## **BLOXWICH & BLAKENALL FOODBANK CHARITY NUMBER 1190583** # **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024** This page is deliberately blank **BLOXWICH & BLAKENALL FOODBANK** ## **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024** |**Contents**|**Page**| |---|---| |Trustees Report|1| |Financial statements|4| |Notes to the accounts|5| **Bloxwich & Blakenall Foodbank Trustee’s Report for the year ended 31[st] August 2024** **Reference and administrative details of the charity, it’s trustees and advisors** The trustees who held office during the financial year, and up to the date the report was approved were: |pproved were:||| |---|---|---| |**Name**|**Position**|**Dates**| |Carl John Bolton|Chair|Appointed 1stSeptember 2020| |Diana Louise Bolton||Appointed 1stSeptember 2020| |Lynn Penn||Appointed 14thDecember 2022| |Julia Forrester||Appointed 14thDecember 2022| |Mari Brigid Frost||Appointed 14thDecember 2022| |Anne Wood||Appointed 14thDecember 2022| ## **Charity Number** The charity was registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, number 1190583 on the 28[th] July 2020, and commenced operation on the 1[st] September 2020. |**Principal Address**|**Bankers**||| |---|---|---|---| |Blakenall Village|Walsave Credit Union|NatWest|Monzo| |Centre|181 High Street|22 Market Place|Broadwalk House| |79 Thames Road|Bloxwich|Cannock|5 Appold St| |Walsall|Walsall|Stafordshire|London| |WS3 1LZ|WS3 3LH|WS11 1BU|EC2A 2AG| ## **Structure, governance & management** The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) formed on 28[th] July 2020 and governed by a foundation constitution adopted on 28[th] July 2020. ## **Independent Examination of the financial statements** Because the turnover of the charity is under the £25,000 gross income threshold, there is no requirement for an independent examination. ## **Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees** The trustees of the charity are appointed by the members of the AGM. ## **Objectives and activities** ## **The charity’s objects** The prevention or relief of poverty in Bloxwich and surrounding area in particular but not exclusively by providing emergency food supplies to individuals in need and other similar charities. ## **The charity’s main activities** Operating a food bank providing emergency food aid to people resident in the greater Bloxwich area, within the local authority area of Walsall, including but not limited to Bloxwich, Blakenall, Coalpool, Mossley, Dudley Fields. The food bank operates within the Trussell Trust ## **Public benefit statement** In setting our objectives and planning our activities our Trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and in particular alleviating the effects of food poverty in our local area. 1 **Bloxwich & Blakenall Foodbank** **Trustee’s Report (continued) for the year ended 31[st] August 2023** ## **Objectives and activities (continued)** ## **Achievements and performance** The Foodbank makes provision of food parcels to many hundreds of people in need, including single people, couples and families with children. Food parcels include food for 3 meals a day for all members of the household for 3 days, plus toiletries and cat and dog food as requested. Occasional provision of cooking utensils and other small household items are given out when available. It provides volunteering opportunities for local people, with around 10 -15 people a week typically volunteering at least 2 hours each, sometimes significantly more. The foodbank is sustained by the extremely generous donations of food and cash donations from members of the public, Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, The Trussell Trust, other charities and local supermarket branches which is vital to keeping the service running efficiently. Trustees and volunteers are committed to developing and maintaining excellent working relationships with the council, its agencies and other food and service providers to the greater benefit of the foodbank service . Over the period, the food bank fed 1,266 children, and 1,419 adults. (2023: 1,467 children and 1,770 adults) this represents a decrease of 17%, (2022: 32% increase) which is indicative of the continued demand on the food bank’s resources, due to the cost of living and economic uncertainty which continues to affect the most vulnerable in our community. The small reduction in demand is however gratifying. The reduction is not due to a lack of resource, but is a genuine reduction in demand which may be partially attributable to other food banks opening in the area rather than a positive change in the economic conditions of the clients we normally serve; we continue to hope for a time when the foodbank is not necessary because food poverty has been eradicated. In the meantime we are committed to continuing to work hard to aid the needy in