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2025-03-31-accounts

ANNUAL Review and accounts for the REPORT year ended 31 March 2025

Foreword

This year marked a special milestone for Food Matters: our twentieth anniversary. Two decades on, our belief that good food can transform lives, communities, and the planet feels stronger than ever. Our work still builds on that founding vision of creating fairer, more sustainable food systems that nourish everyone and protect the world around us.

We celebrated this milestone in a year shaped by both challenge and opportunity. A new government brought shifts in the political landscape and renewed conversations about the national food agenda. Amid uncertainty, one constant has stood out: the power of collaboration.

Across the UK, our partnerships have shown that meaningful change happens when communities, councils, and campaigners unite around a shared vision of good food for all. Through the Sustainable Food Places programme, we entered an exciting new phase, building on more than a decade of pioneering work. This phase has focused on strengthening the movement’s long-term sustainability, embedding representation and justice, and ensuring local priorities and community voices remain central.

Our Food Roots 2 programme in London continued to deepen the capacity of local food partnerships to respond to food insecurity and build lasting resilience. This work has shown how local leadership, supported by peer learning and practical tools, can turn ambition into action and influence policy.

Meanwhile, our Food and Criminal Justice work continued to highlight the role of food in promoting dignity, wellbeing, and rehabilitation in prisons. Reaching thousands of people in challenging circumstances, we have demonstrated that food can offer hope, agency, and positive change.

Looking ahead, the need for joined-up, equitable food systems is more urgent than ever. Climate pressures, rising inequality, and public health challenges converge on our plates. Yet we remain hopeful, because every day we see people and communities turning good food ideas into lasting impact.

We are deeply grateful to our funders, partners, and the growing network of individuals and organisations who share our mission. Together, we are reshaping the future food system—and preparing for the next twenty years of bold, collaborative work.

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

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Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................Page 4 Transforming Food Systems..............................................................Page 5 Sustainable Food Places...........................................................Page 5 Good Food Governance..........................................................Page 10 Good Food Infrastructure.......................................................Page 12 Food and Criminal Justice................................................................Page 16 A day in the life of...................................................................Page 18 Young People...................................................................................Page 22 Food Hits Different..................................................................Page 22 Working Locally...............................................................................Page 23 Financial Review..............................................................................Page 25

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F ood Matters champions sustainable and equitable food systems to build a better food food future for everyone. We deliver impact both nationally and locally—through our own initiatives, partnerships with other organisations, and engagement at strategic policy and grassroots community levels.

Our current areas of focus include:

Transforming Food Systems - We support the development of strong, resilient local food partnerships by embedding whole-system approaches and promoting innovation and best practice in all aspects of healthy and sustainable food. This work is delivered through the nationally significant and internationally recognised Sustainable Food Places programme, alongside tailored advice, support for food partnerships, and consultancy on good food governance.

Food and Criminal Justice - We work to place food at the heart of rehabilitation and recovery within the criminal justice system.

By enabling people to make healthier food choices that support both physical and mental wellbeing, we also advocate for prison food reform at a policy level.

Capacity Building - Using innovative facilitation and engagement strategies at both national and local levels, we help groups and communities navigate complex or divisive issues, reach consensus, and empower individuals to take an active role in shaping their food systems.

Young People - Food Matters supports young people to become confident, informed advocates for healthier, fairer and more sustainable food through hands-on learning and youth-led projects.

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Transforming Food Systems

Sustainable Food Places

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.

This year has seen the culmination of Phase 3 and the launch of Phase 4 of the Sustainable Food Places Programme. This internationally recognised programme is leading the way in food systems change from grass roots community action to influencing the national food policy agenda, continuously making the case for a food partnership in every place across the UK.

With a further funding from our long-standing backers Esmée Fairburn Foundation and National Lottery Community Fund we have been able to consolidate the SFP programme to focus on three crucial areas of work over the next three years.

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Participation and Action

This year we continued our crucial work to increase Representation and Justice in the food system. We led important work that builds on the Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion ethos (REDI) by co-developing an anti-racism strategy and action plan for the SFP Programme and Network. This work, guided and facilitated by Animo Leadership, adopted a human-centred design process with a working group of 20 participants from SFP

partnerships and others working on racial justice in the UK food system. The strategy aims to build a more equitable food system by amplifying the voices and experiences of those who have historically been racially minoritised and sets out a vision to ensure that SFP is racially representative and embeds active antiracism in our programmes and partnerships. The strategy was launched in early spring 2025 and is available on the SFP website.

