement of the conditions of life for those in need by reason of youth, age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantages.

  3. To promote sustainable development as it relates to the food system for the benefit of the public.

Public Benefit

The Trustees are aware of Charity Commission guidance on public benefit reporting as set out in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011. They believe Food Matters fulfils a fundamental public benefit by promoting food systems that improve the health, education and wellbeing of individuals and communities, and protect and enhance the environment.

Our year in numbers

Our consultation, evaluation and facilitation work contributed to the following over the year April 2022 to March 2023:

----- Start of picture text -----
leading experts
participated in prison
21,000
food reform
48 copies of Her Wellbeing
roundtable events
distributed to 11 prisons
women participate in health
Food Matters prison
179 and wellbeing programme 2
food programmes
shortlisted for Public
Sector Catering awards
towns, cities and people attending the SFP
160 conference
90+ places in the SFP
network transforming
their food landscape
towns and cities across
county food
30 Europe building better
17 partnerships
food systems
- FoodShift 2030 network
national park 100-year
of Food Roots
1 City Downland
50% participating
Estate Plan
food partnerships
apply to the SFP
network
----- End of picture text -----

Working Nationally

Our national work aims to influence policy to facilitate food systems transformation and is informed by our project work which takes places in local communities around the UK. Our current focus is on prison food reform, working in and around the criminal justice system,

helping people rehabilitate as they pass through the criminal justice system. And reforming the prison food system to reflect the critical role food plays in rehabilitation.

The following sections describe this work in more detail.

Food Matters in Prison: Policy Work

This year we have been able to focus more on policy work. With funding from Clinks (www.clinks.org.uk) we have been able develop a comprehensive picture of the state of food policy in the criminal justice system. This work has included:

‘The prison environment is damaging to women’s mental health.’

Health disparities which exist in the community are amplified in prisons where women feel even more disempowered and face greater challenges in receiving appropriate support.

HMIP (2021c) reported that 71% of women prisoners self-reported having mental health problems.

Food Matters Inside and Out

The Food Matters Inside and Out (FMIO) programme works across the prison system to make food within prisons a central feature of wellbeing and rehabilitation. The aim is twofold - to enable prisoners to better access healthier food, supporting better mental health and wellbeing - contributing to rehabilitation goals; and to make the case for food and dietary change as a vital contribution to reducing reoffending through policy change.

food and nutrition knowledge with advice to support wellbeing and rehabilitation; and Food Matters through the Gate, which supports those leaving custodial settings during resettlement and those at risk of reoffending. This year we began work to expand our programmes across the prison estate through a collaborative partnership with the HMPPS (Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service) Digital Learning Team to digitise our programmes.

This programme was piloted at HMP Wandsworth and HMP High Down before focussing on the women’s estate over the last three years. This approach is facilitated through participatory healthy eating courses and cooking workshops – face-to-face and distance learning - publications, peer support and staff training sessions, and consultancy to catering and food procurement services.

This year has seen the completion of two groundbreaking initiatives: Feel Good Food Club – a programme focussed on supporting women in custody to access

We also continued to publish our health and wellbeing newsletter, Her Wellbeing, delivered across the female estate (circa 3000 women), and His Wellbeing: digital, both developed to help prisoners support their mental and physical health through food during the Covid pandemic, and we were able to deliver face-to-face health and wellbeing courses in HMP Send.

Both Her Wellbeing and The Feel Good Food Club continued to be very well received by people serving custodial sentences and prison staff alike.

Both were shortlisted in the 2023 Public Sector Catering Awards for their contribution to helping prisoners make healthier food choices.

FMIO face-to-face courses

This year we have been able to deliver the final phase of our 2-year Food Matters Inside & Out programme funded by HMPPS third sector grant programme.

On return to HMP Send, a closed category women's prison, we had to re-evaluate what we could deliver

with the pandemic subsiding but not yet over and some restrictions still in place. We ran faceto-face healthy eating and cooking courses, with women living on the PIPE unit (Psychologically Informed Planned Environment) and those on the Incentivised Substance Free Living (ISFL) Wing – under the Incentivised Drug Free Living Programme.

The face-to-face sessions were based on the distance learning course Feel Good Food Club. Using a participatory approach, course attendees were given the opportunity to co-design sessions based on their needs and interests, including:

Eatwell myth-buster and how to apply this to the prison setting.

