2022-12-31-accounts - Epping Forest Foodbank

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EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Charity Registration Number: 1182270

Annual Report and Accounts 31 December 2022

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Annual Report and Accounts 2022 Contents

	Page
Legal & Administrative Information	2
Annual Report of the Trustees	3
Independent Examiner’s Report	6
Receipts & Payments Account	7
Statement of Assets & Liabilities	8
Notes to the Accounts	9

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Legal & Administrative Information For the year ended 31 December 2022

Charity Name	Epping Forest Foodbank.
Principal Address	38c Chigwell Lane, Loughton, IG10 3NY.
Charity Registration	1182270. The charity was registered with the Charity Commission on 28 February 2021.
The Governing Document	CIO Foundation.
Objects	To relieve persons in Epping Forest district and surrounding areas that are in financial
	hardship in such ways as the trustees from time to time think fit, in particular but not
	exclusively by:
	A) providing emergency food, essential toiletries, and household items to individuals and
	families in need and/or distribution by charities or other organizations working to
	prevent or relieve poverty.
	B) such other means, including (but not limited to) the provision of support, or
	signposting to relevant information and other advisory service, or through 'more than
	food' projects which remain consistent with the primary objective of the charity and
	to provide such services with a Christian ethos, supported by churches in Epping
	Forest district.
Trustees	The Trustees who served during the year or who were serving at the date of this report
	were:
	Julian Dutnall
	Christopher Russell Blackham
	Jenny Ann Thompson
	Zach Cook
	Sharon Heather
	Sarah Opie
	Rashni Chalal-Holden (appointed 13 July 2022)
Bankers	CAF Bank Ltd
	25 Kings Hill Avenue
	Kings Hill
	West Malling
	Kent, ME19 4JQ
Independent Examiner	John Helm ACA
	Tandem Accounting Limited
	17 Heathville Road
	London N19 3AL

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Trustees Report For the year ended 31 December 2022

The Trustees submit their annual report and accounts of Epping Forest Foodbank (“the Charity”) for the year ended 31 December 2022. The legal and administrative information set out earlier in this document forms part of this report.

1. Structure, Governance & Management

There are six trustees who meet quarterly.

2. Activities

The Trustees have given due regard to the Charity Commissions’ guidance on public benefit. During the year the Charity carried out the following activities in the local neighbourhood and to benefit the community:

The Charity operates in the Epping Forest District. Of those referred, the majority are residents within 27 Epping Forest wards with others being supported in 21 wards outside the District and those with no fixed address.
Customers are referred by statutory, charity and community organisations based in the advice, criminal justice, DWP, educational, faith, health and mental health, local government and social welfare sectors.
• The foodbank operates weekly distribution centres at The Epping Community Hub, St. Mary’s Church in Loughton and St Johns on the Broadway in Debden. For customers for whom attendance at a distribution centre is not practical, food parcels are delivered to customers’ homes throughout the Epping Forest district by volunteers.
Customers receive a parcel of non-perishable food which is designed to provide for emergency rations for up to seven days. Additional fresh food is offered in partnership with FareShare, local supermarkets and bakeries.
• As well as providing food the Charity in partnership with statutory and other agencies, offers ‘signposting’ to direct customers to the appropriate agencies and resources to assist with their longer-term needs, and also offers spiritual support. The charity can also make referrals directly to other organisations that may be able to offer further support.
• In association with local schools, we run projects in the Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays to provide food and activity packs to families who receive free school meals during term time.
Surplus food is donated to Norway House, the district’s homeless shelter or offered to other foodbanks in the surrounding areas.
Packaging and food which is damaged or out of date when received are recycled.
In 2022 the charity had one full time and two part-time members of staff and services were provided by over 100 volunteers.

3. Achievements & Performance

The requirement for foodbank services has continued to grow through 2022 and we thank God and the Trussell Trust, Epping Forest District Council, the various charitable trusts, corporations, local businesses and community groups, churches, schools and many compassionate and generous individual donors and volunteers who have contributed to enable us, so far, to keep pace with the demand.

At the beginning of the year, we welcomed our new Director, Jacob Forman, and Operations Manager, Ceri Thomson. Our third staff member, Amy Perridge, was recruited in October to act as Church and Community Liaison and is being funded by the Trussell Trust. Amy was recently awarded ‘Highly Commended’ by Epping Forest District Council Community Champion for her active participation in several community schemes and projects. Led by Jacob we have been considering ways to enhance our service to better serve our customers. We have expanded the ‘Food in School Holidays’ (FISH) scheme to cover Christmas, Easter, and summer holidays and in 2023 we are developing partnerships with Voluntary Action Epping Forest to provide financial counselling services and with Better Housing Better Health to support those suffering fuel poverty.

We have begun utilising the “Frontline” system, this enables us to make referrals of our clients directly to other agencies that can provide further support. This includes Statutory agencies, Advice agencies and Healthcare providers.

