2024-12-31-accounts - Sevenoaks Larder

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SEVENOAKS LARDER

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED 31.12.24

Annual Report and Accounts for the 12 months ended 31.12.24

Contents

Title page
Contents
Statutory details
Objective & Activities.
Client demographics.
Main achievements during the period.
Donations & grant/fund income.
Public benefit.
Financial accounts
Notes to accounts.
Independent Examiner’s Report

Statutory and administratve details

Registered Charity name: Sevenoaks Larder Registered Charity number: 1192371 Registered address: Hope Church, Mill Lane Centre, Mill Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN14 5BX Trustees: Claire Ritchie(Chair) (resigned 31.12.24) Gordon Lee (Chair from 01.01.25) Hannah Bodek (appointed 28.01.25) Nicci Chandler Goretti Efthimiou Shelly Goldring (resigned 31.12.24) David Hacon (appointed 26.02.2025) Trudie McGowan (resigned 17.11.24) Phil Smith (resigned 5.8.24) Fay Warne (resigned 12.05.2025) Andrea Watson

Trustees are appointed by a resolution at a properly convened meeting of charity trustees.

Governing document: Constitution as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, first registered 17 November 2020.

Bank account: Metro Bank Calverley Rd, Tunbridge Wells TN1 2TB

Objectves & Actvites of the charity:

The objects of the charity are the relief and assistance of those persons in Sevenoaks District that are in need by reason of financial hardship by providing emergency food supply, essential toiletries and other household items. Also the provision of support or signposting to relevant advisory services or information as the trustees think fit.

The main activities of Sevenoaks Larder include purchasing food and collecting donated items (food and hygiene products) and distributing them to those who are struggling to afford to buy their own food in our community. Sevenoaks Larder also collects supermarket excess food from Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Lidl, Aldi and Tesco which is also distributed to our clients.

Sevenoaks Larder works closely with other local food banks. We also work with some local schools to help stock their emergency food cupboards for students and their families (those in receipt of Pupil Premium), as well as for their breakfast and after school clubs.

Public beneft :

The trustees declare that they have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Client demographics & details:

Our client base is comprised as follows:

	31.12.24	31.12.23
Number of households registered	87	97
Total number of clients registered Comprising : Adults Children	222 131 91	249 132 117
Numberof householdswithchildren	44	57
Adult only households	43	40
Single adulthouseholds	33	34

At 31.12.24, our client base was made up as follows, from within our coverage area of Sevenoaks & surrounding villages:

Each household is entitled to claim one food order per week. The size of the food parcel depends on the size of the family. The sliding scale is as follows:

	Allowance given	Allowance given	Allowance given
	Fresh protein (number of portons)	Fresh fruit & vegetables (number of packs)	Store cupboard ‘dry’ foods’ (number of items)
Households of 1-2	1	4	8
Households of 3-4	2	6	12
Households of 5+	3	8	16

In addition to the above the clients will receive a share of the excess food collected from the supermarkets that day.

Approximately 58% (2023: 55 %) of our clients visit the Larder on their allocated day each week to collect their food and to choose bonus items from the shelves.

The remaining42%(2023: 45 %) are unable to get to the Larder due to transport, mobility, or other issues and have their food delivered by a volunteer.

Main achievements of the charity during the period:

a) Approximately 3044 (2023: 3760) weekly distributions to clients have been made, i.e. an average of 60 (2023: 74) clients are given food every week.
b) 21,794kg (2023: 27,520kg) of food has been donated to us during the year. At the current average retail value of food provided by Fareshare each year, this equates to approximately £70,830 (2023: £82,560) worth of food donated.
c) In the week up to Christmas, in addition to their normal allowances, we were able to give the clients Aldi Orange shopping vouchers, allowing them to buy food at Aldi (but no alcohol or lottery tickets).

Contributon of volunteers

Sevenoaks Larder relies heavily on the support of its volunteers. More than 604 (2023: 450) volunteers have registered to help at Sevenoaks Larder. Approximately 100 of these volunteers help on a weekly basis with many others supporting at other times.

We have also benefitted from the support of students who wish to complete their volunteering hours for their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Financial Review

During the period, £38,742 (2023: £45,791) was raised from donations and from funds and grants.

During the same period approximately £38,000 (2023: £51,000) has been spent on purchasing food for our clients, £3,200 (2023: £3,660) on vouchers for clients at Christmas

and £4,391 (2023: £3,122) on administration and running costs. Food and voucher costs have reduced because of a reduction in the number of clients we supported and changes to the food we purchased. Administration costs increased because of one off repair costs to the freezer during the year and because we paid the 2025 annual insurance premium on the last day of 2024, meaning two premiums were paid in the one financial year.