Sessions were delivered using a trauma-informed approach. Participants were also given the opportunity to meet the delivery team before committing to the course to help alleviate anxieties of attending. Participants chose the dishes they wanted to cook in the cooking sessions and even created additional dishes in the session from leftover ingredients.

When asked ‘Is there any aspect of your behaviour with regards to your wellbeing that you have changed because you joined the FGFC (Feel Good Food Club)?’ participants told us:

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“I stopped ordering sweets
“I eat a more veg- from the canteen through
based diet” the course.”
“I try to be more mindful
“Sugar - I have less
of how I am eating and
sugar”
when.”
----- End of picture text -----

The PIPEs are interventions offered as part of the wider His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and NHS England Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway – a programme for high risk, high harm offenders who are likely to have a personality disorder, designed to support the transition and progression of prisoners and people on probation at significant stages of their sentence and beyond. Staff who work in PIPEs are trained and supported to work in an evidence-based psychologically informed way.

Incentivised Substance Free Living wings (ISFL) provide specialist substance misuse services for prisoners who are already in recovery - with a series of incentives intended to reduce the risk of relapse.

Feel Good Food Club

The recruitment drive for the Feel Good Food Club distance learning programme started in January 2022 and resulted (this year) in 179 women across 11 prisons taking part in the second cohort of the distance learning course, bringing the total since we started

delivering the course in 2021 to over 479. During the six-month programme the Food Matters team worked with prison staff to deliver the monthly modules, run surveys and motivational competitions, and to gather feedback from participants.

“ Listening to [Feel Good Food Club members] talking about the changes they have made and in particular I remember speaking to one participant who had proudly kept all the modules and copies of Her Wellbeing Magazine and had really enjoyed reading them and cooking her own food whilst in prison. She was due to be released and told me she intended to continue to eat healthily and apply what she had learnt from the FGFC.”

“ “ These well-being workbooks are brilliant - so colourful and attractive packed full of advice and information, with great activities too.”

“[Making healthy changes to your diet can have] a significant impact on your overall health and wellbeing so when I became aware of the Food Matters programmes I was really keen to support this at HMP New Hall.”

“[I have found that reducing meats and fatty] snacks helps me mentally and physically and this week my fruit order consists of grapes, kiwis and apples and it feels good. I now feel more motivated to take on my exercises again. Small steps at the moment but I am pleased with my progress so far.”

Feel Good Food Club participant

Evaluation: How do we know it’s working

We worked with academics at the Healthy and Sustainable Settings Unit, UCLan (University of Central Lancaster) to undertake an independent evaluation of the Food Matters Inside and Out programme which highlighted the value of wider roll out across the prison estate with particular focus on developing the Food Matters programmes onto the in-prison digital platform.

“[The evaluation highlights examples of innovative practice and learning for wider roll out within] the prison estate […]. Innovation for example, can be found in the distance learning course and the Her Wellbeing magazine with the latter being available on an in-prison digital platform.”

Publications

This year we published 7 issues of Her Wellbeing. We have been able to work with external contributors to provide interesting and insightful content, topics have included Parkrun, Ramadan, Sleep, Plant Based diets, Reading for wellbeing, Vitamin D, Yoga, 5-Ways-ToWellbeing, and Food and Immunity. Through the year we have gathered feedback to help ensure we continue to produce publications that are accessible, relevant, and enjoyed across the prison population.

Additionally, this year we have helped two prisons, HMP Styal and HMP New Hall, get pdf versions of Her Wellbeing onto their digital information hubs, accessed by prisoners through in-cell tablets. As HMPPS roll out their digital prisons programme, we will continue working with HMPPS to place Her Wellbeing on more digital hubs, making the publication more widely available, and increasingly financially sustainable.

“

We have worked to increase our contact with the men’s estate to enable the digital editions of His Wellbeing to be available in prisons where digital platforms exist. We continued throughout this year to research where prisons are piloting digital information hubs, which in the future will allow higher resolution, more appealing formats to be integrated. We have published five issues of His Wellbeing, featured topics included sleep, plantbased diets, yoga, how to access the library, sunshine and vitamin D, food and immunity and mental well-being.

A great focus on us behind the door- very on point.” - Male prisoner

“

HWB [His Wellbeing] really hit the sweet spot.”

Prison Catering

We continued working with the Catering Managers at various prisons including HMP Send, HMP Buckley Hall and HMP Kirkham, and other staff in custodial settings with the aim of progressing better food policies including menu reformulation, and more provision of healthy foods on the prison canteen (Canteen is the term used within prison for the weekly delivery of items a person can buy for themselves, if and when they have money).

