BLOXWICH & BLAKENALL FOODBANK
CHARITY NUMBER 1190583
ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025
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BLOXWICH & BLAKENALL FOODBANK ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Trustees Report | 3 |
| Financial statements | 6 |
| Notes to the accounts | 7 |
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Bloxwich & Blakenall Foodbank Trustee’s Report for the year ended 31st August 2025
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:
Name Position Dates Carl John Bolton Chair 1[st] September 2020 appointed Diana Louise Bolton 1[st] September 2020 appointed Lynn Penn 14[th] December 2022 appointed Julia Forrester 14[th] December 2022 appointed Mari Brigid Frost 14[th] December 2022 appointed Anne Wood 14[th] December 2022 appointed
Charity number
The charity was registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, number 1190583 on the 28th July 2020, and commenced operation on the 1st September 2020.
Principal Address
Blakenall Village Centre 79 Thames Road Walsall WS3 1LZ
Bankers
Walsave Credit Union NatWest Monzo 181 High Street 22 Market Place Broadwalk House Bloxwich Cannock 5 Appold St Walsall Staffordshire London WS3 3LH WS11 1BU EC2A 2AG
Structure, governance & management
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) formed on 28th July 2020 and governed by a foundation constitution adopted on 28th 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.
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Bloxwich & Blakenall Foodbank Trustee’s Report (continued) for the year ended 31st August 2025
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 as an affiliate foodbank.
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
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 1,448 children, and 1,693 adults. (2024: 1,266 children and 1,419 adults) this 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.
Bloxwich & Blakenall Foodbank
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Trustee’s Report (continued) for the year ended 31st August 2025
Financial review
The year ended 31 August 2025 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 3,679 kg (2024 – 5,338kg) which if valued at the recommended figure from the Trussell Trust of £2.77 per kilogram would be valued at £10,190 (2024 £2.77 and £14,786). The unit value of the stock for 2025 has been kept at £2.77, as food inflation begins to slow down. The food bank achieved a net surplus for the year of £6,269 (2024 - £11,365). Whilst this represents a significant 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
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 31st August 2025 was £39,265 (2024 - £32,966). 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 21[st] July 2026, and signed on behalf of trustees.
C Bolton Chair, Bloxwich and Blakenall Food Bank
Bloxwich & Blakenall Foodbank Financial Statements
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for the year ended 31st August 2025
| Receipts andpayments account | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for theyear ended 31 August 2025 | 2025 | 2024 | |||
| Receipts | |||||
| Grants & Donations | Note 2 | 15,248 | 27,013 | ||
| Legacies | |||||
| Investment income | 515 | 311 | |||
| Total Receipts | 15,763 | 27,324 | |||
| Expenditure | |||||
| Food and consumable stock | 8,540 | 12,455 | |||
| Insurance | 459 | 499 | |||
| Contribution to business rates | 52 | 52 | |||
| Ofce Costs | 436 | 2,952 | |||
| Bank charges | 7 | 1 | |||
| Total Expenditure | 9,494 | 15,959 | |||
| Operating Surplus b/f | 32,966 | 21,601 | |||
| Operating Surplus foryear | 6,269 | 11,365 | |||
| Funds carried forward | 39,235 | 32,966 |
Included in grants and donations for 2025 was government grant funding of £2,500 from Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (2023: £10,180)
| Statement of assets & Liabilities | Statement of assets & Liabilities | Statement of assets & Liabilities | Statement of assets & Liabilities | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for theyear ended 31st August 2025 | |||||||
| Note | 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| Cash Funds | 39,235 | 32,966 | |||||
| Funds of the charity | |||||||
| Unrestricted funds b/f | 32,966 | 21,601 | |||||
| Surplus for theyear | 6,269 | 11,365 | |||||
| Unrestricted unds c/f | 39,235 | 32,966 | |||||
These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue at the trustees meeting held on 21[st] July 2026 and signed on behalf of the trustees by:
Carl Bolton Chair
Bloxwich & Blakenall Food Bank 21 July 2026
Bloxwich & Blakenall Food Bank
Notes to the accounts
For the year ended 31 August 2023
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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.
2 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 £2.7 7 per kilogram (2024 £2.77 per kilogram).
3 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.
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