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2023-04-05-accounts

THE COMMUNITY CUPBOARD

CHARITY NUMBER: 1185331

ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023

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The Community Cupboard

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 5th April 2023

This Annual Report presents a review of the period 6th April 2021 - 5th April 2023, reporting on achievements, performance and impact, including financial performance and financial position to demonstrate the Trustees’ stewardship and management of charitable funds.

As a preliminary matter, the Trustees and staff of The Community Cupboard wish to once again express their deep appreciation of the contribution made by volunteers and donors during yet another trying year, without which none of our achievements would have been possible.

Table Of Contents

Table Of Contents
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS 3
OBJECTIVE & PURPOSE 4
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES 5
VOLUNTEERING AND TRAINING 8
WORK EXPERIENCE, DUKE OF EDINBURGH & WORK PLACEMENTS 9
GROUP VISITS AND EDUCATION 11
SUPPORT SERVICES 12
ADDITIONAL PARTNERSHIPS 13
FUNDRAISING 13
SOME OF THE 2022 - 2023 EVENTS 15
SCHOOLS, CHURCHES & HARVEST - 2022 18
REGULAR DONATIONS 19
PURCHASES 21
CHRISTMAS 2023 22
AWARDS 24
PUBLICITY 26
ACHIEVEMENT & PERFORMANCE 29
DONATIONS AND DISTRIBUTION 30
SIGNPOSTING SERVICES 32
ACHIEVEMENTS VS OBJECTIVES 32
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT 34
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 35
FINANCIAL REVIEW 36
FINANCIAL NOTES YEAR END 5TH APRIL 2023 41

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The Community Cupboard

Reference and administrative details

Charity Name: The Community Cupboard
Registered address: 11 Lambardes, New Ash Green, Longfield, DA3 8HX
Operating address: The Community Cupboard, Gamecock Meadow, London Rd,
West Kingsdown, TN15 6EL
Charity Number: 1185331
Principal office: England.
Constitution: Constitution of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation whose
only voting members are its charity trustees. Date of
constitution (last amended): 15th August 2019
Liability: If the CIO is wound up, the members of the CIO have no
liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility
for settling its debts and liabilities.
Trustees:
 Helen Reeves
Vee McGannon
Amy Eley
Staff: Tracy Wood - Manager
David Carter - Supervisor
Bankers: Metro Bank,
Unit 4, Nugent Retail Park,
Orpington, Bromley,
BR5 3RP

The trustees submit their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 5th April 2023

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The Community Cupboard

Objective & Purpose

The Community Cupboards charitable objects are:

To relieve persons in North West Kent and surrounding areas, that are in financial hardship, in such ways as the trustees shall from time to time think fit. In particular but not exclusively by:

a) providing emergency food supplies, essential toiletries and other household items both to individuals and families in need and also to other charities or organisations working to prevent poverty.

b) Such other means, including (but not limited to) the provision of support or signposting to relevant advisory services or information.

The Community Cupboard is an independent charity and a member of IFAN (Independent Food Aid Network). As an independent registered charity & CIO, all operations are in accordance with the governing document known as The Constitution of The Community Cupboard.

Working in partnership with local and regional agencies, the Community Cupboard operates from The Community Cupboard, Gamecock Meadow, London Road, West Kingsdown, TN15 6EL.

The Community Cupboard currently operates with 2 full time staff and a team of approximately 42 regular volunteers.

Accepting referrals from supporting agencies and self referrals, users do not require a food voucher to request support and are supplied with 5 days emergency provisions. There is no limit to the number of times they can access the support but users are signposted to external agencies for remedial support.

The Community Cupboard is operational 5 days a week.

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The Community Cupboard

Summary of Activities April 6th 2022 to April 5th 2023

This report covers a full year of operation for The Community Cupboard and follows our journey as we move into our larger premises and continue to grow our status throughout Kent.

Extending the premises

With our funding in place and all permissions granted, we finally moved out of our little hub and relocated to the West Kingsdown Parish office.

With an army of volunteers, we moved from our premises and set up as a temporary solution just over the other side of the field in with the Parish Clerk. Yes it was snug but we made it work.

Whilst here we met lots of new people who had not ventured over to see us previously and whilst Lynda had to share her space, we are sure that she missed us when we finally left in October 2022 when our extension was complete.