‘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.’ - Food Matters Sankofa report 2022

Following on from the strategy development, we have begun co-development of a Strategic Framework for Action on Representation and Justice. Working with food partnerships and the SFP programme team we continue to facilitate Listening Sessions around the UK, followed by participatory co-development workshops to build the action plan, to be launched in the autumn of 2025.

‘It was a really inclusive, thought-provoking and deep process that brought everyone on the journey. It was the opposite of so many copy-and-paste strategy processes I've been involved in with other external agencies.’

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Impact and Evaluation

Late last year, Food Matters created SFP’s innovative Impact Hub and Evidence Database, which received widespread positive feedback from network members. Building on this, over the past year we produced SFP’s first Impact Report and a report documenting senior government perspectives on food. These outputs are helping shape the national conversation on the value of local food partnerships.

Recognising the importance of not only delivering food systems change but also tracking, understanding, and evidencing its impact, Food Matters now has responsibility for the evaluation of the SFP programme— previously led by the University of the West of England (UWE). At the end of the reporting year, we designed a comprehensive Impact & Evaluation Plan for the SFP network, including the first of a planned series of annual surveys. This inaugural survey sets a benchmark for partnership activities, enabling us to track progress and measure long-term change across the network.

We also piloted the Food Matters Social Network Analysis (SNA) Tool with two partnerships—Plymouth and Torfaen—to map the relationships within their steering groups. The tool was designed to help partnerships visualise how people, sectors, and resources are connected, enabling them to spot gaps, strengthen collaboration, and monitor how their networks evolve over time. Building on the success of this pilot, we will be exploring opportunities to use the tool with other partnerships across the network and assess its potential for wider application in tracking systems change.

‘We have been making good use of the network mapping tool - thank you so much, it has been really useful!’

This pioneering work has already gained international attention, with Food Matters staff invited to deliver lectures including the guest lecture at Johns Hopkins University, sharing insights on collaborative food governance and the role of local food partnerships.

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Awards and Conference

In October, the Sustainable Food Places Network came together in Birmingham to celebrate over a decade of brilliant work and an ever-growing membership. Attended by over 100 people from all four nations, the conference programme of workshops and talks focused on community priorities driving local food partnership action and influencing national policies. Themes included amplifying community voices, better representation in food partnership work, celebrating diversity , supporting partnerships to become financially sustainable , and growing the network.

Golds

Cambridge – awarded Gold for its pioneering work on climate, biodiversity and food justice.

Middlesborough – the first city in the north of England to receive a Gold award.

The SFP conference is always full of vibrant conversations, and this year was no exception. Food partnerships brought forth ideas about how their influence can be enhanced through collective and regional work, how to enhance work with academics, and how the essential work of food partnerships can be better recognised and valued across the UK.

The Food Matters team facilitated a participatory workshop on the future governance of the SFP network, exploring how partnerships can work together more effectively at a national level, and led a session sharing insights from the Race, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI for Change) programme, highlighting practical steps for embedding equity and inclusion in local food systems work.

Our director had the pleasure of presenting to the conference audience the amazing achievements of 17 award winners this year, with an unprecedented three gold awards, four silver and 10 bronze.

Cardiff – recognized for its outstanding work on school meal provision.

Silver

Bury, Lewisham, Fife and Torfaen.

Bronze

Across all four nations great things are happening: from Cornwall to Swansea, to Belfast and back across the Irish sea to Clackmannanshire.

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Cambridge: Gold Case Study - The city has embedded sustainable food into
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Cambridge: Gold Case Study - The city has embedded sustainable food into council strategies, university and hospital policies, and community action, leading the way with bold steps such as phasing in plant-based catering, supporting agroecological growing, reducing food waste, and banning single-use plastics at events. Through the Cambridge Food Poverty Alliance and eight Community Food Hubs, the city has reframed food insecurity as a Right to Food issue, moving beyond emergency aid towards long-term, affordable and sustainable access to good food. With strong leadership, collaboration across sectors, and active involvement from residents, businesses and volunteers, Cambridge has created a model of systemic change that tackles climate, health and inequality together.