Next steps: Digital Programme

We started conversations to collaborate with several IT companies working in the field of criminal justice, providing tablets, laptops and associated software to the prison estate, to explore the transfer of our paper-based distance learning courses to an interactive digital format.

This could be made available to prisoners across the prison estate when the strategy facilitates the roll out of digital platforms. We continue to seek funding to develop a pilot for this work.

Through the Gate: Food and mental wellbeing

Following the delays caused by the Covid pandemic we were able to recommence our face-to-face courses run in partnership with Women’s Support Centres and funded by Henry Smith County Grants programme.

Working with organisations that support women who have or are experiencing abuse, substance misuse, discrimination, trauma or homelessness, our food and mental wellbeing courses increase confidence and knowledge through sharing experiences between participants as well as supplementing current knowledge with food, diet and other lifestyle information and behaviour change support from Food Matters specialist facilitators.

The sessions focus on food to support good mental and physical health as well as a tool to empower and practise self-care. The sessions include budgeting, adapting recipes to fit available ingredients, making favourite meals healthier, and focus on easy access, lower cost ingredients and cooking methods. Information and support with behaviour change and changing habits also feature when appropriate. The design of the sessions changes depending on the needs, barriers and motivation of the participants.

This year Food Matters specialist staff have worked with Woking Women’s Centre to deliver a range of sessions and courses including service users, staff training, wellbeing days and training the trainers.

“ My relationship with food has changed so much. I’ve changed so much. You’ve changed my life.”

-[Course participant]

“ Everything that I have learned in 4 weeks has opened my eyes on new foods which I would never have looked at.”

Transforming Food Systems through local food partnerships

Our national work also centres on driving innovation and best practice on all aspects of healthy and sustainable food through our work supporting food partnerships as collaborative change makers, as partners in the Sustainable Food Places programme, a nation-wide network of food partnerships, and our food partnerships advice and support consultancy work.

Sustainable Food Places - SFP

Food Matters works in partnership with Sustain and the Soil Association to deliver the nationally significant and internationally recognised Sustainable Food Places programme (SFP). The programme works to initiate and support local food partnerships, good food activism and healthy and sustainable food, so that these become an integral part of the institutional and social landscape of towns, cities, boroughs, districts and counties across the UK.

Food partnerships aim to bring stakeholders together to help demonstrate the connections between food, health, community, social equity, the environment and economic prosperity to build more sustainable food systems, and to facilitate food system transformational change.

The Impact of the SFP Programme

Entering the 10th year of the SFP programme and with 2 years of the current funding remaining, this year saw increased focus on evaluation, particularly building the case for food system change and demonstrating the impact of the SFP approach. During the summer of 2022 Food Matters led a network consultation to inform future direction of the programme. The outcomes of that consultation demonstrated the value of the network in terms of a collective voice and grassroots movement for change and the power of local action.

Additionally, the findings helped to set a clear direction for the future of the SFP programme. While the consultation also demonstrated a diversity of opinion across the SFP network of food partnerships, there was widespread agreement across five key points:

Food Matters took a lead role in supporting the Network to build more robust evidence and focussed on increasing the SFP programme’s capacity to collect, collate and communicate evidence of partnership impact, helping to makethe-case for the value of local food partnerships.

Influence

Demonstrating the value of the SFP approach to policy makers and statutory agencies is more important than ever, and this year Food Matters led on a new public affairs working group, convening with, amongst others, Local Government Association (LGA) and DEFRA to consider delivering the recommendations of the Government food strategy including the recommendation around exploring the role of food partnerships and food strategies.

Food Matters SFP staff also chaired & spoke at SFP webinars including on Dynamic Procurement; the Levelling up agenda, and the cost-of-living crisis.

The Sustainable Food Places Awards are a key pillar in the programme, a demonstrable way to show impact, to recognise and celebrate the success of places across the UK who take a holistic and systems approach to sustainable and healthy food. Transitioning from the covid pandemic to a cost-of-living crisis as meant another a busy year for the SFP programme, and that has resulted in a record number of awards being presented, including three silvers being awarded to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Greenwich. Our Chief Executive was delighted to present the awards at this year’s conference.

SFP award winners 2023

All three Silver awards winners, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Greenwich, act as exemplars of partnership working across the whole food system, with strong public profiles and active good food movements.

