PANTRY FOR BLACON CIO (Known as Blacon Beacon)
Annual Report for the year ending 31[st] December 2020.
Pantry for Blacon is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registration number 1183763
Governance and management
There were 4 trustees of the charity in 2020:
-
Rev Christina Upton (Chair)
-
Ms Sheila Little
-
Mr Edwin Green
-
Mrs Jenine de Leie
Additionally, from 28[th] September 2020 we employed a part-time Manager, Ms Kerry Cook, who very ably oversaw the work of the charity, and supervised the volunteers.
Objectives
The charity exists to relieve food poverty in Blacon, Chester, and also to promote health, through the provision of good quality food at an affordable price, and encouraging healthy diet through education on food preparation.
1
Activities
2020 was an unusual year due to Covid-19 lockdown which began in March. That coincided with the beginning of our activities as a charity. After making alterations to Holy Trinity Church Hall to accommodate a storage room for us, we were on the verge of launching properly, when Covid-19 lockdown happened. This resulted in us collaborating with Holy Trinity Church and Blacon Community Store, among other organisations, forming Blacon Action Team (BAT). Through BAT, food parcels and cooked meals were distributed to those in need in the community, for 24 weeks.
The total number of people fed in those weeks (through food bags) of any age, was 10,832, of 3910 households altogether. 52% of those were households included children or teenagers. 27% were adults living alone, and 13% were homes where only elderly people lived. Some of those households received food several times, so that represents altogether 453 different homes. In addition, we also delivered 2,175 cooked meals through those months. Producing this amount of food (we estimate that 7820 bags were packed) took a great deal of people-power – about 26 volunteers gave us 1882 hours across the weeks.
This level of work was not sustainable long-term, so during September the food parcel service was handed entirely over from BAT to Blacon Beacon (as well as the Community Store continuing their service which had started before lockdown). Anyone who is resident and going through a hard time financially is eligible to benefit from Blacon Beacon. Those who sign up are asked to pay a weekly subscription, and each week to collect food bags (one bag of ambient food, and one of fruit and veg) at a designated time. We also made further alterations within the church hall, to create a second room for Blacon Beacon to use for food storage.
We also collaborated with Holy Trinity Church Blacon in providing meals and activities to dozens of families during the school holidays, at Easter, then from May half term through to
the end of the summer holidays, and also the October half term. These were delivered to their doors, as Covid restrictions prevented us being able to have them gathering at the hall and church. This culminated in December, when we delivered Christmas dinners to 61 families (118 adults and 154 children) and also to 200 older Blacon residents. This was all made possible by generous grants from Westminster Foundation, Chester Bluecoat Charity, and Avenue Service Surplus fund. Additionally, the families and members of Blacon Beacon were also given Christmas hampers (containing sweets, mince pies, pickle/jam, crackers, sausages and bacon to name a few); some of these items were kindly donated from our local Spar, Tesco and Morrisons.
2
FINANCIAL REPORTS
INCOME for the charity comes from generous donors, either by one-off gifts or by monthly standing orders. Also, we receive monthly contributions from our beneficiaries. The majority of our funding, however, comes in the form of grants. See table below for a summary of grants received in 2020.
Grants received by Pantry for Blacon in 2020
| Date received |
Grant funder | Notes | Amount: £ |
Amount at 31.12.20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RESTRICTED FUNDS | ||||
| January 2020 |
Anne Duchess of Westminster Charity |
Driver & van costs – use delayed due to Covid-19; in Nov 2020 agreed to change to cost of Administrator |
5,000.00 | 5,000.00 |
| February 2020 |
Westminster Foundation |
Manager post plus cooking sessions; not started until 28 Sept 2020 due to recruitment issues and then Covid-19 (cooking classes not held due to lockdown) |