Our builder Clive did a great job and the difference that the additional space has achieved is just astounding. However, it didn't take long to occupy it all.

The Community Cupboard is now formally registered with Royal Mail and Sevenoaks District Council as an individual premises and ‘The garage’ part of our address has been removed. The postcode has now changed to TN15 6EL representing this. We've even now got Broadband!

With a new storage section and an office to complement the existing welcome area, it has simply changed the way that we operate and made the daily operation much more streamlined.

Although the extension was mainly financed through our fundraising, many other local businesses and individuals have still donated their time and expertise to ensure that our home was just perfect.

Thank you to Colin from Cool heat systems who donated and installed an air conditioning system, Darren from Ash Flooring who donated his time to install the new flooring that was

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The Community Cupboard

donated by our lovely friends at Howdens, Aspect joinery who build a bespoke staircase and installed it to give us safe loft access, Matthew Fairweather Oakes who spray painted the whole building interior (with a little help from Trevor and Pete in the loft), Prime Property Solutions who donated and installed a security system and to Clever touch who donated a screen for our digital signage.

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The Community Cupboard

It is great to be back home in our new hub and we love the warm welcome it continues to offer to those who come to visit. The tea is always brewing and the conversation is always flowing.

On our wall proudly sits a piece of homemade wall art which was made lovingly by one of the families that we have supported. Seeing it reminds us, every day, that we are all able to make a difference.

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The Community Cupboard

Volunteering and training

This year we have been delighted to be able to welcome members of the community back inside our hub and revert back to making it a place where people can just come ‘for a cuppa’. Conversations have restarted and stronger relationships are being built. Engagement with our users has returned and we were able to address many more issues and increase signposting and support services that we offered.

The Community Cupboard has continued to grow and is well recognised throughout Kent.

Following a volunteer recruitment day in Jan 2023, we enrolled more team members and currently boast a 44 strong volunteer team which support The Community Cupboard in various roles including donation collections, event organising and support and hub support to name just a few.

Every single volunteer has a part to play in our charity and together, we are able to make the difference that we aspire to.

Working in collaboration with CAS Community Solutions, we have also launched our new training programme which is available to all of the volunteer team and includes multiple free courses to help better each individual person's skills.

The courses available range from Safeguarding adults and children, first aid and manual handling to more bespoke courses such as BSL Sign language and supporting substance abuse.

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The Community Cupboard

With the growing number of users being supported within our organisation it is vital that we equip our team fully, with as much expertise as possible, to address each situation that may arise.

We are extremely proud to be the first food bank in Kent to offer such a scheme.

Work Experience, Duke of Edinburgh & Work placements

We have continued to support multiple local schools with work experience placements, Duke of Edinburgh placements and have also provided volunteer hours for various employers who offer community support day volunteering.

With a dedicated volunteer Youth liaison lead officer, we ensure that each individual is mentored and guided, to ensure they receive the best support available and maximise what they achieve during their time with us.

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The Community Cupboard

We are delighted that almost all of our student placements have chosen to return at a later date through holiday periods, to offer further support. We were even persuaded to join social media platform TikTok after being taught and recording dances with them.

Having such a varied age of volunteers has been wonderful to help develop our team’s communication skills and understanding across all generations.

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The Community Cupboard

Group Visits and Education

After being approached by multiple local Scouting groups, football clubs and other local associations, we have embraced the opportunity to welcome many organisations to our hub.

Through education of various aged children (and grown ups) we have been able to encourage not only community spirit but also help to reinstate how it feels to be part of a community that supports each other.

With special out of hours visits held, whereby we can explain our service, discuss how families and individuals can access it, how people can support it and more importantly that people are not alone, we can help to alleviate a large proportion of stigma surrounding usage of a Food Bank.

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The Community Cupboard

Support services

Building and maintaining a holistic style of working has been key to our success and progression. We continue to liaise daily with multiple partnering agencies and support services, ensuring the best outcome for our users.

The knowledge of our team has grown vastly and constant nurturing of external relationships has allowed us to broaden our capability of reaching the correct support services quickly. We continue to provide support to both national and local charities, organisations, councils and individuals.

Whilst we are fortunate to be supported by Kent County Council Community Wardens (which have been an invaluable service to both us and the wider community), we have sadly now lost use of the Sevenoaks District Council Ambassador service after their roles came to an end.