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Trustees Report For the year ended 31 December 2022

In 2021 we received grants which were offered as support during the pandemic. These are no longer available but we have been encouraged by a rise in support from local business, both in financing and offering staff as volunteers.

The main business of the foodbank is to provide food to people who need it but are currently unable to provide for themselves. This is usually a temporary situation, for example the time between when a family falls into difficulties and when official welfare services are organised, but sometimes it is a longer-term state, such as insufficient earnings. The assistance we supply is nutritionally balanced food parcels, mostly tinned and dry foods, supplemented by fresh food donated by supermarkets and bakeries and other household necessities such as hygiene products and nappies. Over 85% of the food we distribute is donated by supermarkets and other food shops, churches, community groups, schools and individuals with the balance being bought with donated funds.

There was a small drop in the quantity of food donated in 2022, 37.7 tonnes compared to 40.6 in 2021, so we needed to increase the amount we purchased from 5.3 tonnes to 6.8. The number of referrals from our 150 partner agencies, excluding FISH, increased by 10.5%. Overall, we supplied over 45,000 meals to feed 5,054 hungry people.

The area we serve covers 339 km[2] including small towns and villages and more isolated properties. It is therefore difficult or expensive for many of our customers to attend at our distribution centres and deliveries to the doorstep which started during the pandemic continue to form a significant part of our service. For this we are thankful to volunteer drivers.

Thanks are due to Tesco’s for collecting food, to Gail’s Bakery and Morrison’s and Marks & Spencer for providing unsold fresh goods and to British Gas who assisted with summer food distributions. Thanks are also due to the many individuals, local churches, businesses and schools who generously donate financially and in kind.

We would like to recognise the following organisations from which we have received financial, practical and moral support during the year:

Schools:

Normanhurst School, Chingford, Bancrofts School, Woodford Green

Churches: St Mary’s and St Michael’s Churches in Loughton, Loughton Methodist Church, St Andrew’s, North Weald and St John’s, Buckhurst Hill

Community Organisations: Rotary Club of Epping, New Vistas, Buckhurst Hill Tennis Club, Shreeji Krupa Mandal, Voluntary Action Epping Forest

Businesses:

Tesco, Coca Cola, Bank of England, Debden, British Gas, FGD Solutions Ltd, MP Architects LLP, MW East Anglia Ltd, Kelbsco Ltd, Express Toughening Ltd, Baskin Walsh CCA

Trusts and Foundations: Trussell Trust, Joseph and Lilian Sully Foundation

Local Government:

Epping Forest District Council.

4. Financial Review

4.1 Financial Activity and Financial Position

The charity is funded by donations and grants, with the majority coming from individuals whose generosity on behalf of the less fortunate is to be commended.

In 2022 we received £10,000 in grants from Epping Forest District Council, £21,964 from the Trussell Trust and £5,000 from the Joseph and Lilian Sully Foundation, who have been regular supporters. £3,196 was received in donations from churches, £10,694 from corporations and local businesses, £3,979 from community groups and schools and £66,854 from individuals which enabled us to claim £10,748 in Gift Aid. At the end of the year, we had 124 regular donors giving £3,368 per month. Holiday Hunger projects cost £13,075. As the majority of our community work is to distribute donated food

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Trustees Report For the year ended 31 December 2022

the majority of our expenses are taken up with the costs of storage and organisation, warehouse rental and servicing costs amounted to £19,576 for the year. In order to meet the increased demand and to broaden our services we have employed a full-time director and two part time employees, one of whom is currently financed by the Trussell Trust under the Pathfinder programme. Gross staffing costs increased to £55,648. Total income came to £133,166 and expenditure to £98,843.

In 2023 we are partnering with Voluntary Action Epping Forest to provide financial counselling services and with Better Housing Better Health to support those suffering fuel poverty. For supporting a counsellor and for training we have budgeted £20,500.

The Charity’s cash resources increased by £ 34,323 during the year to £212,634.

4.2 Reserves Policy

The Trustees consider that, given the nature of the charity’s work, free reserves should be equivalent to approximately 6 months’ routine general fund expenditure, plus committed future expenditure on other projects, where funds permit. The Trustees are of the opinion that this provides sufficient flexibility to cover temporary shortfalls in incoming resources and will allow the Charity to cope and respond to unforeseen emergencies whilst specific action plans are implemented. At 31 December 2022 the Charity had net free reserves of £201,090 (2021: £178,052).

Total reserves Less: restricted funds Free reserves Free reserves requirement: 6 month’s budgeted routine expenditure	2022	2021
	£	£

	212,634	178,311
	(11,544)	(259)

	201,090	178,052


	75,000	40,000

5. Responsibilities of Trustees for the Accounts

Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare accounts for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year. The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. The Trustees also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities.

6. Approval

The report of the Trustees was approved by the Trustees on 18 June 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Julian Dutnall Chair of Trustees

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Independent Examiner’s Report For the year ended 31 December 2022

I report on the accounts of Epping Forest Foodbank for the year ended 31 December 2022, set out on pages 7 to 10.