10,000.00 | 8078.83 |
| February 2020 |
West Cheshire Foodbank |
Reimbursement decorating costs |
120.00 | 0 |
| April 2020 | Cheshire Community Foundation |
Purchase specific items (start- up costs) |
1754.88 | 0 |
| May 2020 | TNL Covid Fund | Food & volunteers & premises costs |
10,000.00 | 0 |
| May 2020 | Tesco Bags for Life | (received from Groundworks) food costs |
500.00 | 0 |
| September 2020 |
National Education Union |
Cost of school uniforms | 250.00 | 250.00 |
| October 2020 |
Transforming Lives Together |
Food costs | 500.00 | 500.00 |
| October 2020 |
DEFRA (via Cheshire West VoluntaryAction) |
Food costs | 5,000.00 | 2,663.66 |
| November 2020 |
Avenue Services | Client support including IT | 5,500.00 | 5,500.00 |
| December 2020 |
Avenue Services | Christmas meals | 1,500.00 | 0 |
| December 2020 |
Cheshire Community Foundation |
Food & other costs | 5,000.00 | 5,000.00 |
| December 2020 |
Chester Bluecoat Charity |
Cost meat with Christmas treats |
500.00 | 0 |
| December 2020 |
Sport England (via Sanctuary) |
Client physical exercise | 1,720.00 | 1,720.00 |
| December 2020 |
Cheshire West and Chester Council |
Food costs | 2,000.00 | 2,000.00 |
| UNRESTRICTED FUNDS |
3
| January 2020 |
Chester used Furniture Enterprise (via CWVA) |
From winding up of CUFE charity |
3,000.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2020 | Chester University (Santander) |
217.50 | ||
| May & November 2020 |
St Vincent de Paul Charity |
400.00 | ||
| August 2020 |
Cheshire Freemasons |
950.00 |
SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTS TO 31[st] DECEMBER 2020
| £ | ||
|---|---|---|
| OPENING BALANCE | 11,260.79 | 11,260.79 |
| INCOME | ||
| Donations | 2,230.00 | |
| Grant income - restricted | 49,224.88 | |
| Grant income - unrestricted | 4,367.50 | |
| Reimbursement from HolyTrinityChurch | 4,446.01 | |
| HMRC | 367.50 | |
| Members’ contributions | 2,432.00 | |
| Miscellaneous income | 482.40 | |
| Total income | 63,550.29 | |
| EXPENDITURE | ||
| Worker costs | ||
| Employee: wages+pension+HMRC | 1921.17 | |
| Volunteer costs | 157.47 | |
| 2078.64 | 2078.64 | |
| Premises costs | ||
| Buildingcosts | 11,814.81 | 11,814.81 |
| Supplies | ||
| Foodpurchases | 9,095.68 | |
| Cooked meals | 7,577.09 | |
| Non-foodpurchases | 565.58 | |
| 17,238.35 | 17,238.35 | |
| Running costs | ||
| Equipmentpurchases | 6,557.43 | |
| Insurance | 229.60 | |
| Stationeryandprintingcosts | 179.98 | |
| Miscellaneous expenses | 134.50 | |
| 7,101.51 | 7,101.51 | |
| Total expenditure | 38,233.31 | |
| BALANCE AT 31st DECEMBER 2020 | 36,577.77 |
4
CHARITY (OMMISSION FC ELAND MO WALES Independent examinerfs report on the , accounts S¢¢iion A Independent Examiner-s Report R•port to th• truBto•&1 MomrA of Pantry lor 81acon CIO On for tho ye4r •nded 31U Oecernbef 2020 Charlty no Ilf any) 11ts37eJ Sel on p•ges I rppcrft lo Ihp tru5tee8 on my examin81ion of the ¥ccwDts of the 4t•)ve chgrty rihe Trust'l fwthe ye4r ¢nded Re8POffl8ibifJli08 and b¥1• ¢1 r•port A# the charty$ trugiee$, you are regwible for the prepar1 olthe 8c<)wrtts il K<4JrfarThwilh re4u1entB olthe Chawitpg Art 2011 llhe Act'l I r8pL¥t of my examinplion of the Trwys rrIed out der $oct)n 145 01 th& 2011 Ad and th canlrrfd tJt my examinab"on, I h•vp toll(yAd •ll the pule Direclitr)s grwen by ts Charrty Cornrnimion under 14gSllbl olthe Act. Ind•pend•nt I hove ¢cxnpleted my ex8m1natn. l ryJnfYm that rK) malenal mattws ha¥• examlngf4 t•tpm•nt corn8 lo rny attention in conrnclion wilh Ihp exarninBtion lother than that di9¢1osed telow") which 9Ne$ me c4u9e in, •ny mlerial tho accnIlrY reccrfds not kept in aCC(dar with 8ecbJn 130 ofthe Chwrties Ad., the acc$ dmj Mi accNd wlth lh¢ %C¢Lrting ftt¢rds,' Qr the aCcniS not comwy the aFvlicat4e wulremenls concarnirvJ the form and contènt cl actolm Set out in Chgntie• (AKowl$ afkj Rep(tsl Regulaticffls 2008 other than requironl Ihat Ihts a¢¢cThts a'tru? and fair wew whKh is not a rn8tter c4n&idered #5 Part of an eumi1ots0n. I hB¥e nc+ ¢CCernS and hg¥e come otyo$$ no Olhef Matte in Conr1 wrth the examination to aiiontiw shoul¢J b& drawn in this roport in order toenaÈ4e a Fycger uTrJerBt8nding of ¥counts io be ' Rgas• dlel8 tlw wolth in lh8 bTrckels rflheydo nDI 4pply. Sigrt•d: ?LLI KY bcl Relpvant profeB8ioMI quaiincUtsTr($l oi body 1rf4ny): l < lio_s cvu d bJ.rf_-orfe_s A (J CrtsQ/