Overall, we had a planned deficit of £6,571 (2023: £12,159), drawing on our excess unrestricted funds (see reserves policy below).

Donatons & grant/fund income received:

The Trustees are incredibly grateful to all of those above, and to the whole Sevenoaks Community for their generosity & support.

Reserves policy

At any one time, and in line with the Charity Commission’s guidance, the trustees aim to hold between 3 and 9 months’ worth of expenditure in unrestricted funds in order to protect the activities of the charity, and to ensure that our work can continue into the foreseeable future.

At our current operating levels, this would represent reserves of between about £13,000 and £39,000. At present, our reserves exceed this level (representing about 16 months’ funding) due to two very large donations in 2022 from a London investment bank’s charity fund, but we do not expect these donations to be repeated. The trustees are committed to using these excess reserves to fund the ongoing operations of the charity, and have agreed to temporarily pause any pro-active fundraising efforts until our future plans and forecasts make it necessary when considering our reserve levels.

Our reserves policy will be under constant review, in response to the fluctuating needs of the charity.

Receipts & Payments Accounts for the 12 months ended 31.12.24

12 months to 31.12.24 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 12,274 - 12,274 26,468 - 26,468	12 months to 31.12.24 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 12,274 - 12,274 26,468 - 26,468	12 months to 31.12.24 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 12,274 - 12,274 26,468 - 26,468	12 months to 31.12.24 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 12,274 - 12,274 26,468 - 26,468	12 months to 31.12.23 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 10,208 - 10,208 35,583 - 35,583	12 months to 31.12.23 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 10,208 - 10,208 35,583 - 35,583	12 months to 31.12.23 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 10,208 - 10,208 35,583 - 35,583

	38,742	- 38,742			45,791	- 45,791
(37,722) (4,391) - (3,200)		- (37,722) - (4,391) - - - (3,200)		(51,168) (3,122) - (3,660)		- (51,168) - (3,122) - - - (3,660)
(45,313)		-	(45,313)	(57,950)		- (57,950)

(6,571)		-	(6,571)	(12,159)		(12,159)
78,209			78,209	90,368		- 90,368
71,638		-	71,638	78,209		- 78,209

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. The accounts were approved by the Trustees on 2 July 2025 and are signed on their behalf:

Gordon Lee - Trustee (Chair)

Notes to the accounts

Accounts: The accounts have been prepared as receipt and payment accounts, in line with Charity Commission regulations for a CIO, having income between £25,000 and £250,000. This level of income requires the accounts to have an independent examination.
Receipts: All income is recognised by Sevenoaks Larder when received into the bank account.
Payments: payments are accounted for when they have left the bank account.
Funds: two different types of funding are received by the charity, and are accounted

for separately:

1) Restricted funds – funds which have been designated for a specific purpose and must be used as such.
2) Unrestricted Funds – funds which are available for general use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for any specific purpose.
Stock: Donated and distributed stocks are detailed in the written report and are not

included in the financial reports.

Assets retained for the charity’s own use:

Item Storage racking Commercial fridge Commercial freezer	Fund to which asset belongs Bought from restricted funds Bought from restricted funds Bought from restricted funds	Cost in 2021
		£ 1,458 911 1,026

SEVENOAKS LARDER

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED 31.12.24

Annual Report and Accounts for the 12 months ended 31.12.24

Contents

Title page
Contents
Statutory details
Objective & Activities.
Client demographics.
Main achievements during the period.
Donations & grant/fund income.
Public benefit.
Financial accounts
Notes to accounts.
Independent Examiner’s Report

Statutory and administratve details

Trustees are appointed by a resolution at a properly convened meeting of charity trustees.

Governing document: Constitution as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, first registered 17 November 2020.

Bank account: Metro Bank Calverley Rd, Tunbridge Wells TN1 2TB

Objectves & Actvites of the charity:

Public beneft :

The trustees declare that they have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Client demographics & details:

Our client base is comprised as follows:

	31.12.24	31.12.23
Number of households registered	87	97
Total number of clients registered Comprising : Adults Children	222 131 91	249 132 117
Numberof householdswithchildren	44	57
Adult only households	43	40
Single adulthouseholds	33	34

At 31.12.24, our client base was made up as follows, from within our coverage area of Sevenoaks & surrounding villages:

Each household is entitled to claim one food order per week. The size of the food parcel depends on the size of the family. The sliding scale is as follows:

	Allowance given	Allowance given	Allowance given
	Fresh protein (number of portons)	Fresh fruit & vegetables (number of packs)	Store cupboard ‘dry’ foods’ (number of items)
Households of 1-2	1	4	8
Households of 3-4	2	6	12
Households of 5+	3	8	16

In addition to the above the clients will receive a share of the excess food collected from the supermarkets that day.