Campaign Work

This year 77 SFP network members rallied for the annual day of action in Westminster to voice their experiences and stories to 70+ MPs, demonstrating how they have provided resilient and long-term solutions to some of the most pressing issues in our food system, including food insecurity, supply chain disruption, inequity, and the global climate, health and nature emergencies.

Food Partnerships from across the UK took the opportunity to call on the new Labour Government to support the establishment of a funded and resourced Local Food Partnership in every local authority, alongside a food strategy endorsed by the local authority, and a Good Food Bill in every nation (already in place in Scotland).

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A Guide to County Food Partnerships

We know that the work of a food partnership is always unique to its particular area, and no two food partnerships are the same. But the work of county food partnerships often looks different to city food partnerships – they have different political systems, nature and landscape context, stakeholders, and identities to those in cities. Given the present drive towards more political devolution and the opportunities for local food partnerships to play a leading role in local food systems policy development, the SFP programme developed a comprehensive guide for County Food Partnerships, providing advice to those starting or already delivering county food partnerships on how to make them a success.

Out and About

We presented and facilitated at a variety of events including Worthing Food Partnership summit, Lewes Food Summit, Nottingham City Food Partnership development, and the City St George’s (London University) Food Symposium.

We attended a range of conferences during the year including the Oxford Real Farming Conference, the launch of Professor Tim Lang’s report on Food Resilience for the National Preparedness Commission, The RACE (Racial Action for the Climate Emergency) Report, and Sustain’s Good Food Local conference.

Good Food Governance

Increasing DEI in Food Partnerships in Wales

Between January and April this year we worked with Food Sense Wales to support food partnerships across Wales in strengthening their focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and embedding more inclusive approaches in their work. We began by designing and delivering a DEI baseline survey across the Welsh food partnership network to better

understand current levels of representation, participation, and inclusion. The findings helped to identify gaps, highlight good practice, and inform future training and resources to ensure food partnerships reflect and engage the full diversity of the communities they serve. This work lays the foundation for longer-term efforts to build equity and inclusion into the heart of food systems change in Wales as we continue this work into next year.

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Lambeth Food Partnership (LFP)

Works to create a food system where everybody in Lambeth can eat well and make food choices that nourish themselves, their community and the environment

Is based on the principles of food justice including equitable access to food which is culturally appropriate and nutritious

Strives to be inclusive and relevant, with workstreams that reflect the needs and issues faced by the diverse communities in Lambeth

Has sustainability at its core – responding to emergency food situations (such as supporting emergency food hub provision during Covid) whilst long term the goal is for food system transformation

Lambeth Food Partnership in southeast London continued to grow, widening participation and reach. The partnership works with the local authority, the community and food systems stakeholders to lead a boroughwide food systems approach delivering innovative, progressive work, and this year was recognised in Sustain’s Good Food Local: The London report 2024 as one of three top boroughs with a 93% score.

development of an Affordable Food Group, which helps emergency food providers and surplus food / waste prevention organisations to coordinate and raise awareness of work taking place across the borough supporting communities with food access needs.

With funding from Lambeth Public Health and the Greater London Authority Food Roots Programme, we have been able to facilitate the coordination and development of the partnership on issues including good food governance, community food growing, school food, and public food procurement. This year has seen the partnership develop a number of projects including the neighbourhood project Food Five Ways , which has had a busy year running consultations, mapping the community food infrastructure and fundraising.

The LFP Coordinator has been involved in a number of learning and exchange programmes, including with the EuroCities-funded project Food Trails, integrating learning from a trip to Madeira about how the Funchal local food system operates. The LFP has also facilitated a number of cross-borough food project learning visits. The food partnership is developing a small grants scheme for next year.

Feedback from partnership members saw the

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Food Roots – LFP

Lambeth Food Partnership received additional funding as part of the Food Roots 2 GLA-funded programme. This funding enabled additional work across the borough to increase the visibility of the Healthy Start

scheme. The work focussed on both increasing uptake of Healthy Start vouchers and increasing the number of retailers accepting the vouchers. The work also involved external training and wraparound support.