This report is made solely to the Trustees in accordance with section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Act). My independent examination has been undertaken so that I might state to the Trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an independent examiner’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by the law, I do not accept responsibility to anyone other than the Trustees for my independent examination, for this report, or the opinions I have formed.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES AND EXAMINER

The Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this period (under section 144(2) of the Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Examine the accounts (under section 145 of the Act);
To follow the procedures laid down in the General Direction given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Act); and
To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

BASIS OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT

My examination was carried out in accordance with 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 explanations from the 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 accounts.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

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

accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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 accounts to be reached.

John Helm ACA 26 June 2023

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Receipts & Payments Account For the year ended 31 December 2022

Note Receipts Donations Income tax Grants Bank interest Total Receipts Payments Raising funds 2 Charitable activities 3 Other Total Payments Surplus/(deficit) Transfer between funds Total cash funds brought forward Total cash funds carried forward	Unrestricted Funds 2022 £ 84,723 10,748 20,000 731 116,202 2,528 90,636 - 93,164 23,038 - 178,052 201,090		Restricted Funds 2022 £ - - 16,964 - 16,964 - 5,679 - 5,679 11,285 - 259 11,544
				Total	Total
				2022	2021
				£	£

				84,723	75,667
				10,748	-
				36,964	31,000
				731	15


				133,166	106,682



				2,528	512
				96,315	62,905
				-	-


				98,843	63,417


				34,323	43,265

				-	-

				178,311	135,046


				212,634	178,311

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Statement of Assets & Liabilities As at 31 December 2022

Assets Tangible Assets Cash At Bank And In Hand Liabilities Total Assets Less Liabilities	Unrestricted Funds 2022 £ 11,129 201,090 212,219 - 212,219	Restricted Funds 2022 £ - 11,544 11,544 - 11,544
			Total	Total
			2022	2021
			£	£

			11,129	10,000
			212,634	178,311


			223,763	188,311

			-	600

			223,763	187,711

The Accounts were approved by the Trustees on 18 June, 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Julian Dutnall Chair of Trustees

Zachary Cook Trustee - Treasurer

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Notes to the Accounts For the year ended 31 December 2022

1. Accounting Policies

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis with a statement of assets and liabilities.

2. Payments – Raising Funds

2. Payments – Raising Funds
Bank fees Marketing	Unrestricted Funds 2022 £ 1,569 959 2,528	Restricted Funds 2022 £ - - 0
			Total	Total
			2022	2021
			£	£

			1,569	-
			959	512


			2,528	512

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Notes to the Accounts For the year ended 31 December 2022

3. Payments – Charitable Activities

Unrestricted Funds 2022 £ 46,067 3,031 546 444
	Total	Total
	2022	2021
	£	£

	51,627	22,202
	3,031	1,205
	546	800
	444	-

50,088 15,346 2,608 - -
	55,648	24,207

	15,465	12,466
	2,608	234
	-	280
	-	1,534

17,954 530 1,985 - 544 760 - 99
	18,073	14,514

	530	446
	1,985	950
	-	96
	544	97
	760	-
	-	2,169
	99	-

3,918 804 16,299 793
	3,918	3,758

	804	992
	16,299	17,918
	793	794

17,896 780
	17,896	19,704

	780	720

780
	780	720

90,636
	96,315	62,903

EPPING FOREST FOODBANK

Notes to the Accounts For the year ended 31 December 2022

4a. Restricted Funds (current year)

4a. Restricted Funds (current year)
Voluntary Action Epping Forest Winter Warmer scheme Food/essentials Pathfinder Bursary	At 1 January 2022 £ 140 119 - 259	Income £ Expenditure £ Transfers £ - - - - (119) - 16,964 (5,560) - 16,964 (5,679) 0	At 31
			December
				2022
				£


				140
				-
				11,404

				11,544

4b. Restricted Funds (Prior Year)

Voluntary Action Epping Forest Winter Warmer scheme Holiday Hunger (FISH) Food/essentials		At 1 January 2021 £ 140 - 1,066 1,206		Income £ Expenditure £ Transfers £ - - - 6,250 (7,783) 1,533 3,820 (4,983) 216 10,070 (12,766) 1,749	Income £ Expenditure £ Transfers £ - - - 6,250 (7,783) 1,533 3,820 (4,983) 216 10,070 (12,766) 1,749	Income £ Expenditure £ Transfers £ - - - 6,250 (7,783) 1,533 3,820 (4,983) 216 10,070 (12,766) 1,749	At 31	At 31
							December
								2021
								£


								140
								-
								119

								259

Voluntary Action Epping Forest Winter has a scheme (Winter Warmer) for giving credit for pre-payment meters for people in need. The process is that VAEF makes a grant to a partner organisation. A volunteer accompanies the client to top up a prepayment key.

5. Related Party Transactions

Caroline McDonald, a trustee until July 2021, is employed by St Mary’s Loughton. St Mary’s made donations to the charity of £1,967 during the year.

The Trustees gave a total of £1,844 (2021: nil) to the charity during the year.