We are however delighted to have retained some of their team members, who have now become part of our volunteer team and are still working directly with Jane who moved into a ‘Support for Ukrainians’ role within the council and Patricia who is now our volunteer youth lead.

With over 25 different agencies that we regularly meet and collaborate with, we are extremely confident that we are able to signpost families and individuals to the most appropriate, relevant and trusted support that is available.

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The Community Cupboard

Additional Partnerships

This past year we have been working closely with multiple large organisations as part of their community engagement plans. With donations of both items and funding as well as time and support for The Community Cupboard, we have been truly spoiled.

Howdens, Millwall FC, John Lewis Bluewater, The London Golf Club, NHS & Wards Estate Agents are some of the businesses among our treasured partnerships. Thank you to each of you .

Fundraising

Wow what a year!

Over this year we have not only held multiple fundraising events but many have also been held on our behalf too.

Aside from our regular Harvest festival, Christmas and Easter celebrations, the community really pulled out the stops and created a full years programme of ways to get involved with supporting The Community Cupboard.

This year we were selected to receive support from our local race circuit, Brands Hatch and we attended their Residents Day to not only promote our charity but also to receive a portion of the funds received from their community day.

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The Community Cupboard

The volunteer team had a ball and were thrilled to be able to join in some of the activities on offer too.

Other fundraising activities through the year…

With both Christian and Babette running marathons on our behalf, Jayne organising a Bank holiday Teddies Tower of Terror zipwire, Skipping challenges from Our Lady of Hartley Primary School, New Ash Green Art Exhibitions, a BNI Charity Golf Day, a Wild about NAG calendar, Millwall FC fundays, Garden fundraisers, New Ash Green Village Day, St Edmund King & Martyr Village Fete, Fawkham Church Fete, White Swan craft fairs, Ash Green Scout bag packing, Local Vocal Choir concert, NHS wellbeing days and our collection buckets out in the community in various locations too (including The Dartford Sports Bar), we have simply been run off our feet.

There was something for everyone to be involved in.

These events provided plenty of opportunity to widen our reach and meet with community members to talk about the support we can provide. We would like to thank each and every one of our own volunteers who helped support these events and to the extremely kind community groups and local residents who organised multiple events on our behalf to help raise funds.

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The Community Cupboard

Some of the 2022 - 2023 Events

Marathon runners Babette & Christian

Teddy Tower of Terror

Summer fetes and garden fundraisers

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The Community Cupboard

Millwall FC funday

BNI Brands Hatch Golf Day

New Ash Green Art Exhibition

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The Community Cupboard

NHS Wellbeing Day

- Millwall Community Trust An evening with Neil Harris

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The Community Cupboard

Schools, Churches & Harvest - 2022

Each year our donors increase as more and more schools choose to donate their collections locally to The Community Cupboard.

Harvest remains a large date in our calendar as we welcome many schools to the hub to talk about what we do and where their donations will be distributed. With wonderfully decorated boxes and bags full of grocery items arriving regularly from local children, it really is a wonderful time for us. Being able to talk to the children, showing them why and how the community cupboard operates continues to be extremely important in educating the next generation about the need to support each other and to help reduce the stigma associated with food bank usage.

Many local churches also nominate The Community Cupboard as the charity to receive their offerings, including some which had previously donated their items to other food banks.

Thank you to everyone who contributed including:

Steephill School, Ash Church, Longfield Church, St Botolph's Lullingstone, St George's School, Gravesend, Anthony Roper School, Fawkham & Hartley Churches, New Ash Green Primary, Langafel primary, Our Lady of Hartley primary, St Edmunds primary, Longfield Academy, Horton Kirby School, Milestone Academy, Hartley Primary Academy, Sackville School, Temple Hill Primary Academy & Fawkham Primary School.

Throughout the year we have continued to welcome classes full of pupils to the hub and provided schools with assemblies to help educate the children.

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The Community Cupboard

Regular Donations

Throughout the year we have been extremely well supported at our local donation points. Each week (some daily), our fabulous volunteers collect all the donated items and transport them to us at the hub. These items are then recorded, date checked and finally prepared for redistribution.

These donations are absolutely vital to The Community Cupboard to help us provide our users with sufficient food and grocery supplies in their emergency parcels.