Wakefield District Good Food Partnership

We continued to support the fledgling Good Food Partnership in Wakefield District by providing expert advice on good

food governance, partnership development and supporting their launch event which took

place in the summer and was a great success. The steering group have developed a comprehensive work plan based on the outcomes of the launch event. Membership continues to increase as the partnership grows in reach and recognition.

Good Food Infrastructure

Food Roots 2

Food Matters has worked with the Social Investment Consultancy TSIC, Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, and First Love Foundation to deliver Food Roots 2: Learning and Support Programme. Food Matters led the work on training, facilitation, peer support, and buddying to support 21 food partnerships in London.

This iteration of the GLA-funded programme has a more specific focus on responses to food insecurity and less on longer term sustainable food systems. Food Matters’ role has been to design and deliver facilitated workshops, one-to-ones, and Action Learning Sets, through a whole systems approach lens.

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Work this year included:

The Food Roots programme has strengthened London’s food partnerships, enabling local organisations to collaborate more effectively, unlock funding, and influence policy, build more resilient, community-driven food systems, and laid the groundwork for longer-term change.

Key achievements this year include:

’It has been a fantastic level of support, financially, emotionally and networking’

‘The Food Roots programme has given me so much more clarity on elements of project management and good practice’

Food Roots 2 participants

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East Sussex Food Systems Mentoring Programme

This year East Sussex Public Health commissioned Food Matters to design and deliver an education and mentoring programme for East Sussex Public Health team, to strengthen approaches to facilitating and influencing food systems work across East Sussex, and to support a whole systems approach to food policy work across the council.

Newham Head of Food Strategy, and the Faculty of Public Health Food SIG (Special Interest Group) Chair, presenting and delivering taught sessions including ‘big picture’ food systems ideas and concepts and how they translate to public health and local authority level. The programme also includes ‘policy in practice’ sessions and one-to-one mentoring support.

The programme has included external expert speakers and policy advocates from across the food policy landscape, including Head of Food Systems Policy at DEFRA, School Food Matters Chief Executive, London Borough of

We believe this programme is a first and are keenly evaluating the pilot. If successful we aim to work with other public health organisations across the country.

‘This programme has given me the opportunity to engage in collective problem solving and considering how [Food systems] principles may apply to other areas of our work.’

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Fundamentals of Facilitation

Food Matters uses innovative facilitation and participation approaches, both nationally and locally, in many contexts. 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.

Facilitation and participation approaches are central to Food Matters’ activities, part of our core working practice. We put these skills to use in developing and facilitating workshops and major events for our own and our partners’ projects. 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 has worked with a range of local and national organisations, including:

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Food & Criminal Justice (F&CJ)

This was a busy year for our work on prison food reform.

Prisons have been in the headlines, though not for positive reasons, with critical overcrowding, ongoing staff shortages, rising violence between prisoners and towards staff, and a drug epidemic creating increasingly volatile unsafe environments – none of which is conducive to a rehabilitative culture.

With this continued need for crisis management, work on food may seem a low priority. Nevertheless, our work on food and mental wellbeing in prisons continues to demonstrate how good food policy and food activities can contribute positively to addressing some of the sector’s structural problems – as demonstrated in our Food Matters in Prisons report (published January 2024). Good food reduces harm and violent behaviour and contributes to safer, calmer environments enabling rehabilitative activities to flourish.

Food Matters’ whole systems approach to food in prison

Food Matters works directly with people serving sentences as well as with staff working in catering, food procurement, education, and health. This includes delivering healthy eating support and materials through wellbeing newsletters, in-cell learning, workshops, cooking courses, practical toolkits, and peer mentoring schemes; and providing staff training sessions and consultancy to catering and food procurement services.

Policy Work

We continued to campaign for the food served in prisons to be better resourced (currently prisons have on average £2.70 to spend on food per prisoner per day), to be healthier, and to be more than just about the food cooked in a prison’s central kitchen. We argue that food should be central to rehabilitation rather than merely a drain on prison budgets.