Approximately 58% (2023: 55 %) of our clients visit the Larder on their allocated day each week to collect their food and to choose bonus items from the shelves.

The remaining42%(2023: 45 %) are unable to get to the Larder due to transport, mobility, or other issues and have their food delivered by a volunteer.

Main achievements of the charity during the period:

a) Approximately 3044 (2023: 3760) weekly distributions to clients have been made, i.e. an average of 60 (2023: 74) clients are given food every week.
b) 21,794kg (2023: 27,520kg) of food has been donated to us during the year. At the current average retail value of food provided by Fareshare each year, this equates to approximately £70,830 (2023: £82,560) worth of food donated.
c) In the week up to Christmas, in addition to their normal allowances, we were able to give the clients Aldi Orange shopping vouchers, allowing them to buy food at Aldi (but no alcohol or lottery tickets).

Contributon of volunteers

We have also benefitted from the support of students who wish to complete their volunteering hours for their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Financial Review

During the period, £38,742 (2023: £45,791) was raised from donations and from funds and grants.

During the same period approximately £38,000 (2023: £51,000) has been spent on purchasing food for our clients, £3,200 (2023: £3,660) on vouchers for clients at Christmas

Overall, we had a planned deficit of £6,571 (2023: £12,159), drawing on our excess unrestricted funds (see reserves policy below).

Donatons & grant/fund income received:

The Trustees are incredibly grateful to all of those above, and to the whole Sevenoaks Community for their generosity & support.

Reserves policy

Our reserves policy will be under constant review, in response to the fluctuating needs of the charity.

Receipts & Payments Accounts for the 12 months ended 31.12.24

12 months to 31.12.24 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 12,274 - 12,274 26,468 - 26,468	12 months to 31.12.24 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 12,274 - 12,274 26,468 - 26,468	12 months to 31.12.24 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 12,274 - 12,274 26,468 - 26,468	12 months to 31.12.24 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 12,274 - 12,274 26,468 - 26,468	12 months to 31.12.23 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 10,208 - 10,208 35,583 - 35,583	12 months to 31.12.23 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 10,208 - 10,208 35,583 - 35,583	12 months to 31.12.23 Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 10,208 - 10,208 35,583 - 35,583

	38,742	- 38,742			45,791	- 45,791
(37,722) (4,391) - (3,200)		- (37,722) - (4,391) - - - (3,200)		(51,168) (3,122) - (3,660)		- (51,168) - (3,122) - - - (3,660)
(45,313)		-	(45,313)	(57,950)		- (57,950)

(6,571)		-	(6,571)	(12,159)		(12,159)
78,209			78,209	90,368		- 90,368
71,638		-	71,638	78,209		- 78,209

Gordon Lee - Trustee (Chair)

Notes to the accounts

Accounts: The accounts have been prepared as receipt and payment accounts, in line with Charity Commission regulations for a CIO, having income between £25,000 and £250,000. This level of income requires the accounts to have an independent examination.
Receipts: All income is recognised by Sevenoaks Larder when received into the bank account.
Payments: payments are accounted for when they have left the bank account.
Funds: two different types of funding are received by the charity, and are accounted

for separately:

1) Restricted funds – funds which have been designated for a specific purpose and must be used as such.
2) Unrestricted Funds – funds which are available for general use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for any specific purpose.
Stock: Donated and distributed stocks are detailed in the written report and are not

included in the financial reports.

Assets retained for the charity’s own use:

Item Storage racking Commercial fridge Commercial freezer	Fund to which asset belongs Bought from restricted funds Bought from restricted funds Bought from restricted funds	Cost in 2021
		£ 1,458 911 1,026

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Sevenoaks Larder On accounts for the year ended 31 t)mber 2024 Charity no (rfany) 1192371 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the al)ov& charity (Ihe Trusf) for the year ended 3111212024. Responsibilities and As the chanty trustees of the Ttust. you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordan wth the requirements of the Charth"es Act 2011 (Ihe Acr). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying oui my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confinn that no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below ") in connection with the examinakn.on which gives rne cause to believe that in, any matertal respect. accounting records were not kept in accordan wrth section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no conM$ and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accourrts to be reached. . Please delete the words in the brackets rf they do not apply. Signed: Name: ALLY Relevant professional qualification(s) or body lif any): QOALI FicAriol Address: ¢5ffo(Lb . Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concem (see CC32, Independerrt examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose.