North Cotswold Foodbank
TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT
For period 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025
Reference and Administrative Details
Charity name: North Cotswold Foodbank Registered charity number: 1181310 (CIO) Principal address: Unit 2, Glebe Farm Buildings, Guiting Power, Cheltenham, GL54 5TZ Charity trustees: Garry Dick (Chair) Louise Goll (Safeguarding Lead) Jenny Jones (Health and Safety Lead) Gill Donovan Jonathan Brown (Resigned 28 November 2025) Mike Sibthorpe Lucye Deacon
Independent examiner: Daimien McConnell FCCA For and on behalf of William Hinton Limited Ross House The Square Stow on the Wold Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL54 1AF Employees: Kevin Carden (Manager) Lorna Shawcross (Assistant Manager) Karen Dean (Referral Agency Liaison) Dean Snuggs (Warehouse Manager)
Structure, Governance and Management
Constitution
The North Cotswold Foodbank (‘NCFB’) became a CIO in 2018 and its governing document is its constitution. It was originally registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales in November 2012 as an Unincorporated Charity.
Organisational Structure and Decision Making
Overall responsibility for North Cotswold Foodbank sits with the trustees, who meet quarterly to receive reports and review the strategy and objectives of North Cotswold Foodbank and ensure all relevant governance requirements and standards are upheld.
The board of trustees also holds, in addition to its quarterly meetings, regular virtual meetings to ensure it is responsive to the needs of the operations team. Decisions are taken by majority voting, the chairperson having a casting vote. Three trustees are required for a meeting to be quorate. All scheduled meetings during 2025 were quorate.
New trustees are appointed by existing trustees acting in accordance with Charity Commission guidelines and Sections 9 and 10 of the charity’s constitution dated 02 November 2018. North
Cotswold Foodbank follows a clear agreed recruitment process that is fair, inclusive and nondiscriminatory. Recruitment criteria are focused on the requirements of skill and experience to strengthen the board, and to maintain a balance sympathetic to the Christian ethos on which the charity was established. After an initial interview, new trustees are voted into role by the existing board initially for a 3-year tenure.
The charity maintains a range of policies to comply with governance, including safeguarding, health and safety, and finance. North Cotswold Foodbank has a rolling program of review and sign off, to ensure our policies are in line with both governmental and the Charity Commission’s requirements.
North Cotswold Foodbank serves a largely rural area of over 200 square miles. Its seven publicfacing outlets operate in Bishops Cleeve, Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Campden, Moretonin-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold and Winchcombe. These outlets are supplied by a central warehouse in Guiting Power
There are four part-time paid members of staff, employed as the Foodbank Manager, Assistant Manager, Referral Agencies and Warehouse Manager. Those staff are assisted by our team of approximately 100 trained and dedicated volunteers.
Day-to-day operational decisions are delegated to a Steering Group that meets four times a year. This group is led by the Foodbank Manager and attended by available employees and leading personnel from each of the foodbank’s seven outlets.
Objectives & Activities
North Cotswold Foodbank’s charitable objectives are the prevention and relief of poverty in the Cotswold District and Tewkesbury Borough through the provision of grants, items, and services to individuals and other organisations working to prevent or relief poverty; and the prevention and relief of poverty elsewhere in the UK by working with other Foodbank charities to distribute surplus food stock. The activities of the foodbank are reviewed regularly by the trustees to ensure they are compliant with and furthering these purposes.
The vision of North Cotswold Foodbank is – “Working in partnership with our local communities to relieve personal hardship by providing access to the basic essentials and support”.
The foodbank receives support for its services from Trussell under the terms of a franchise agreement. Under the terms of this agreement the foodbank has agreed to orient its strategic goals towards ending the need for its service, to involve people with lived experience of foodbank use in all aspects of the foodbank’s activities and to uphold Trussell’s organisational values of compassion, justice, dignity and community.
Main Activities
The principal activity of the charity is the provision of emergency food to those in need, who are referred to the NCFB by local organisations (termed ‘referral agencies’) and care professionals. The charity employs a part-time referral agency liaison member of staff who continues to make a significant positive impact on our relationship with local referral agencies and their understanding of the referral process.