Working towards this, we have run a series of webinars and published blogs on our website looking in more detail at topics covered in Food Matters in Prisons. The webinars, by subject experts, covered issues including ‘Food as part of a rehabilitative culture in prisons’; ‘Good Food, Good Practice’, which focussed on catering and healthy eating promotion in prisons; and issues around food

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in womens’ prisons. The webinar series reached over 150 professionals, from a broad range of organisations including Ministry of Justice, HMPPS, prison governors, prison catering staff, physical education staff, health services (including mental health), people with relevant lived experience and people

working in the voluntary sector, academia and probation services.

Our webinar series will continue next year, starting with a focus on growing food in prisons.

Face to Face Courses

This year has seen Food Matters staff run more face-to-face Food Matters Inside and Out courses, including at HMP Send, working with the PIPE wing and ISFL.

Psychologically Informed Planned Environments (PIPEs) aim to provide a supportive environment that helps offenders develop better social and relational skills, ultimately assisting them in their rehabilitation and transition back into the community.

Incentivised Substance Free Living (ISFL) wings allow prisoners who demonstrate through regular testing that they are not misusing drugs to receive support and treatment to live substance-free in designated areas of the prison.

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A day in the life of ….

Food Matters Nutritionist describes her experiences of working with vulnerable women in prison

Flexibility is essential in prison sessions, as participants bring a range of emotions and experiences each week. Group dynamics can vary – from cohesive to challenging – but navigating this while sharing information is both demanding and rewarding. Each group is unique, and we value the unexpected conversations that arise.

In one session, the group reflected on the novelty of knowing exactly what’s in their meals—an empowering experience in prison. An activity focusing on sugar was impactful; it helped participants visualise their intake, leading one woman to reduce sugar in her tea from three tablespoons to none after understanding its effect on mood and energy. Though she was hesitant to share, the group’s encouragement made her feel supported.

We explored with the group the complex relationship between food and guilt, the limits of willpower, and how adjusting the food environment can support healthier choices. The group also discussed reframing failure as learning and worked together to set realistic goals and plan habit changes.

In the first cooking session participants prepared chicken fajitas (with a tofu option), discussing food safety beforehand. When eating together, conversation turned to food, identity, and commensality. The joy of cooking and eating together was deeply felt – especially meaningful given recent restrictions on kitchen use due to a security incident. Even the Prison Officer noted how special the experience was.

The women asked insightful questions and showed a clear shift in focus from just food preparation to understanding and applying what they learned. Seeing their growth was a highlight and testament to the PIPE programme. ‘Sally’* said in the final session,

“This is the best thing I’ve ever done in prison.”

May 2024

*name changed

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Her and His Wellbeing Magazines provide information to support wellbeing, with a food focus, to people serving custodial sentences. Developed during the Covid pandemic for people in custody, they aim to be practical, fun, accessible, action-focused and beautifully designed. The magazines continue to be an important source of evidence-based information about food, nutrition, diet and other activities, both to support health and mental wellbeing for people while they serve their sentences and to encourage food choices for good health when they are back in the community.

His Wellbeing

We continued producing His Wellbeing digital, a publication supporting the health and mental wellbeing of men in prison, which is available on the prison estate’s digital incell devices.

We work with HMPPS digital Creator Content Studios, which offer workshops and employment skills training for prisoners, to produce an interactive digital version of both His Wellbeing and Her Wellbeing. This collaboration has meant our reach and impact have expanded from providing food, diet and health content to developing employment skills.

Through a working partnership with Coracle, one of the prison service’s commercial digital providers, our resources and materials are now much more widely available, currently

via 2500 in-cell devices in 83 prisons in addition to the Virtual Campus platform which is available to people in education and workshops. This year we continued to work with the digital teams at HMPPS to make more of our resources available on digital devices and to obtain more statistics on usage to support the development of even more relevant resources and content.

There are plans next year to produce a His Wellbeing community version to be sent out as an e-newsletter, similar to Her Wellbeing.

Her Wellbeing

We continue to publish and distribute Her Wellbeing in printed version to all but one women’s prison, reaching 3000+ women. Three editions have appeared this year, with features on yoga, daylight, green prescribing for mental wellbeing, and food growing in prisons. Issue 25 included a reader survey with questions on both the printed and digital versions of the magazine.

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Her Wellbeing Survey

Survey responses overwhelmingly (75%) demonstrated that Her Wellbeing continues to provide much needed, engaging content that exposes readers to new ways of thinking about their health and lifestyle.