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The Community Cupboard

We would like to thank every single location for being one of our invaluable donation drop off points including:

Co-op - New Ash Green, Hartley Cherry Trees, Longfield & West Kingsdown stores. Sainsburys - Borough Green, St Johns & Otford stores., RNWK - New Ash Green Rectory, Hartley Rectory., Culverstone Stores, Vigo Village collection (Sheila Oag)

We are also extremely privileged to also receive weekly donations from our friends at Hovis Bakery Erith, who donate trays and trays of freshly baked bread and also Harvel House Farm Shop who donate fresh fruit and vegetables every single Monday morning for us to distribute.

In addition to our donation points, various organisations and individuals also regularly donate. Thank you to some of our other regulars donors for your kindness including:

Steve & Rosemary Gray, St Edmunds King & Martyr Church, West Kingsdown Baptist Church, St Peter's Church, Eynsford, West Kent Freemasons (Axstane Chapter), NAGARA, Pets Pantry, The Hygiene Bank Sevenoaks, The Dartford Sports Bar, BNI Brands Hatch, Morrisons store Gravesend, London Golf Club, Fawkham Bee Company, Jenni, Neil & Cherith and everyone else who takes the time to support The Community Cupboard.

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The Community Cupboard

Some of our regular donors:

Purchases

Alongside our tremendous amount of donated items we also purchase items from the funding that is donated to us through standing orders and dedicated grants.

Every week we purchase at least 2 regular deliveries from Sainsburys and Tesco and regular purchases from Inkind Direct, just to keep up with the demand.

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The Community Cupboard

Christmas 2023

Christmas hampers - Foresters Financial

The support continued again for another year from Foresters Financial, with local resident Louise nominating us for a community grant to help with Christmas hampers.

This grant made a huge impact on the families we were supporting during this period and we were able to provide them all with a beautifully decorated selection of festive items to help make their Christmas special.

We were delighted to be joined once again by other Foresters members and our volunteer team, to create these festive hampers.

What a wonderful way to involve the community, bringing people together at the end of yet another trying year. Thank you to everyone who contributed their time and expertise to help achieve this.

Christmas Tree Festivals

This year our very talented volunteer Emma very kindly took on the task again of creating our 2 entries for the Christmas Tree festivals at both St Edmund King & Martyr Church in West Kingsdown and also at St Peter & St Paul's Church, Ash. Thank you to everyone who attended to see the wonderful collections and for voting.

Reverse Advent Calendar Day

Back due to popular demand was our Reverse Advent Calendar day which was held at The Community Cupboard itself.

With the grotto situated firmly outside with our cheery Santa awaiting his visitors, we had the best day entertaining families who came to donate, local community residents and also many of the families that use our services.

Children visited Santa free of charge and were given gifts that had been kindly donated by Brandshatch and Mark from J & C Events (who also donated the grotto and accessories, free for the day). HSBC for the advent calendars, A local Brownie group had lovingly made gifts and knitted teddies were also made and donated to be distributed to the children.

This wonderful yearly event encourages the community to donate during the festive season and is definitely one of our favourite times of the year.

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The Community Cupboard

Christmas Gifts

Due to repeated requests for a donation point that festive gifts could be given, our volunteer Lynn kindly set up a large area in her front garden to accommodate these. These gifts were then distributed alongside the hampers to ensure that all of our users had something to open on Christmas morning.

Thank you again to everyone involved in this huge project which simply gave the magic of Christmas to so many families this year.

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The Community Cupboard

BNI Membership

For a second year running, we were chosen as BNI’s charity of the year and Vee continues to attend weekly breakfast meetings at Redlibbets golf club.

Throughout the year, members and the organisation as a whole have provided The Community Cupboard with continuous support by organising fundraising events as well as offering their services on many occasions.

Awards

This year we were nominated for 2 awards. On behalf of the trustees, staff and volunteers we would like to express our thanks to everyone for nominating, inviting and voting for us at these awards and for continually supporting our journey at The Community Cupboard.

Sevenoaks District Council ‘Making it happen awards’ 2023

For another year running we were delighted to be nominated in March 2023 for the Volunteer group of the year award and attended the ceremony which was held in Sevenoaks.

Alongside the award for The Community Cupboard, our Manager Tracy Wood was also highly commended for her work and awarded a ‘Local Hero’ trophy.

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The Community Cupboard

The High Sheriff of Kent Awards 2023

Also in March 2023, we were invited by Kent Community Foundation to the High Sheriff of Kent Awards in Maidstone.

