Helping the homeless and vulnerable to find their next meal
ANNUAL REPORT
For year ending 5 April 2025.
Charity Name : Next Meal Registration Number : 1183114 Address : Muswell Hill Baptist Church, Dukes Avenue, Muswell Hill, London N10 Trustees : Alexander Michael Asam Ali resigned in 2024 Benjamin Woodhead Catherine Jane Barrett (secretary) Jonathan Charles Ashley-Norman KC Olalekan Oyewale Omiteru (treasurer) Bankers : Metro Bank
Muswell Hill Baptist Church, Dukes Avenue, Muswell Hill London N10 2PT Charity Registration Number 1183114 | Chief Executive Martin Stone www.nextmeal.co.uk
Next Meal : An Introduction.
Next Meal grew out of Muswell Hill Soup Kitchen in North London. Volunteers at the soup kitchen realised that just as smart phone technology can help users find their way to a cinema or a restaurant, so it might be adapted to direct the user to the nearest centre providing help and a hot meal. Out of this simple idea, Next Meal was born. A database was created into a website containing the locations of soup kitchens all around the UK and increasingly in cities outside the UK too. A simple card was produced signposting the website. The intention was to encourage a different conversation between a street homeless person, and the person who might otherwise be a passer-by. Using the website and a smart phone, directions to a place where help and food might be provided, alongside or instead of a coffee or a sandwich. Next Meal might also help the conversation between the street homeless and professionals whose work brings them into contact with them, for example the police, or council employees, medical professionals or people who run traffic infrastructure or other places where the street homeless might be encountered.
The database and the website were already well advanced when charitable status was achieved on 29 April 2019. During the first year the board of Trustees was established, and a funding partnership was achieved through Next Meal’s major funders, city stockbrokers, Peel Hunt. The charity sought to establish its vision and long term plans, including seeking and finding support amongst concerned politicians.
A launch was planned to take place in the Houses of Parliament but was delayed by the December 2019 General Election. A fresh date was fixed, and a fantastic launch took place in February 2020, just before the UK onset of the Covid 19 pandemic.
As the pandemic took hold, the UK government arranged for most street homeless people to be evacuated from the streets and into temporary accommodation. There were far fewer people on the street, both homeless and pedestrians. Many soup kitchens closed. Next Meal has had to adapt to meet these challenges, has been refining its plans,
Muswell Hill Baptist Church, Dukes Avenue, Muswell Hill London N10 2PT Charity Registration Number 1183114 | Chief Executive Martin Stone www.nextmeal.co.uk
enhancing its website, and focusing on how it might further its charitable objects in the aftermath of the pandemic. Members of the Executive have focused also on direct assistance to the homeless extended by Muswell Hill Soup Kitchen.
During the year to April 2025, Martin Stone in his Next Meal capacity, but also in co-operation with the Muswell Hill Soup Kitchen deepened the earlier connections with various charitable provision in Burnley, delivering principally food but also other necessaries to Burnley.
Charity Structure :
The charity functions are divided between the Trustees and the Executive. As at 5 April 2024, the Trustees are the above named and their functions included the oversight and support of the functions of the Executive. The Executive comprise Martin Stone (Chief Executive), Ralph Hinton and Oli Roxburgh.
During the year ending April 2025 there were significant developments in Next Meal. It became increasingly apparent that a more formal structure, generative of more formal and professional business plans and structural documents were necessary to be produced. In the Summer of 2024, Pippa Bagnall* was introduced to Next Meal, and over the following months she prepared the business plans intended to lift Next Meal into its Next Phase, a service for which fees were charged and agreed.
Martin Stone remained in day-to-day charge of the operations of Next Meal, and continued with visits to Burnley, Paddington and active as the face of Next Meal. Between around January and April 2025, Martin increasingly felt that he has brought Next Meal to the point where, if it was to move to the Next Phase, he was not best placed to lead that transition. Additionally, he felt the call of other projects, and as the Trustees universally acknowledged and had greatly valued, Martin’s great skill lies in his fantastic ability to see where he might make a positive difference to an urgent need and help. So it was in April 2025 Martin resigned from Next Meal.
The Trustees were universally hugely appreciative of all he has achieved.
Muswell Hill Baptist Church, Dukes Avenue, Muswell Hill London N10 2PT Charity Registration Number 1183114 | Chief Executive Martin Stone www.nextmeal.co.uk
Ralph Hinton remained in control of the maintenance of the Next Meal website and communications with the soup kitchens represented on the database.
Financial Review :
Next Meal has filed a Form CC16a recording the receipts and payments accounts for the year ending 5 April 2025. These reflected receipts in the total sum of £17,235, comprising principally gifts and donations. Expenditure continued to be modest. Next Meal remained unable to offer members of its Executive a salary or other form of regular remuneration. However, the Trustees considered it appropriate that Martin and Ralph ought to receive some remuneration for their time and commitment.
The total payments in the year to 5 April 2025, including in respect of Martin Stone’s time and expenses was £5000.
Payments to Ralph in the same period were £2000.
The total fees paid to Pippa Bagnall during this period were £3000.
The other payments made reflected generally the costs associated with running the website.
At the end of the year the cash funds held were £12,961.21.
No funds were held as a custodian trustee.
*Pippa Bagnall is a qualified nurse and an independent consultant with considerable experience of clinical care, leadership, policy, strategy, fundraising and service improvements. She has over 20 years of working and volunteering in the homelessness sector.
For and on behalf of the Board of Trustees
Jonathan Ashley-Norman KC
January 7[th] 2026 reviewed 11 March 2026.
Muswell Hill Baptist Church, Dukes Avenue, Muswell Hill London N10 2PT Charity Registration Number 1183114 | Chief Executive Martin Stone www.nextmeal.co.uk
| Nexl Meal | Nexl Meal | Nexl Meal | 1183114 | 1183114 | 1183114 | CC16a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For the period from |
06/04/2024 | To | 05/04/2025 | ||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 17,235 - - - - - - - 17,235 - - - 17,235 10,000 1,814 - - - - - - 11,814 - - - 11,814 5,421 - 9,517 |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ 17,235 - - - - - - - 17,235 - - - 17,235 10,000 1,814 - - - - - - - 11,814 - - - 11,814 5,421 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
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| 17,235 | 14,464 | ||||||
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| - | - | ||||||
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| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
17,235 | 1,155 | |||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
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| - | |||||||
| - | - | ||||||
| Sub total | - | - | |||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
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| 1,155 | |||||||
Wages/salaries/gratuities |
10,000 | - | |||||
| Expenses - travel etc | 1,814 | - | |||||
| Media | - | ||||||
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| **Sub total ** | 11,814 | - | |||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases (see table) |
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| , | - | ||||||
| - | |||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | |||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
|||||||
| - | |||||||
| 5,421 | - | - | 5,421 |
- 9,236 | |||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | ||||
| 9,517 | - | - | 12,961 |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
11/03/2026
1
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets |
Signature Details Details Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 9,517 - - - - - 12,961 - Agreement Error OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name Jonathan Ashley-Norman |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
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| Jonathan Ashley-Norman | 11-Mar-26 | ||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
11/03/2026
2