KINGSBRIDGE AREA FOODBANK ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Tuesday 24 September 2024 REPORT FROM THE CHAIR Foodbank activities have continued wrthout any break sino the Covid Pandemic triggered a huge growth in the number of households comirKJ to us for support. Client numbers have continued to grow, as the cost of living crisis has struck at so many people's lives. The reasons for people coming to us are many and varied. At the foodbank our first response to someone asking for help is to make sure that they have at least an emergency food parcel. We don't judge anyone, and as the on-going financial crisis continues to erode people's abilty to support themselves independently, our client base evolves to reflect that. More and more clients are being referred to us by other agencies acts've in society, and equally overwhelmed. en I see anything written in the media about 'foodbanks' I'm struck by the huge variety of set-ups that exist in different parts of the country, each reflecting the needs of rts own community. Kingsbridge Foodbank is a member of IFAN - the Independent Food Aid Nelwork. We do not come under the auspices of the Ttussell Trust, which is the foodbank with the highest profile in the media. When members of the public talk to us about the Kingsbridge Area Foodbank they are amazed at the complexity of our operations, often taken aback at the wide gaps in the communty around us, and inevitably impressed at the geographic area we support. Clients still don't come to the foodbank to col]ect their food as there are simply too many households. Volunteers continue to pack bags daily, ready for delivery. Volunteer drivers take ft)Ixl not only to people living in Kingsbridge and its immediate area, but cover an area from South Brent to Modbury, Salcombe. Portlemouth. Stoke Fleming, Blackavrton, East Allington, and many pla$ in betwn. many people cannot afford the fuel, bus fare, or manage the distan with shopping bags. Increasingly the conversakn'on seems to revolve around how to access foodbanks. and a general expectation that Ihe fcM)dbank will help,. This should not be hc)w the modem world works. In my time at the foodbank I have met people whose capacity for caring has completely blown me away. I'll happity tell you that my inclination to make everything work well is the reason I'm at the foodbank: l enjoy organising the volunteers, making sure there are always the people needed to keep the wheels tuming and the clients supported. CLIENTS Our clients don'l come to the foodbank because they are scroungers. It's very easy to say 'they should do betterf. Some may indeed be incompetent. or have managed their lives 'badly' {who are we to judge what that means?). but far more are victims of circumstances beyond their control. Lack of income. lack of support from those who are supposed, (or are paid) to ca, heatth crises that mean they have lost income and mobility. To consider th8t 'poverty is 8 resutt of the mordl failures of poor people., is an interesting suggestion. It is also the sU11 of a moral failure of those in power, and those who have the capacty to recognise that the M'll always be people who fall,
Kingsbridge Area Foodbank- AGM SeFrt and that rf we care at all al)out othe, we can so easily make their lives a little bit easier. (source unknown) All clients will need a referral at some point. Some people do self-refer- and asking for help is one of the most difficult things to do- but after two food palS they will need to find a referral from one of our parlner agenues. Members of the public sometimes tell me about a friend or neighbour that they are COnrned about. asking how that person can get a referral. Paula is, I think, the kindest person you will ever meet. Listening to her on the phone sometimes, or greeting a client at the door. is amazing. There seems to be no limit to her wish to help them, making many of them feel like members of the family, grving them a Chan to relax knowing Ihat their immediate problems about food. and many other issues are now in the hands of people who care. CLIENT COORDINATOR The current numbers we support are 187 households, comprising 263 aduFts and 192 children, a total of 455 people. The numbers remain pretty stable throughout the different seasons. PF explained that she is currently in the PrOS of sending out letters requiring clients to set out their income and expenditure to detennine whether they still require the services of KFB. The responses are coming back and there was some expectation that some clients would drop off the list, but they are mainly coming back still requiring assistan. Reference was made to South Dartmoor Communty Energy, which assists people to seek help with paying their utilittes bills. This includes helping them app to the welfare funds of the utility companies. VOLUNTEERS NONE of our volunteers or Trustees are paid and none of our drivers claim their fuel expenses. Our admintstrative costs are minimal - apart from electricity, telephones, stationery, keeping van on the road and small office costs- all donations are used for client support. VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR Foodbank is like a grand machine, every job linked to the next. We have over 100 volunteers, all giving their time freely. At the present time the foodbank has." Delivery drivers". 50+ regularly active volunteers. sorne have a 'regular run, and are the vital link between many of the clients and the foodbank, and some who are casual 'back-up' drivers. grabbing a Chan from their busy lives to stand in. often at short noti. In-house.. another 60 in-house volunteers doing the myriad tasks generated daily. Trustees and fund-raising team. another 12 volunteers. 14 year old students vrforking towards their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award - hour a week for 13 weeks, after school. As the end of the day is usually dark and damp, and most interesting jobs have been done earlier, we try to make life a bit more interesting for them by inviting them to help wth Saturday morning bulk deliveries from MolsOnS, doing a few hours during school holidays, help with Christmas fair and other fund-raising activities, packing Christmas pre, ents etc.