‘This is an amazing project with so much potential to provide opportunities to learn, focus and improve wellbeing, thank you indeed.’

The quality of writing, the design and layout are marked out and are highly rated, with attention to accessibility and literacy levels in prisons also appreciated.

Issues around lack of access to kitchen equipment and time out of doors featured heavily, posing challenges for readers who wanted to try the recipes and exercise/wellbeing routines. While some had access to a ‘ Full Kitchen’ , others had ‘ None - nothing apart from water machines’ .

‘I like how photos are used as well as text so even people who struggle to read can do the yoga exercises.’

However, despite these challenges many of our readers had managed to implement what they had learned from reading Her Wellbeing and felt supported by the publication.

‘I briefly started yoga when I was a teen and stopped for a while so since reading Her Wellbeing it’s got me doing it again which I love’

‘Thanks to bringing little positive waves in my life here!’

Quotes from 2025 Survey respondents

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The Feel Good Food Club

A distance learning programme supporting prisoners’ mental health and physical wellbeing through food-related in-cell activities. Designed for anyone serving a custodial sentence, it is a positive option for the more hard-to-reach individuals who would not normally engage with education services.

This programme was initially developed as a paper-based resource during Covid to support women in custody. This year we have been working with Coracle to pilot a digital version for laptops in prisons. Early results are encouraging; this work will continue into next year.

Inside Time Newspaper

We contributed a monthly column to Inside Time, the weekly online and monthly printed national newspaper for prisoners and detainees, and also continue to advise the editor on food and nutrition matters. Articles this year ranged from the latest research about milk, the health benefits of apples, seeds as superfoods, and seasonal berries.

‘Dear [Food Matters], love reading your articles, couldn’t help but write to tell you that your ‘Nutrient Powerhouses’ on Flax & Chia seeds etc. has completely changed my eating habits...So, thank you for being a part in my learning-curve.’

- Prisoner Letter

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Young People

Food Hits Different (FHD)

Rethinking Health Messaging with Young People

This year we have worked collaboratively with young people to launch an innovative pilot programme, Food Hits Different (FHD). Unhealthy food messaging is overwhelming. The problem is twofold: big food companies dominate advertising, pushing junk food with tremendous force through every available channel, while the money and capacity invested into health and wellbeing messaging can’t compete and often struggles to cut through. When it does, it doesn’t necessarily appeal to young people or feel relevant to their lives.

FHD offers young people the space and confidence to voice their experiences of food and engage in conversations about what support they need to make more informed food choices. They can then go on to create meaningful and relevant food messages that resonate with their realities, pressures, and motivations. The Food Matters Nutrition and Comms teams collaborated on this project in partnership with a range of youth support organisations, including Clocktower Sanctuary, The Food Foundation, Team Domenic, Allsorts, Young Person’s Centre, and Friends, Families and Travellers.

We were able to pilot the programme in an online workshop with the Food Foundation young food ambassadors. This helped us to appreciate the experiences of young people from historically marginalised backgrounds when they access nutrition and health advice. And to better understand what they're drawn to; what barriers they might have to engaging with this content; whether their experiences feel represented; and what they'd like to see more.

Based on what we heard and through further conversation and ideas, a cohort of young people were supported to create short-form video content for social media platforms that reflects their and their peers’ experiences of food & health.

This project continues into next year with face-to-face courses working with young people engaged through the Youth Participation Team, The Wild Mind’s Projects, Friends, Family and Travellers, Hummingbird, the Salvation Army Housing Association supported housing, and the Leaving Care Team.

‘Thank you so much for this webinar as it helped me learning a lot about health and wellness, it was very interesting to hear about the different aspects too.’

Focus Group Participant

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Working Locally

Brighton & Hove Food Partnership

Food Matters continued this year to provide facilitation services for ongoing meetings and planning sessions, has provided line management support, and our director chairs the board of directors. Working with B&HFP and CommunityWorks, we have also been providing facilitation services for planning sessions for the development of more local food partnerships across the Sussex region.

Food Use Places

Food Use Places is a partnership project led by the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership, aiming to tackle food and packaging waste by working with 16 community organisations across East Sussex. The project seeks to create a “food use mindset” that minimises food’s impact on the climate and embeds sustainable practices into everyday community food work. The project works with the least heard communities across the city.