Aberdeen, like many food partnerships, has a strong strategic priority on tackling food insecurity and developed a robust food poverty strategy and action plan. However, this is just one part of the food strategy, demonstrating a whole food system approach.

Over the past 10 years Edible Edinburgh has evolved into a partnership which today has a strong crosssector governance and leadership structure. This demonstrates the need for food partnerships, whatever their organisational structure, to patiently build trusted relationships between key food sector actors.

In Greenwich the use of sector-specific food Charters, based on relevant standards and criteria, has been used extremely effectively to raise awareness of strategic sustainable food action and contribute to building a good food movement across the borough. This is a model approach that could be replicated not only across London but elsewhere in the UK-wide SFP Network.

Counties work

The county network continued to grow organically this year with Cornwall, Buckinghamshire, Nottinghamshire, West Cheshire and North Northants joining, making 17 county SFP members in total. Our work with the Counties network included webinars, workshops, policy responses and consultations.

Themes and topics covered this year included sustainable business; public engagement; strategic communications; national horticulture strategy; dynamic

procurement; supporting local food producers; food access in the rural contexts; and linking food with education.

A significant and growing area of SFP membership is city or district food partnerships transitioning and expanding into county partnerships, encompassing both urban communities and their surrounding rural communities as well as statutory agencies and authorities at the county level.

Diversity and equity in the food system

There is increasingly widespread recognition that race is severely underrepresented in much of the food system transformation work happening across the UK. Conversations about identity, particularly race, should be at the forefront of every social movement to ensure that everybody is represented, has access and can participate. However, the work of dismantling structures of oppression is often obscured by larger narratives of colour-blind equality or multiculturalism. These narratives erase the often violent and complex realities that many Black and people of colour (BPOC) communities have faced because of generations of oppression and racial injustice. Changing the food system must involve transformation of how organisations work and behave.

The SFP REDI (Race, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) for Change is a process centred around a belief in deeply participatory approaches to social change. Food partnerships have the potential to be champions and catalysts for systems-change in the UK food sector and beyond. This process aims to increase racial awareness, equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion in the food system.

The year-long grants supported three SFP food partnerships (Islington, Plymouth and Shropshire), to use the REDI for Change Review Tool in facilitated participatory workshops. These food partnerships were supported to develop pilot programmes of work to address and build on the review's outputs. These development grants have helped Food Matters to develop further guidance and resources for the SFP Toolkit.

The SFP REDI for Change pilots grant programme, led by Food Matters, was launched in early May.

The three grant-supported partnerships developed different approaches to using the REDI Review Tool and embedding REDI principles in their organisations.

Shropshire adapted the REDI Tool to make it easier to use in partner organisations just beginning to address issues of diversity and representation not only focused on race. They recognised how important it is to ‘meet people where they’re at’ in their journey of understanding and addressing inequality.

In Islington the tool was initially used to open up conversations on race and equity in the partnership’s steering group. It supported a partner organisation, Choices (London) to explore how the tool can be used for honest self-reflection on race. Choices continue to deliver REDI workshops with other partners, leading to the development of statements of principles and policies – including within the borough Council.

The Sankofa Report was researched and written by Jada Phillips during her internship at Food Matters and provides important context, from Britain’s colonial history to the issues of representation of People of Colour in the UK food sector.

The Plymouth food partnership have adopted a patient approach, building relationships with partners using the REDI principles and Review Tool to overcome initial resistance to the focus on race.

Food Matters ran a participatory REDI review workshop with its own staff, to reflect on organisational culture, practice, and people. Outputs and actions included the development of ‘Food Matters’ statement on active anti-racism’ and the Sankofa report, written by Jada Phillips, our University of Sussex Career Lab Summer UK Internship Programme 2022 intern.

Engaging the network

Participatory Processes grants were launched this year, with nine SFP partnerships successfully applying for money to explore the use of facilitated participatory processes to develop and deliver food strategies. The grants, alongside quarterly action learning sets, encouraging peer learning and support between the group members, helped develop a more relevant and appropriate set of resources for the SFP Toolkit.

There is a cohort of experienced and skilled individuals within SFP network who are now able to provide support and guidance on participatory facilitation to others in the UK-wide Network. Examples of grant-supported projects include participatory budgeting in Ards and North Down; the establishment of a panel of people with lived experience of food poverty as part of Lewes’ Poverty Truth Hearing; a People’s Food Assembly in Plymouth; and different approaches to running Food Summits in Devon and Oxfordshire.