Kingsbridge Area Foodbank- AGM Sept Another group is the 17118 year old students undertaking an hour a week, 'Enrichment programme,, or students on 'Work Experience,, who spend a full week with us in July, giving them a Chan to participate in, and understand much of the key functions of, the foodbank. Others who have stepped up to help, with any number of jobs: Roger, Tom and Jason, key team on collection and delivery of fumiture items for distribution to struggling clients, Savage Scaffolding, Tom the pig farmer. and Annette. local bus driver, who is always ready to slep in and help driving and delFvering when she's not in work! And regular volunteers who bring their visiting family and friends for a 'day at the foodbank'l The ages, attitudes. abilities of volunteers cover a wide range. VolunteerirKJ at the bank provides a 80cial environment which many volunteers value as support in their own lives.
Kingsbridge Area Foodbank- AGM Sept GENERAL INFORMA TION for new volunteers Food is packed and deliVed every day few clients come to the bank in person. In-house jobs involve, as well as packing bags. stschng shelves. breaking bulk (bacon, sausages, cheese. sugar, ri, etc etc). making coffee, emptying bins. and so on. Most volunteers stay for a few hours. maybe 0930 till 1200, maybe 1300 - 1600, some work longer shifts, say 1000 to 1430. There are always jobs to do, many of them unglamorousl Deliveries go out at the same dayrtime each week so that Clnts know when to expect delivery. Regular drivers take the same runls every week, some doing a single run, others two or even three runs. Each run consists of betWn 4 and 6 households - you can imagine how much room a car needs for at least three bags for each household! Households can be single. couples. families and family plus- maybe 7 children in a combined household. l also have a list of stand in. drivets who take on deliveries when the regular drivers are absent. The number of clients which we support has grown over the last three years. due to Covid, and the current economic climate, which is pushing more people to ask for help - we now have over 175 households. (420+ individuals) on our books. In-between mles." One is shoppingl Every day reqUIS some specific shopping to be done, whiGh is usually best done befven 0830 and 1030. before shops get busy, or during the afternoon. This can require specific 'deli' items and items for those wrth special dietary needs.. lactose free, gluten fr. diabetic, veganlvegetarian. Another is oursupemiarket sweep which has to be done a few times a week Gollecting the donations from Morrisons and Tesco. And another is general tidying up as we tend to tske in white goods and basic fumiture for needy clients, and the warehouse can get a bit overwhelmed. Confidentiality in all roles is essential as we encountergenuine poverty. sadness, desperation, loss, fear. mental health issues, as well as those who've lost employment and are waiting for benefits assessments to come through. Some clients have bn on the books for a very long time, others may only be with us for a few WkS until things get sorted out. The bottom line is that we exist to provide food, and it's not our place to question how come people need us. We do ask for new clients to gel a referral from a formal outside agency, which might be GP, social SeprflS, Citi'zens Advice, who are expected to explain the reasons for referrals. But we never tum anyone away while they're getting the referral. Some clienls are referred lo us as safeguarding concerns, vulnerabilty. financial cxisis.