our community. ## **Financial Review** The year ended 31 August 2024 remains challenging in maintaining enough stock of food to meet demand from food donations, and it has only been able to meet demand through the extraordinarily generous donations from external providers which has enabled it to purchase stock. The cost of living remains a challenge for local families, and in turn, impacts on the demand from the foodbank for the vital support it provides. Stock at the end of the year amounted to 5,338 kg (2023 – 4,382kg) which if valued at the recommended figure from the Trussell Trust of £2.77 per kilogram would be valued at £14,786 (2023 £2.37 and £10,385). The unit value of the stock for 2024 was increased compared to the previous year, having been static since 2022. This is indicative of the lagged effects of inflation, which were not adjusted by the Trussell Trust in 2023. Inflation on food and non-alcoholic beverages at September 2023, the start of the financial period was 6.7% and had fallen to 1.3% in August 2024, ticking up slightly to 1.8% in September 2024. The food bank achieved a net surplus for the year of £11,365 (2023 - £12,881). Whilst this represents a large surplus for the organisation, this is due to a large amount of grant funding received in the year which will continue to resource the food bank in subsequent periods, and ensure the security of the provision of the service into the future. All income and expenditure is treated as unrestricted funds. There were no restrictions on any donations in the year. 2 ## **Bloxwich & Blakenall Foodbank** ## **Trustee’s Report (continued) for the year ended 31[st] August 2023** ## **Achievements and performance (continued)** ## **Going concern** The trustees have assessed the charity’s ability to continue for at least 12 months from the date the accounts were approved and conclude that no material uncertainties exist that cast doubt on the charity’s ability to meet its liabilities as they fall due. ## **Reserves policy** Free unencumbered reserves excluding fixed assets for the year ended 31[st] August 2024 was £32,966 (2023 - £21,601). The trustees have estimated that £14,000 would be sufficient to meet its needs for a 3-6 month period, in the event that they needed to use reserves to fund the running of the food bank. Although the current reserves exceed the reserves policy, trustees are satisfied that the level of current reserves are necessary to ensure the security of resource to fund the operation in future periods, as although there has been a reduction in demand this year, the general trend is that demand continues to increase. In previous years, the food bank relied heavily on the donations of food from the public, however this has decreased significantly in proportion to the aid given, and the organisation relies more heavily now on external funding to meet this demand. Trustees have identified this as the main threat to its operations, along with any reduction in grant funding it currently receives. Approved at the trustees’ meeting held on 30[th] June 2025, and signed on behalf of trustees. C Bolton Chair, Bloxwich and Blakenall Food Bank 3 ## **Bloxwich & Blakenall Foodbank** ## **Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] August 2024** Included in grants and donations for 2024 was government grant funding of £10,180 from Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (2023: £8,000) These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue at the trustees meeting held on 30[th] June 2025 and signed on behalf of the trustees by: Carl Bolton Chair Bloxwich & Blakenall Food Bank 4 ## **Bloxwich & Blakenall Food Bank** ## **Notes to the accounts** **For the year ended 31 August 2023** ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **Basis of accounting** The trustees have taken advantage of section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 and have prepared the accounts on a receipts and payments basis. ## **Taxation** As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates. ## **Fund accounting** Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal. There were no restricted funds in 2023/2024. ## **4 Stock** Stock is recorded by weight, under the guidance of The Trussell Trust. As a value, this is not included in the balance sheet, as it is not for re-sale but distribution to the needy. The rates advised by the Trussell Trust for the period was £2.37 per kilogram (2022 £2.37 per kilogram). This is reflective of the inflation of food goods in the period. ## **5 Related party transactions** ## **Trustee expenses** No trustee received any expenses during this year or the previous year. ## **Trustee remuneration and benefits** No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year. ## **Other related party transactions** There were no other related party transactions in the year.