Conference

Taking place in Oxford in March 2023, this year’s conference was the first Sustainable Food Places face-toface conference since 2019. One hundred and sixty food champions from up and down the country, across all four UK nations, gathered to celebrate success, share information, collaborate, and debate ideas and mechanisms to launch, distribute and maintain healthy, sustainable, and local food.

The focus this year was growing and adapting the Sustainable Food Places movement in an increasingly complex world. The conference considered the state of the four nations of the UK, the different dimensions of sustainable food and how the SFP network can adapt and grow to demonstrate the value of transformational food system change.

Good Food Governance Work

Food Matters is committed to food system change that is rooted in participation through local food partnerships. Fundamental to successful food partnership working is Good Food Governance.

Good Food Governance Principles

Representation - Successful food partnerships reflect the makeup of their community. Democratic accountability – Clear processes are as important as any outcome. Inclusivity - Understanding the barriers and needs from all perspectives. Generous leadership – willingness to share responsibility to achieve the common good. Trust.

Food Matters has been working for many years to support community organisations, statutory and voluntary sector organisations to develop and embed principles of good food governance in their local food partnerships. This year we have worked with:

Lambeth Food Partnership

Funded by Public Health Lambeth Food Matters continued through this year to provide tailored support to the Lambeth Food Partnership. The aim of the work was to widen the appeal and reach of the partnership, to build out of the emergency food response during Covid. And to improve transparency and democratic processes. Work this year has included four workshops exploring how the food partnership can add value to the vast array of food work happening in the borough. It included work to develop, and identify income streams for, a series of project development plans, to take forward over the next two years.

Southwark Food Action Alliance

Supporting Southwark Public Health and Southwark Food Action Alliance (SFAA) to develop a food strategy and action plan. This work involved building the resilience of SFAA, to develop a long-term more diverse finance strategy and to broaden its current profile to encompass a transformational food systems vision. Activities included a series of workshops and facilitated strategy development workshops. We worked alongside Sustain to support this broadening food systems work across the borough.

The Southwark Food Strategy will be launched early next year.

Food Matters has provided expert good food governance support to the European funded FoodSHIFT2030 project throughout the year. Including developing and facilitating online and in-person workshops and conferences, participating in panel discussions and short promotional films.

FoodSHIFT2030 is a 7.5-million-euro Innovation Action project funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme.

During the lifetime of the programme 9 city regions (Accelerator Labs) have been developed to upscale and multiply existing food system innovations with 27 towns and cities (Enabler Labs) in the follow-on wave. FoodSHIFT2030 is a consortium programme with 30 partners-7 municipalities, 8 SMEs, 8 NGOs and 7 research institutes from 12 European countries - and is coordinated by the University of Copenhagen.

The London Food Roots Incubator programme

The Food Roots Incubator programme - a GLA (Greater London Authority) funded programme supporting 10 food partnerships to build effective systems and interventions over the course of the pandemic (and prior to this) to embed good practice and foster organisational sustainability in partnerships to address food insecurity as part of recovery from the pandemic and subsequent cost-of-living crisis. Additionally, the programme aimed to embed good food governance and wider food systems planning.

Food Roots Stretch programme

The stretch programme grew out of the success of the initial Food Roots Incubator programme, and supported a further 19 food partnerships and food alliances across London to respond to food insecurity and develop strategic joint approaches and activities through a mix of group and individual support, and exchange visits organised and provided through a partnership approach from Food Matters, Sustain, and First Love Foundation and peer experts.

“

Fantastic learning journey that has helped develop my skills and knowledge which has in turn helped our newly formed food network create a vision and mission for the future.”

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“
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Food roots has helped us establish a partnership which is a great outcome”

“ The incubator programme has helped our partners come together, establish relationships, create learning environments where we can dedicate time towards reimagining our local food system and create positive change”

As a result of the support offered by Food Roots, 50% of the partnerships that took part plan to apply to become Sustainable Food Places members to continue accessing guidance, inspiration, funding and to be part of a recognised national movement for change.

This groundbreaking work aimed to identify county-level mechanisms for food system working which support the work being undertaken by the

local food partnerships by shifting elements of the food system which occur at county level, so enabling the local partnerships to develop district level policies and interventions that produce food system transformation.

The second phase of the project involved five workshops (attended by 117 people) with existing food partnership members in each of the areas to understand the key challenges and opportunities, skills and interests, and to engage local stakeholders.

This work culminated in a county wide ‘Feed Into East Sussex’ event, attended by 40+ people. The objectives of the session were to:

Food Matters worked in collaboration with East Sussex County Council Public Health, and voluntary sector partner organisations: 3VA, SCDA, Hastings Voluntary Action. We also worked with the five local district food partnerships. Together, these formed the steering group which oversaw the delivery of this project.

The project was split into three phases. As part of the first phase of the work, extensive desk research, including a policy, strategy and research review and stakeholder mapping, was undertaken.

These insights were brought together in a final report and recommendations to be taken forward. This work provided a baseline on which East Sussex County Council has been able to invest further funding to develop the work, including 2 additional years funding for the district and borough food partnerships. Food Matters will be leading this ongoing work.

Capacity Building

Food Matters has always excelled at grassroots delivery and facilitation of food-themed activity. In parallel with our work at national level, we continue to work in our community here in Brighton and Hove, partly through our successful Community Cookery programmes but also a range of facilitation and evaluation work.

Community Cookery and Wellbeing Programmes

Since COVID, young people increasingly need wellbeing support (50.8% of 16-24 year-olds said they experienced lockdown loneliness; and 52.5% of 17-23 year-olds experienced deterioration in mental health). Care leavers are disproportionally affected by poor mental health and from our partner organisations we know that COVID was extremely detrimental to young people’s confidence and wellbeing, and this is an ongoing problem for young people.

A January 2022 Ofsted report described many care leavers feeling unprepared for independent living and lacking skills around cookery, food shopping and money management.

One care leaver said: “We did some basic bits and pieces in the kitchen at the home – fry an egg, make a cup of tea, you know. When I think about it, would I know how to put a meal together? No. It just was not taught.” There is a gap in provision for these young people to access life skills training in a supportive environment.

Our cookery and wellbeing programmes seek to support young people to enjoy learning life skills, to build social confidence and understand their own habits around food, cooking and wellbeing activities.

Mood AF (AndFood)

Following the positive impact of our Kitchen Kick Start programme and the evident ongoing need for lifestyle support interventions, this year we worked collaboratively with local support organisations to carry out a needs survey with young care leavers and young people living in insecure housing. This survey demonstrated the need and want for more cookery

and wellbeing sessions to increase independent living skills in care experienced young people living in Brighton and Hove, and East

Sussex. From the survey findings we were able to secure funding from the National Lottery Awards for All programme for a series of food and mental wellbeing courses that focussed on cooking skills, eating together and other wellbeing activities such as yoga and mindfulness.

This programme is underway and will continue into next year, we will continue to work on further bids and securing partnership programme support for supported housing providers and agencies supporting care experienced young people.

Brighton and Hove Food Partnership BHFP

During this year Food Matters has worked with BHFP to deliver facilitation and evaluation on two projects that focus on engaging the most marginalised communities in food and climate campaigns and activities. Food Use Places was a 1- year pilot project funded through the Lottery Climate Action Fund. The project aimed to highlight community food projects in Brighton and Hove as champions of ‘food use’ rather than places that manage food waste. It brought together circular economy and community development approaches to address the climate change issue of food waste.

We used a programme of visits to farms and food growing initiatives to provide opportunities for inspiration, connection and enjoyment for users of community-based food access projects and to overcome barriers to people accessing these opportunities.

Food Matters developed an evaluation process to assess the effectiveness of the project which focussed on taster days at local community growing project Rock Farm, to provide participants the opportunity to determine what they would like to do with the follow-on project.

The Soil in the City project connects members of affordable food projects in Brighton and Hove with the farms where the food is grown.

Food Matters continues to chair the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership board of directors, and the Director sits on the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership’s Community Kitchen board of directors.

“

I was so isolated before, coming with my community made me feel safe, learning about biodiversity and what working with nature really means, not trying to control it…

Facilitation and Participation Work

Food Matters has built a unique reputation for innovative facilitation and participation approaches, both nationally and locally. Facilitation and participation are methods of working with groups – or rather, methods of enabling groups to work – in ways that respect and include all voices, negotiate complex or divisive issues, and achieve consensual resolutions.

We also train others in facilitation and participation skills, by running training sessions, speaking at events, and supporting organisations to develop facilitation skills within their existing workforce.