Food Matters’ role is to lead on partnership learning and engagement across all partners. Over the past year, we delivered a series of participatory workshops to co-develop the project with community members, ensuring the approach reflects their experiences and priorities. We also facilitated all-partner meetups, creating spaces for collaboration, peer learning, and the exchange of practical solutions for reducing food and packaging waste.

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Communications

Generally, this year we have focussed our efforts on fewer platforms, aiming to use them more effectively. To this end, we organised a 'customer mapping journey' to help us rebrand and promote our Communications, Evaluation, and Facilitation programmes to wider audiences.

Comms in Stats

– This year we added a 20-year celebration page to the website 20 years old in 2024 (foodmatters.org) – which documented our role in creating the first fully independent food partnership in the UK; and in the design and implementation of several innovative programmes including Sustainable Food Places which now has a network of over 120 food partnerships, the Rose Vouchers for Fruit and Veg, Healthy Start reforms, and Food Matters Inside and Out a groundbreaking prison food reform programme to name a few. Our celebration logo was implemented across our social media platforms. The website also now includes a page dedicated to Equality Diversity and Inclusion. We continue to develop the website’s readability and improve searchability.

We published five blogs , covering a range of topics from participatory processes to the launch of a new project, Food Hits Different, and Food in Prisons webinars

Our LinkedIn presence has grown dramatically, reaching over 1000 followers and continuing to rise.

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To tap into social media platforms relevant to our young people’s project work we set up an I nstagram account. We have generated 73 posts, attracted 356 followers and continue refining the balance between photos, infographics and videos.

The Food Matters Newsletter readership has continued to grow, with 352 active subscribers.

Financial Review

For the year ended 31 March 2025 total incoming resources amounted to £302,923 a 17% decrease on the previous year. The expenditure for 2024-25 was £291,429 a 4% 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 2025 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 surpass the nominated amount and are adequate to ensure the charity was able to meet all current, known and some estimated possible future liabilities.

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.

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Structure, Governance and Management

Food Matters registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 24th April 2018. The charity is governed by its Constitution. The Trustees have 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 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 2025 were:

Trustees during the financial year covered by this report: Tim Marsh (Chair) (re-elected 28/11/24) Colin Havard (Treasurer) (re-elected 28/11/24) Charlie Powell (resigned 27/02/2025) Kath Dalmeny (re-elected 28/11/24) Lindy Sharpe (re-elected 28/11/24) Sam Dyer (elected 28/11/24) Dain Robinson (elected 28/11/24) Rounaq Nayak (elected 28/11/24)

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 eight core members of staff and is governed by a board of seven trustees. Our work is also enhanced by a group of experienced and expert freelancers, and we recruit highquality volunteers to support our project work.

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.

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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 18th December 2025 and signed on its behalf, by:

Colin Havard, Treasurer of the Board of Trustees

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UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended March 2025

Food Matters Foundation

Legal and administrative information

Trustees

Ms K Dalmeny Mr T Marsh Mr C Havard Ms L Sharpe Mr C Powell (resigned 27/02/2025) Dain Grace Robinson nee Son (Appointed 28 November 2024) Samantha Mary Ward Dyer MBE (Appointed 28 November 2024) Dr Rounaq Sanjay Nayak (Appointed 28 November 2024)

Charity number

Principle address

Independent examiner

1178078 Community Base 113 Queens Road Brighton BN1 3XG Woodgate Accounting Services Unit 43 Newhaven Enterprise Centre Newhaven BN9 9BA

Accountants

West & Berry Limited Nile House Nile Street Brighton BN1 1HW

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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 2025.

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

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BN9 9BA 20 January 2026 Dated......................................

Statement of Financial Activities including income and expenditure account For the year ended 31 March 2025

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

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

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Balance Sheet As at 31 March 2025

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 18 December 2025

Mr C Havard Trustee

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Notes to the financial statement For the year ended 31 March 2025

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.

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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

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.

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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.

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.

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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.

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

Payments 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.

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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Notes to the financial statement (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025

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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.

The trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.

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.

Objectives

  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. 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. 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.

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