NCFB also provides non-food support in the form of cleaning products, toiletries, sanitary products, pet food and SIM cards. Also, we have been able to offer our clients extra items such as vouchers for fresh meat and vegetables and bread and eggs when available.
Furthermore, North Cotswold Foodbank has partnered with the Fuel Bank Foundation
(registered charity no. 1175049) to support those clients facing issues arising from increased fuel costs.
Signposting and Citizens Advice Support
Importantly, for the public benefit, in addition to our principal activities North Cotswold Foodbank works in partnership with Citizens Advice Stroud & Cotswold Districts (registered charity no. 1096398) and North West Gloucestershire Citizens Advice (registered charity no. 1091891), to address the causes of hardship by providing signposting, advice and active support to clients, facing housing, benefits, debt management and other challenges.
Our funding of that service has been supported throughout 2025 by medium-term grants which we have been successful in obtaining from the Trussell with an approximate per annum value of £100,000. Those grants have enabled dedicated CA advisors to be present on a weekly basis at all our outlets and specialist debt advisors to provide office-based support. The total cost of providing those services in 2025 was £127,939.
Public Benefit
Throughout the year, the trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on the public benefit when exercising any powers or duties in circumstances where the guidance is
relevant.
Achievements and Performance
During 2025 North Cotswold Foodbank provided 1,794 nutritionally balanced emergency food parcels to members of our communities facing hardship, broadly in line with 2024 (1,788 Parcels). Those parcels helped 2,795 adults and 1,643 children, a total of 4,438 individuals.
To supplement those food parcels, vouchers for fresh meat, together with fresh fruit and vegetables were provided with a total value of approximately £18,000.
NCFB received (via donations and purchases) and distributed approximately 43,000kg of food with an approximate value of £141,000 (based on £3.28/kg). In addition to regular food donations, eight collection days were held across two local Tesco stores and Harvest Festival Collections took place at numerous local schools and churches. The vast majority of the food distributed came from public donations, supplemented with provisions purchased having a cost of approximately £25,000.
To help families with the particularly high costs at Christmas NCFB supplied 220 Christmas Hampers, containing all the necessary components to create a festive dinner, such as tinned soup, salmon and ham, mince pies, cake, Christmas pudding with custard and even the napkins and Christmas crackers. Families were also provided with Argos gift cards to ensure the children we support received a gift at Christmas.
216 clients were supported by our Citizens Advice Partners in 2025, helping some of those individuals to successfully move on from requiring foodbank support.
Strategic Plan
In November 2025 the Trustees and volunteers held a Strategy ‘away day’, to review and update the NCFB Strategy over the next two to three years.
The key elements of that Strategic Plan remained as:
• Strengthening our Governance
-
Securing our Resources
-
Delivering Basic Essentials
-
Building Partnerships
-
Improving Communications
-
Fundraising
As a result of discussions on that day, the Trustees and Operations team launch a project to assess the feasibility of developing support a hub or hubs, in conjunction with partners, to provide holistic support and advice in “one place”. The virtual monthly interim trustee meetings, introduced in 2024 continued ensuring actions were progressed effectively between scheduled quarterly trustee meetings.
The review and updating of policies commenced in 2024 was continued and completed in 2025, along with the updating of the Policy Register.
Receipt of Grants
During 2025 NCFB applied for and was successful in obtaining grants to support the charity’s activities including from Trussell, Gloucestershire County Council, Cotswold District Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council and the Co-op.
Financial Review
A budget for 2025 was drawn up in late 2024 by a team consisting of the Treasurer, two Trustees and the Foodbank Manager, which was then approved by the full Board of Trustees.
An updated Finance, Reserves and Investment Policy was approved on 20 August 2025 requiring minimum reserves of £100,000 to be held.
Furthermore, the policy requires that whilst maintaining sufficient working capital within our Lloyds Bank current account, any additional reserves should be invested across a number of institutions, approved by the UK Prudential Regulation Authority, with a maximum of £85000 being invested which each institution, to ensure funds are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
2024 saw an increase in the Total Capital and Assets held by NCFB of £3,062 to £312,008, which was principally due to some exceptional donations. The result is that the foodbank’s finances remain in a healthy state and we, the Trustees, remain confident in being able to fulfill the charity’s commitments to those who rely on its support, both now and for the foreseeable future.