This year Food Matters work has included the following projects:

Downland Advisory Panel DAP

The City Downland Estate

The City of Brighton and Hove owns much of the land that surrounds the city; this rural estate is in the South Downs National Park and consists of approximately 13,500 acres. The land was acquired in the late 19th century to secure and protect the water supply into the city and control development. The Downland Estate is a biosphere reserve and home to a large farming community. It is also an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The city council has worked in partnership with South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), residents, farmers, environmental groups and recreational users to produce the City Downland Estate Plan. The plan sets out a series of aims, objectives and a vision for the future of Downland Estate over the next 100 years, to protect and enhance the land for future generations, to reduce carbon, increase carbon capture, enhance wildlife and natural habitats, and improve health and wellbeing.

The Downland Advisory Panel was set up to oversee the implementation of the City Downland Estate Plan (CDEP). Food Matters has worked with Brighton and Hove Food Partnership and Brighton and Hove City Council to facilitate the development of this important panel of experts and stakeholder representatives. This was a significant piece of facilitation

supporting ground-breaking work in the city to deliver a democratic and transparent body that can support the delivery of a 100-year City Downland Plan that widens access to nature, reduces climate changing emissions, increases biodiversity and encourages environmentally friendly farming.

Lewes Community Garden

Lewes House Community Gardening project provides free supported gardening sessions to people living with or supporting someone living with dementia. The project is grounded in a belief that being surrounded by plants, helping them to grow, and spending time in nature, with others, is beneficial for many aspects of physical and mental health. The project provides a safe space to engage in gardening, socialise with other members and offers a peaceful place for participants to come to each week.

The ethos of the project is one of inclusivity, with members representing a wide range of backgrounds and abilities.

Food Matters was asked to lead a facilitated evaluation session to help members of the Lewes House Community Garden explore the benefits of attending. Given the range of physical and mental abilities of members, the evaluation was designed to be inclusive and easy to engage with. Food Matters facilitated two sessions over the course of one day.

“

This is a huge thanks for such a brilliantly presented write-up of the evaluations sessions you carried out for the Lewes House Garden project. I think the sessions themselves helped to reinforce a sense of belonging and purpose for group members, not to mention for us session leaders too. And the write up report is really useful in evidencing the impact of the project.”

Developing a Relationship-Based Practice Evaluation Framework

Using co-production principles, Food Matters worked with care-experienced young people, social work practitioners, student social workers and parents, to design a new evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness of relationship-based practice in the social care system. The aim was to develop an evaluation framework that was meaningful for families and their care-experienced young people and develop better understanding of how social work and more specifically Relationship-based practice can create positive change.

Financial Review

For the year ended 31 March 2023 total incoming resources amounted to £306,188, a 34% increase on the previous year. The expenditure for 2022-23 was £266,420, a 27% increase from last year.

Restricted and unrestricted income

Any funds described as 'restricted income' are available only for the specific projects or purposes determined by the funders. In addition, the charity holds 'designated funds' which have been raised for a specific project or purpose.

The full Statement of Financial Activities is set out in the accounts.

Reserves

As part of the 2023 year-end process, guided by the Treasurer, the Food Matters' Trustees reviewed the charity's Reserves Policy. It was confirmed that the policy was still valid, and that Food Matters would maintain free reserves because:

To this end, Food Matters aims to accumulate reserves equal to three to six months unrestricted expenditure. It is deemed that in the financial year covered by this report the charity’s reserves were below the nominated amount but on balance adequate to ensure the charity was able to meet all current, known and some estimated possible future liabilities. Our unrestricted funds currently stand at £39,101.

Risk assessment policy

The trustees are responsible for overseeing the risks faced by the charity. Risks are identified and assessed throughout the year. The trustees are satisfied that any risks have been adequately mitigated where necessary and they have undertaken an overall risk assessment.

Structure, governance and management

Food Matters registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 24th April 2018. The charity is governed under its Constitution. The Trustees have a responsibility to ensure that all aspects of the charity’s activities are properly conducted and carried out in full compliance with its Constitution. The Trustees normally meet at least three times a year and attend an additional strategy day together with Food Matters staff. All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. No expenses were claimed by any Trustee during the year.

The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of approving the financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2023 were:

Charlie Powell Kath Dalmeny Tim Marsh Colin Havard Lindy Sharpe

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

The Trustees are appointed under the terms of the Constitution. Each new Trustee is given a copy of the Constitution, details of their responsibilities as a charity trustee, contact details of fellow Trustees and employees, background on the charity's strategy and current projects and other information useful in pursuing their role. New Trustees are recruited in consultation with the Director to ensure that the requisite skills are available to support the charity’s activities.