This accolade rewards the volunteers, charities and community groups in Kent who devote their time and energy to improve the communities in which they live and work, to make Kent a better and safer place.

Not only were we nominated, but we won our category. Winning a framed certificate and additional funding to support our charity, we were extremely honoured and proud of what we have achieved this year.

Again we would like to express our sincere thanks to those who voted for us and recognised the amount of work and dedication that has been implemented by our team throughout the year.

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The Community Cupboard

Easter at the hub

We were yet again able to ensure that all of our users received a little treat in their parcels during this period. Thank you to everyone, these ‘non essential items’ make such a huge difference, particularly to families with younger children.

Publicity

The Community Cupboard maintains its high profile on social media, with public accounts on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and instagram. More recently we have added a Linkedin profile which allows us to connect with other professional members in other organisations.

We continue to maintain our charity website which also receives daily referrals and requests for support.. This year we have continued to collaborate with various TV and radio stations.

With multiple appearances on KMTV, GB News and Valley Park Radio, we have ensured that the wider community has been made aware of the service that we provide and continued to work towards reducing the stigma around asking for help.

These multiple outlets continue to be used to promote the charity and raise awareness of the work and support we achieve. These social media channels continue to be well supported by the community.

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The Community Cupboard

More challenges

Throughout this year the most common reason for referrals has been the cost of living. With the price of food and general bills increasing we are still receiving referrals on a daily basis from a multitude of service providers as well as self presenting individuals. With no clear end in sight, we envisage this will continue into next year at the very least as people struggle to make ends meet.

In Early 2022, the war broke out in Ukraine and Sevenoaks District Council (along with the rest of the UK) formed a specialist team to help with the arrival of families and individuals.

We have been working closely with the team to ensure that those arriving have information, supplies and the contacts required to feel safe and welcomed. This support included clothing, facilities & food. Due to the generosity of the community, we were even able to source a bike for one of the young ladies.

We continue to collaborate with and support the Sevenoaks team fully with their settlement programme.

Support

During this financial year we have yet again supported families in 43 different villages & towns and our multi-support approach continues as we further develop our relationships with other agencies and organisations.

We have received support and engaged with many of our existing donors and have also connected with additional partnerships such as Bed & Biscuits, Ash Green Scouts, Borough Green Cubs, Busy Bees Meopham, Culverstone House, Culverstone Stores, DVH Maternity Unit, Hartley WI, Ladies that Lunch BNI, Meopham Leisure Centre, NAGARA, Orchard Primary, Pets Pantry, Portobello Eyecare, Revive & Recycle, Rise & Shine Day Nursery, R J Roofing, Sackville School, Sevenoaks Dentist, Slimming World Longfield, South Darenth FC, St Mary Magdelene, St Mary’s Stansted - Fairseat - Vigo, Swanley Foodbank, Temple Hill Primary Academy, Viking Motorcycle Seats, Waitrose Bluewater, West Malling Taxis & WKD Essentials

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The Community Cupboard

In addition to all of our new donors, we continue to be supported by those continuing to provide support in previous years.

Each week we receive freshly baked bread and bakery items from Hovis Bakery Erith and also fresh fruit and vegetables from Harvel House Farm Shop. This is all very kindly donated to help the families that we are supporting.

Again, we would like to express our gratitude to everyone who makes this community project possible through their donations and support.

We continue to supplement the donations that we receive with additional purchasing from local supermarkets. These purchases are funded from the financial donations that we receive.

In 2021/2022 we purchased 7903.70 Kilos of additional supplies, this has increased to a huge 11942 Kilos purchased during the year 2022/2023, an increase of 51.1% on the year ending April 2022.

These purchased items are included in the totals of donations received for accounting purposes and total 51,275.79 kilos for the year ending April 2023.

We have yet again been extremely fortunate to have seen a rise in our general financial donations (including grant funding) this year, which have increased to £80,427,96 and have supported the purchasing of these items.

The Trustees are confident that, by their leadership and management of charitable funds, The Community Cupboard continues to meet the requirements around public benefit as defined by the Charity Commission. Interested parties are invited to contact us for a detailed account of the way in which the charity meets these objectives by requesting our policy document.

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The Community Cupboard

Achievement & Performance

6th April 2022 - 5th April 2023

Since first opening in 2019, The Community Cupboard has supported 1450 families with emergency food and grocery support.

During the 12 month period of this report, 229 additional families registered with The Community Cupboard totalling 596 individuals (of which 410 were aged 12+ and 186 were children). Families and individuals continue to be directed to us via supporting agencies or by presenting themselves as a self-referral.

Our area of coverage remains a radius of 15-20 miles in all directions from our hub and registrations this year were made from 43 different villages or towns. Our core supported area remains 5 miles.

This chart shows the location of the NEW families registered during the period 6th April 2022 to 5th April 2023.

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The Community Cupboard

Donations and distribution

The Community Cupboard received donated supplies from local community and business members during this period totalling 51,275.79 kilos.

This was an increase for yet a further year, ensuring that we have been able to continue to meet the growing demand.

The chart below illustrates the top 10 donors for the period 6th April 2022 to 5th April 2023. With the regular financial donations that we receive, we continue to purchase additional items from supermarkets. 23% of this year's donations have been purchased from this funding.

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The Community Cupboard

During the same period, 49,415.47 kilos were distributed in support parcels to our families with 1860.32 kilos of the donations remaining. (See table below)

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The Community Cupboard

Signposting services

We continue our partnerships with local and national support services, helping to tackle a multitude of issues:

Homeless relocations (Porchlight, We've Got Your Back and Kent Police) Re entry into society (Probation services) Wellbeing services (Involve KCC Social prescribers) Digital Inclusion (KCCdigital inclusion team) Refugees (Sevenoaks District Council Refugee team) Disability (We are Beams) Senior residents advice (Age UK & Imago) Mental health & Counselling services (KCC Mental health support, SWK Mental health team, Samaritans & NHS Talking therapies Period poverty (The Hygiene Bank)

Housing, Benefits & Debt management advice (Citizens Advice Bureau & Sevenoaks District Council, West Kent Housing, Live well Kent, Clarion Housing) Self Employment support (Community Catalyst) Utility support (SE Water) Local community warden support (KCC Public Protection) Dementia services (ADSS) Family intervention services (KCC Adolescent services & Safeguarding Midwife team) Palliative care and family support (Ellenor hospice) Family support & counselling services (KCC Social Work Dept) Homeless relocations (We’ve Got Your Back)

Achievements vs objectives

As another year passes, we are very proud to have continued to reduce the stigma surrounding food banks, making it ‘OK’ to ask for support. Our tagline of ‘Everyone needs a little help sometimes’ has never been more true.

This year we aimed to utilise the volunteer team more and following an open day in January, we have succeeded in creating a structured team of fantastic volunteers. With a set team of volunteers scheduled each day, different whatsapp groups set up for different roles and dedicated individuals leading particular projects, we are confident that the team structure is working well.

As planned, we introduced a training programme that all volunteers can access including basic skills that are specific to their roles including Manual Handling, Emergency First Aid at Work and Safeguarding Adults and Children. These accredited courses are run regularly and will be repeated throughout the year. Additional courses are currently being booked to cover other skills.

New risk assessments are also taking place to ensure that each member of the team is supported in their physical and mental health needs.

Whilst we planned to build excess stock levels, this has been near impossible due to the growing demand. We do however have regular deliveries of extra purchased supplies to ensure that we have sufficient stock available.

Each year we have aimed to grow the awareness of The Community Cupboard and this year was no exception. With various media coverages, events and collaboration with other support services, we have successfully taken our charity to the next level.

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The Community Cupboard

We continue to evaluate our data and plan for future growth, adapting goals as required.

Our relationships with over 25 supporting agencies ensures that root causes can be addressed for our users and that the best care and support can be given holistically.

We have continued our regular meetings and forums held to discuss issues and available support that can be provided between ourselves and these agencies.

Plans for Future

With at least one new registration occurring every single day, the demand for The Community Cupboard continues.

The effect of the ‘Cost of Living Crisis’ has firmly taken hold of our community and regular meetings are in place to monitor the impact, allowing us to adapt our policies and procedures as required.

Working families continue to be a large proportion of our new users, highlighting the struggle that the increase in general living costs is having on almost all members of our community.

Our aims and objectives for the short and medium term include:

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The Community Cupboard

Structure, Governance and Management

The Community Cupboard is a registered charity and a Charitable Incorporated Organisation whose only voting members are its charity Trustees.

The Charity is governed by its constitution dated 15 August 2019.

The following persons served as Trustees during the year:

Veronica McGannon (Elected 16th September 2019) John David Carter (Resigned to take up employment August 2022) Helen Reeves (Elected 16th August 2019) Amy Eley (Elected 16th August 2019)

Staff:

Tracy Wood - Manager David Carter - Supervisor

The election of additional Trustees can be made at a properly convened meeting of the charity Trustees. There must be a minimum of 3 trustees and a maximum of 12 at any one time.

Decisions within the charity are made by the Trustees at a meeting or in writing and agreed once a majority has been reached.

Parties interested in becoming a trustee when applications are open are invited to contact us at thecommunitycupboard.co.uk.

Signed: Helen Reeves - Trustee

Signed: Veronica McGannon - Trustee

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The Community Cupboard

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 6th April 2023

Statement of Financial Activities

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements with respect to accounting records and the preparation of the accounts and these accounts have been prepared accordingly.

Signed: Veronica McGannon - Trustee Helen Reeves - Trustee

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The Community Cupboard

Financial Review

The financial position of The Community Cupboard on 5th April 2023 is healthy.

We have continued to receive funding throughout the year from both individuals and organisations, which has supported our operational running costs and the purchase of additional supplies that have been required.

During the period 6th April 2022 to 5th April 2023, the total income received by the charity totalled £133,533.96. Of the £133,533.96 received, £88,501.46 was received from grant applications and personal donations raised a further £45,052.50.

The public and the community as a whole have continued to be extremely generous with their financial support.

Whilst all funds have been deposited into the only charity bank account held by The Community Cupboard, detailed spreadsheets show allocated funding is kept separate from other available non allocated funds that have been donated by the general public or for other purposes.

Salary Funding

The Community Cupboard relies on organisation and management of its services to operate to full capacity. In April 2022 we were delighted to secure £75,000 funding from The National Lottery (split over 2 years) which has made this possible.

With this 2 year funding programme from The National Lottery, we are able to currently employ 2 staff members who ensure that the hub remains open and its facilities are available 5 days a week to both the public and also multiple supporting services.

During the year we have been able to increase one part time member of staff to a full time role, allowing us to meet organisational demands. This had been due to additional salary funding received from Kent County Council £3,856, Sevenoaks District Council £3,250 and finally Wards Estate Agents £13,500 (through Kent Community Foundation).

This funding is absolutely vital to ensure that the hub continues to be staffed and operational to meet the growing demand for our services.

Thank You to each of our salary grant funders for your continued support, helping us to make a difference.

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The Community Cupboard

We continue to be a ‘Co-op Local Community Cause’ and are one of 3 locally selected charities who are sponsored for the year.

This year we have been awarded £7784.41 which was raised based on how community members who have a Co-op membership card shop in our local stores. We are delighted to have received this funding and to have been supported by both Head Office and all 4 of our local stores throughout the year.

Other Financial Donations (unrestricted funding)

(Restricted funds are those which were provided for a specific cause or project. Unrestricted funds are those which can be used for the benefit of the charity and have no restrictions)

In 2022 we were astounded to receive a huge donation of £16,000 from the trustees of Kings Church, West Kingsdown following their closure and we are extremely grateful to them for their generosity. It is planned that an engraved outdoor seating area will be purchased with some of these funds to mark this large donation and to thank them for their continued support over the past 3 years.

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The Community Cupboard

We are grateful for the general cash donations received throughout this year. Many supporters donate monthly to The Community Cupboard and these funds help us to purchase additional supplies and have also helped us to purchase items required to refurbish our new extension.

Gift Aid

This year we are delighted to have welcomed Adrian who has taken on the mammoth task of our gift Aid claims. Thank you to everyone who is Gift Aid eligible and to those who have already completed their forms.

These funds will make a huge difference to the amount of income that we will have towards additional operating costs and supplies. Thank you, Adrian, for your help and assistance.

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The Community Cupboard

Grants were awarded for the following project expenditure:

Grants list - 2022-2023

Salary Specific

Kent County Council £3856 (July 2022) The National Lottery £16250 (April 2022) The National Lottery £16250 (Oct 2022) Wards Estates - Kent Community Foundation £4500 (Dec 2022) Wards Estates - Kent Community Foundation £3000 (Feb 2023) Wards Estates - Kent Community Foundation £6000 (March 2023) Sevenoaks District Council - £3250 (Feb 2023)

Total £53106

General Donations

Sutton at Hone Parish Council £500 (Dec 2022) West Kent Freemasons - Provincial Grand Lodge £2000 (Dec 2022) Axstane Players £300 (Dec 2022) Lattimer Foundation £2500 (Nov 2022) Farningham Parish Council £200 (Dec 2022) Local Vocals £404 (Nov 2022) Motorsport Vision - Brands Hatch £1555 (Feb 2023) Millwall FC £3600 (March 2023) Sackville School £355.90 ((April 2022) Sackville School £196.15 (March 2023) Co-op Local Cause Funding £1287.73 (April 2022) Co-op Local Cause Funding £6496.68 (Nov 2022)

Total £19395.46

Cheque Grant Donations

Kings Church £16000 (Sept 2022)

Total Grants = £88501.46

Balance

The balance available as of 5th April 2023 was £113,388.37 and is allocated as follows:

£24,487.08 - Salary allocated funds £7,082.88 - Extension allocated funds £8,000 - Patio installation

£10,000 - Operational and supply invoices

___ £49,569. 96 - Allocated funds

£63,818.41 remains available and unallocated for running costs and other operational expenditures on 5th April 2023.

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The Community Cupboard

Upcoming expenditures:

Supplies

It has been essential that additional items are purchased to meet the growing demand, with 2-3 large grocery deliveries a week being ordered. These are purchased from the unrestricted funds or from grants provided to purchase such items.

This will continue whilst the item donations are insufficient. This is predicted to rise further and we expect to allow £5,000 - £6,000 per month to meet the growing demand and to cover the increase in grocery pricing.

Operational costs

The Community Cupboard continues to occupy The Community Cupboard premises which are owned by West Kingsdown Parish Council. We pay no rental fees but cover the cost of electricity, waste, insurance and Broadband to the building. An estimated cost of £4,000 per year is expected.

The other expenditures for operational costs are our website running costs, stationary, uniform and marketing products such as collection buckets and signage.

These are all regular expenditure amounts and a budget of £3,000 is allocated.

Extension of premises

Of the £54,565.18 that was raised for renovations, the vast majority of the funding has now been spent on the build and the items required to complete the project.

£7082.88 remains available and is allocated to be spent on a Defibrillator which will be placed outside the building in a sealed case for general public use and an awning for the front of the hub. Both of these installations have been approved by West Kingsdown Parish Council.

Yearly operational costs

Yearly operational costs are calculated in the table below. This is excluding salary costs which to date are funded from dedicated salary funding.

Salary

We currently have 2 members of staff which are funded through The National Lottery and additional salary specific received grants. Additional funding will be sought next year to retain these employed positions.

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The Community Cupboard

Contingent funds

The trustees continue to agree that a minimum of £50,000 should be retained in the Metro bank account, allowing for contingency funding to meet running costs, spending and additional stock that may be required over the coming months.

To ensure that sufficient contingency funding remains available, fundraising will continue throughout the year.

The Community Cupboard is able to continue operating in its existing financial manner in 2023 and beyond, with no current concerns regarding financial viability.

Financial Notes year end 5th April 2023

The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern.

f. Fund restrictions :

1)Restricted funds - funds which have been designated for a specific purpose.

2) Unrestricted Funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for any other purpose.

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The Community Cupboard

The Community Cupboard

Financial Activities

6 April, 2022 - 5 April, 2023

TOTAL
Income
Donations and legacies 45,052.50
GRANT FUNDING 88,501.46
Total Income £133,553.96
TOTAL £133,553.96
Expenditures
Insurances 346.40
Office/General Administrative Expenses 9,420.75
Other Professional Services 42,944.00
Printing, Postage and Stationery 1,085.95
Supplies 11,486.67
Total Expenditures £65,283.77
NET OPERATING INCOME £68,270.19
Other Expenditures
Salary 40,734.65
Total Other Expenditures £40,734.65
NET OTHER INCOME £ -40,734.65
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) £27,535.54

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Accrual Basis Friday, 21 July 2023 10:58 am GMT+01:00

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of The Community Cupboard Trust

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Community Cupboard Trust Charity Number 1185331 (the Trust) for the year ended 5 April 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination of the accounts and supporting documents.

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:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records.

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.

Julie Bass BA (Hons) BFP FCA

Team Bass Limited 22 The Mead New Ash Green Longfield Kent DA3 8EZ

12 October 2023