Signed
Garry Dick Chair of Trustees
North Cotswold Food Bank
Registered Charity No 1181310
ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2025
North Cotswold Food Bank Unit 2 Glebe Farm Buildings Guiting Power GL54 5TZ
North Cotswold Food Bank
Registered Charity No 1181310
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees
Accounts for the Year Ended 31st December 2025
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner.
As the charity's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that the audit requirements of section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act) do not apply. It is my responsibility to state, on the basis of procedures specified in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners under section 43(7)(b) of the Act, whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of Independent examiner's report.
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking an explanation from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent examiner's statement.
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements have not been met.
To keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act. And to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the Act.
Signed:
Date: 22/4/26
Daimien McConnell FCCA For and on behalf of William Hinton Limited
Ross House The Square Stow on the Wold Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL54 1AF
North Cotswold Food Bank
Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2025
Income and Expenditure Account
| Notes Turnover Donations Gift Aid Interest received Exceptional Donations Total Income Cost of Sales Direct Expenses Provision - Veg Provisions - Other Provisions - Meat Total Cost of Sales Gross Profit Administrative Costs Salaries Employers National Insurance North & West CAB Stroud CAB Depreciation Expenses General Expenses Insurance IT Software and Consubables Light, Power, Heating Motor Vehicle Expenses Pensions Costs Printing & Stationery Rates Telephone & Internet Travel - National Total Administration Costs Operating Profit Profit on Ordinary Activities Before Taxation Profit After Taxation |
2025 £ 121,732 5,313 1,883 148,502 277,430 0 4,319 24,790 13,420 42,529 234,901 86,153 1,500 50,144 77,795 0 1,551 1,622 2,537 1,817 1,799 781 1,100 0 495 4,545 231,839 3,062 3,062 3,062 |
2024 £ 127,877 11,693 138 107,184 |
|---|---|---|
| 246,892 | ||
| 5,856 15,694 13,006 17,598 |
||
| 52,154 | ||
| 194,738 | ||
| 79,394 745 33,975 43,952 0 2,853 1,540 648 804 2,269 612 2,275 0 905 4,715 |
||
| 174,687 | ||
| 20,051 | ||
| 20,051 | ||
| 20,051 |
North Cotswold Food Bank
Balance Sheet as at 30th June 2025
| Notes Fixed Assets Less Accumulated Depreciation on Office Equipment Office Equipment Total Tangible Assets Current Assets Debtors (Prepayments) Cash at Bank and in Hand 2 Total Current Assets Current Liabilities Net Current Assets (Liabilities) Total Assets Less Current Liabilities Net Assets Capital and Reserves Current Year Earnings Retained Earnings Total Capital and Reserves Signed - Treasurer Date : 22/04/26 |
2025 £ (515) 515 - 530 337,306 337,836 (25,828) 312,008 312,008 312,008 3,062 308,946 312,008 |
2024 £ (515) 515 |
|---|---|---|
| - 530 308,416 |
||
| 308,946 308,946 308,946 |
||
| 308,946 | ||
| 20,051 288,895 |
||
| 308,946 | ||
For and on behalf of the Trustees of the Charity
North Cotswold Food Bank
Notes to the Accounts for the Year ended 31st December 2025
1. Accounting Policies
These accounts have been prepared under the historic cost convention and in accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Statement of Recommended Practice (Accounting and Reporting by Charities) 2005 and the Charities Act 1993 Part VI.
There have been no changes to the accounting policies (valuation rules and methods of accounting) since last year.
No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
| 2. Cash at Bank and in Hand Hampshire Trust Bank Lloyds current Lloyds deposit Cambridge & County 3. Trustees' Remuneration No benefits or remuneration were paid or are payable out of the funds of the charity directly or indirectly to any Trustee. 4. Related Party Transactions No benefits or remuneration were paid or are payable out of the funds of the charity directly or indirectly to any related party of any Trustee. |
2025 50,454 104,978 101,874 80,000 337,306 - - |
2024 £ 10,445 297,971 - - |
|---|---|---|
| 308,416 | ||
| - | ||
| - |