Staff, training and fair pay

Food Matters has seven core members of staff and is governed by a board of five trustees. Our work is also enhanced by a group of experienced and expert freelancers, and we recruit high-quality volunteers to support our project work.

As a small charity we are entitled to free membership of The Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) and the Small Charities Coalition, both of which offer affordable training and advice services, and we are committed to offering all staff opportunities for continuing professional development.

Food Matters is an accredited Living Wage Employer, committed to paying at least the Living Wage, as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, which reflects the cost of living. We have a pay ratio policy to ensure that we maintain a fair pay ratio between the highest and lowest earners. This pay ratio calculation shows that Food Matters’ pay ratio is between 2:1 and 3:1, well below the third-sector average.

Role of Trustees

The Trustees provide governance and develop policy for the charity and accept ultimate legal authority for it. The Trustees formulate and regularly review the long- and short-term strategic aims of the charity as well as setting specific goals and priorities. The Trustees approve budgets and are responsible for the good stewardship of the charity's resources. They work in partnership with the Director with a view to furthering the charity's objectives.

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on the 6th December 2023 and signed on its behalf, by:

Colin Havard, Treasurer of the Board of Trustees

Food Matters

Food Matters was set up in 2004 to combat the inequalities in the food system by creating opportunities to bring about changes to see healthy, sustainable, fair food become a reality for everybody, every day.

Our work focusses on food system transformation through person centred action and campaigning, to create food systems that enhance health and wellbeing, nourish the environment, reduce inequalities and promote social justice.

UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended March 2023

Food Matters Foundation

Legal and administrative information

Trustees

Charity number

Mr C Powell Ms K Dalmeny Mr T Marsh Mr C Havard Ms L Sharpe 1178078

Principle address

Independent examiner

Community Base 113 Queens Road Brighton BN1 3XG Woodgate Accounting Services Unit 43 Newhaven Enterprise Centre Newhaven BN9 9BA

Accountants

West & Berry Limited Mocatta House Trafalgar Place Brighton BN1 4DU

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Food Matters Foundation

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Food Matters Foundation charity for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Responsibility and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), which is one of the listed bodies.

Your attention is drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared financial statements in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has now been withdrawn.

I understand that this has been done in order for financial statements to provide a true and fair view in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

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 financial statements to be reached.

Phil Woodgate FCCA

Woodgate Accounting Services Unit 43 Newhaven Enterprise Centre Newhaven

BN9 9BA 29 January 2024 Dated....................................

Statement of Financial Activities

including income and expenditure account For the year ended 31 March 2023

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

Statement of Financial Activities (continued) including income and expenditure account For the ear ended 31 March 2023 y

Balance Sheet As at 31 March 2023

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 6 December 2023

Mr C Havard Trustee

Notes to the financial statement For the year ended 31 March 2023

1.Accounting policies

Charity information

Food Matters Foundation is a charitable incorporated organisation.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

The financial statements have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations but which has since been withdrawn.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

1.4 Income

Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Legacies are recognised on receipt or otherwise if the charity has been notified of an impending distribution, the amount is known, and receipt is expected. If the amount is not known, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset.

1 Accounting policies (Continued)

Income from government and other grants is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, and performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from contracts is recognised on an earned basis in the year in which the conditions for receipt are met.

1.5 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party. Expenditure is classified by activity and is allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity.

The costs of each activity are made up of total direct costs plus shared costs including support costs and governance expenditure. Where the charity undertakes more than one activity shared costs will be apportioned on a basis consistent with the use of resources. All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions.

Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity.

Governance costs are those incurred in connection with the administration of the charity and compliance with statutory requirements.

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

1.5 Expenditure

E xpenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party. Expenditure is classified by activity and is allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity.

The costs of each activity are made up of total direct costs plus shared costs including support costs and governance expenditure. Where the charity undertakes more than one activity shared costs will be apportioned on a basis consistent with the use of resources. All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions.

Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity.

Governance costs are those incurred in connection with the administration of the charity and compliance with statutory requirements

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Plant and equipment 4 years straight line

Computer equipment 3 years straight line

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.

1.7 Impairment of fixed assets

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

1.8 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

1.9 Financial instruments

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity's contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

1.10 Employee Benefits

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

1.11 Retirement Benefits

P ayments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

2. Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023

Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2023