Kingsbridge Area Foodbank- AGM Serrt ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR Food Sources Purchases: Paula places regular orders to Morrison's warehouse for basic staples. Jad(ie shops regularly for those fresh items required for clients who have special dietary needs, and Gerrie places daily orders with Total Produce and Caterfood for fresh fruit and veg, bread, milk, eggs, cheese etc. We have also been able to purchase Parsley Box ready meals which keep for months and can be stored without fridge or freezer. Donknons: Tesco and Morrisons Community Liaison staff. Cathy and Amanda, put foodstuffs and other items that we need into the bags. vthich their customers are then able to purchase and donate. At Harvest time local schools and churches donated considerable quantities of food. At Christmas the Tesco Fare Share initiattve last year provided 80 crates of foodstuffs for Christmas Hampers, which were distributed to every household. In the tradition of our foodbank Christmas deliveries. we have made it a focus to give grfts of warm clothing and blankets, much of this purchased through the generosty of individual donors. We also sometimes collect from Lidl and M&S. The Bank the food app is the latest addition to our financial (donations) armoury. A search for this on Google will take you to a national website where you tell them where your local foodbank is and it will come up with the latest list of rtems most required by us; (available on IOS and android). In addition, every week we continue to re1Ve 150 loaves of bread donated to us by Warburtons bakers,. Salcombe Bakehouse also donate surplus breads; many village shop8 have collection points, and someone from the village brings us those donations weekly. At the moment we are reIving the freshest, surplus eggs. fruit and veg grown by members of the public produced in gardens and allotments.
Kingsbridge Area Foodbank- AGM Sept Catering size quantities of food supplies are passed on to Peter and Heather who prepare 'home-cooked' meals, de&8erts and soups. Under Natasha's Law, all food thal we send out has to have full details of ingredients. an additional task and cost for our admin. THERE'S MORE - so much MO to the foodbank. Of all of us involved in the work of the foodbank, Gerrie. who I refer to as the Kingsbridge 4th emergency service. will go above and beyond food issues. If she seems to spend a lot of time in her office. or talking to people, she is invariably adding to the store of valuable informalion that she keeps in her head. If she doesn't immediately know the answer to problem, she does know how to find it, will get rt for you and as far as is in her capacity she will move your life on. FINANCE Fundraising group In October 2023 foodbank gained the services of a dynamic, skilled group of experienced fundraisers, Alan, Harriet. Sarah and Sofia, whose first task was to identfy what was needed for them to be as productive as possible. They have a direct link to Trustees to ensure they are always working with the most uP-tlate information when making bids. Their work is challenging and time consuming and we're extremely grateful to them for all their efforts on behalf of foodbank. Throughout the year trustees have been kept infomed of the income and expenditure of the Charity with regular monthly meetings. I took over as Treasurer in February this year and would like to thank Kayleigh the previous Treasurer for keeping the accounts up to date. There was a slight delay in my takeover as it took a while to get the neSSary permissions from the bank to do payments. My roport for this year is based on the actual figures. The organisation has gone from a surplus of £46k to a deficit of £30k, a differenpA of £76k. Income has fallen from 332k to 258k which is down by 22% (£74K). Expenditure - cost of activities has decreased in line with the reduction of turnover. The Foodbank have also found ways to redu costs by buying more efficiently. This year we have had EDF electricity debt to pay off which has been done. Reserves.. As at the year end the Reserves account stO(Ml at £51.153.42. Throughout the year the Trustees have explored options of holding these monies in a higher interest account, however this has not possible to achieve. Wth donations being lower we have had to use some funds from this account to cover the running costs. A NEW HOME The Avon Centre has been our home Sin September 2020. a situation in which we have been incredibly fortunate. Inevitably. this is now coming to an end and the foodbank has begun the search for a new home. Gerrie and a team of significant folk have been in initial conversations about where we go next.
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES Independent examinerfs report on th8 accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Roport to the trustees K IhJGS&£J 264 fcD[J8Aj < On accounts for the year ended 03J Charity no (If any) Set oul on pag8S Tk)O I repcrt to the truees C my examinath)n of the accounts of the above ¢lwity (Ihe Trusf) for lh8 y8¥ ended Re8ponslbllltlo8 and ba818 of report As the clwity's tru5. Y W8 rN1b18 for th8 preparatlon of the accnts n with the wuirements of the Charthes Act 2011 (Ihe Acr). I rewt Fn respect of my 8xaminatN)n of the Tmsvs accounts carrbj out urKler sectic 145 of the 2011 Act arKI in ¢arryirvJ wt my examination, I have follthvl dl th8 alCabI9 DireLtkMs gN8n by the Charlty COMMISOn urthr sectth 1495Mb) of the Act Independant tthe ¢lkgrity's wss wKcYne exceed&J £250,(W and l qualified to examlnorfs statsment undertak8 th8 examInan by Lpir¥J a qualrfth member of [Insert name of ap8b tthyll. Delete [ ] if rKrt appficat4e. I have ¢omW&J my examination. l ¢LfIn that material matters have come to my attent#)n in ConnlI)n wlth Ihe examinakn (0r than that disclosed beltrdy ") which gives me cause to believe that in. any material the acccwntir@ wLYds were not kept in accordance wth section 130 of the Charities Act. or th8 acccwnts dKI r#)t accord with the accounting recorcis; or the accounts dd not C(nY wilh the apr41cab requlr6ments oonceming the fonn arKI Gmtent of accounts oul In the CharMle5 (Accounts arKI R8Wts) 2(J)8 other than any r4uir8ment that accounts give a Inj8 fairf vi*¢i which is not a matt8r ons#Jer8d as part of an Indep examinatNJn. I have Th) cThKems have come across rb) other matt8rs in ConctIcL with the examinati( to which attenti thId be drawn in this report in (xder to enable a prr urthStJJ of the accwnts to be raach. ' Pkase delete the wCS in the brackets Kthey do not apply. Slgned: Relovant professional quallfication(s) or body (K any): IER Oct 2018
Address: I I 4I5r. Section B Disclosure Only comete rf the examiner needs to hMJhlight material matters of concem (see CC32, ItThlyndent examination of charity c(NJnts. directions and guidwKe f(Y eXan). Glve here brief detalls of any items that the examlner wlshes to dlsclose. IER Oct 2018
Flnanclal R•ptsrt 1 2023 to31 2024 Donations from Fund RaWng rxants ¢TroanaQn Donaotyw Unwotm Irwrr TOW 11¢ 116.135.17 9.778.84 lo2,505. 29.150.47 785.29 163.837.78 2.301.09 149,304.50 12.150.00 4,291.41 ChrL8tmas HampEfs & Gffts lnt Support-Accomm¢)J81 Clnl Support-Anlm81 C¥&nl Support- Elec & Gu TopuF4 cnI Support. Food •ryl Gor•Js CNenl Support- Gift% cllent Support- Medic Cllont Support- otmr CIN8nt Support. Tran5POrt Ik8nt Supwrt- Uniform HolIdayActlvell arnj ForJ IFWFJ Tot•1 ¢o•t of ActlvlW•• 15f.d6 3.81&46 4.59127 249.830 44 5,721.12 .210.37 223.89D.28 15.63 6.383.98 5,389.32 411.4S 14,389.22 In rM•P 21 217.20 Oth•r In¢wM Interest T+Jtsl Olhr Inc 145.57 £146.07 £23.19 £2$.19 L••• Op•r¥Ung Exp•M ounlancy Fe88 7e8 25 222. Bank Fe•s Bu8ineB8 MI• 8niNJ El•¢trfGIty Suppty Avon C•ttty• Lknblllty Unpbd t- Cllenl Swpm. Gn• Fundralslng Equlprnonl Fu•1 (Vehldal In&uranc• IT Solfy¥•ro •nd cornUmle1 Llgni. PUr, HoatlThJ PacaglrvJ Postage. Frvlght & Courfer Prlntlno & Slallonwy Rent Rapair8 & kl•lntsMnc• Subscrfplions T1hr&• & tnl•rpl•t 2.40 22517 7,300.81 6,455.34 3,803.85 126.67 848.28 878.50 78.27 13.655.87 451.99 2,717.65 2.417.2S 552.72 372.15 304.82 943.27 92,94 2,759.51 992.57 285.99 480.00 2,147.63 199.60 614.3e Vahlck Colts fvell Volunieer M8818 Totsl O rltl Ex 505.$8 349.03 ElectcIty 8ypply Avon ¢•ntr• LFablMty Ury•kl Clo•lng Ro¥•rv• Alc ¢108lng Tro•8uY•rAJC .E3.603.65 £61,1fj3.42 £4327.97 7,300.61 £14820.19 £09,804.41 £416.66 £TI.775.SS £H176. Z?1 lilly ¢halrn