PACT FOOD BANK CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION REG NO: 1193002
ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] December 2025
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Page 2 Legal and Administrative Information
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3-4 Trustees’ Report
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5 Annual Accounts
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6 Notes to the Accounts
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7 Independent Examiner’s Report
LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
CHARITY NUMBER 1193002 START OF FINANCIAL YEAR 1st January 2025 END OF FINANCIAL YEAR 31[st] December 2025
TRUSTEES AT 31[ST] DECEMBER 2025
Elaine Knox Chair Susan Jupp Secretary Richard Hollingbery Treasurer Danielle Balmforth Simon Mason David Barton
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE (Trustees plus)
Elaine Hobson Heather Nichols
The existing Trustees appoint any new Trustees following the provisions laid out in the organisation’s governing instrument.
LEGAL STATUS Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) 1193002 GOVERNING INSTRUMENT Constitution dated 6 January 2021
OBJECTS The relief of financial hardship amongst people in Petersfield, Hampshire and the surrounding area in such ways as the trustees from time-to-time think fit, in particular, but not exclusively by providing emergency food, essential toiletries & household items to individual & families in need &/or for distribution by charities or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty. CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS Petersfield Methodist Church AND OPERATIONAL PREMISES Station Road PETERSFIELD GU32 3EB
WEBSITE www.pactfoodbank.org.uk
BANKERS National Westminster Bank Charities Aid Foundation Bank 250 Bishopsgate 25 Kings Hill London West Malling EC2M 4AA ME19 4JQ
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT
Introducton & Overview
The charity operates to assist people at a time of crisis and provides a safety net until their personal circumstances improve. PACT Food Bank provides free packs of dry food, essential toiletries and household items. Cash vouchers are also given for people to spend at Petersfield market for fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, eggs and bread.
Requests for help are made by referrals from approved partners, e.g. Citizens’ Advice, local housing groups, social workers, health care providers, HomeStart Butser and local schools and churches. When needed people are signposted to other agencies.
The organisation started in 2016 when Petersfield Area Churches Together (PACT) took over the running of the Salvation Army Food Bank. PACT Food Bank became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation at the beginning of 2021. This is our fifth year of operation as a registered charity.
Actvites during the year
Usage of the Food Bank fell slightly in 2025, but is still significantly highly than it was preCovid. The table below shows the number of food packs given and the number of adults and children helped.
| en helped. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Number of packs issued |
Number ofpeople helped | ||
| Adults | Children | Total | ||
| 2019 | 319 | 497 | 210 | 707 |
| 2020 | 1073 | 1692 | 959 | 2651 |
| 2021 | 848 | 1340 | 750 | 2090 |
| 2022 | 1277 | 1939 | 1016 | 2955 |
| 2023 | 1517 | 2336 | 1416 | 3752 |
| 2024 | 1513 | 2323 | 1442 | 3765 |
| 2025 | 1139 | 1620 | 1105 | 2725 |
We have worked hard with referring agencies to ensure that users of the Food Bank do not become reliant on our services, but move onto other forms of help, be it assistance with budgeting or increased benefits, through Citizens Advice, or welfare departments of housing associations or debt management, for example. At Christmas 2025 we again worked in collaboration with the Salvation Army, providing 135 Christmas food hampers to households in and around Petersfield who had been referred as being in need by local agencies.
Organisaton
Trustees
We are fortunate to have had a stable and effective group of Trustees during the year.
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Management and membership
The legal and formal responsibility for PACT Food Bank falls to the Management Committee which consists of the Trustees and additional members. Elaine Hobson joined our committee in 2025, but Nicola Deakin decided to step away; she remains a volunteer, and we thank her for her contribution. Our manager, Kay Thomas, does a superb job managing the Food Bank day to day. We are working with other volunteers with a view to them becoming future trustees.
Volunteers
We have the support of about 50 volunteers who collect food donations, receive, sort and make up packs of food for distribution. Volunteers receive training and generally work once a month, and we are particularly grateful to our band of drivers who work very hard to collect our donations from various drop off points around Petersfield. Two new volunteers were trained during 2025. We are very appreciative of the time and effort our volunteers give to the Food Bank.
Food Donatons
We continue to be heavily supported by many local businesses, schools, churches, charity groups and the wider community, particularly around harvest festival time and Christmas, for which we are extremely grateful. We offer our thanks to all the businesses who display our shortages lists, including the PACT churches and offices. Special thanks to Shine Radio for broadcasting them weekly. They are also available to view on Facebook, the Bank the Food app and on our website: www.pactfoodbank.org.uk
Financial Donatons
Our finances remain in a healthy position, and contributions from Petersfield organisations and individuals continue at a high level, for which we are extremely grateful. For the first time, we have applied for, and gained, a government grant of £5,000, as part of the DWP Household Support Food Provision Grant, administered by Hampshire County Council, which has been used towards the cost of vouchers issued for the purchase of fresh food from Petersfield Market.
Premises
The charity operates from Petersfield Methodist Church, the use of which we have four mornings a week. Our whole operation runs from there and we are indebted to the Methodist Church for use of their premises.
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| Charity Name | Charity Name | No | No | CC16a | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PACT Food Bank | 1193002 | |||||
| Receipts and payments accounts | ||||||
| For the period from 1 January 2025 |
Period end date | |||||
| 31 December 2025 | ||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | ||||||
| Unrestricted funds | Total funds | Last year (2024) | ||||
| to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | ||||
| A1 Receipts | ||||||
| Online Donations | 29,367 | 29,367 | 31,918 | |||
| Cheque Donations | 3,050 | 3,050 | 3,735 | |||
| Cash Donations | 1,004 | 1,004 | 883 | |||
| Orgnisation Donations | 5,385 | 5,385 | 7,282 | |||
| Gift Aid | 5,852 | 5,852 | 7,117 | |||
| Government Grant via Hampshire CountyCouncil |
5,000 | 5,000 | 0 | |||
| Bank Interest | 1,838 | 1,838 | 2,174 | |||
| Sub total (Gross income for AR) | 51,495 |
51,495 | 53,109 | |||
| Total receipts | 51,495 | 51,495 | 53,109 | |||
| A3 Payments | ||||||
| Administration | 293 | 293 | 626 | |||
| Insurance | 499 | 499 | 477 | |||
| Market vouchers, vegetables, eggs, cheese |
23,438 | 23,438 | 31,735 | |||
| Food supplies | 588 | 588 | 7,045 | |||
| Manager salary, pension and expen | s 12,298 |
12,298 | 11,356 | |||
| Heating contribution to Methodist Church |
2,000 | 2,000 | 3,000 | |||
| Sub total | 39,116 | 39,116 | 54,239 | |||
| Total payments | 39,116 | 39,116 | 54,239 | |||
| Net of receipts/(payments) | 12,379 | 12,379 | -1,129 | |||
| A5 Transfers between funds | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| A6 Cash funds last year end | 105,145 | 105,145 | 106,274 | |||
| Cash funds this year end | 117,524 | 117,524 | 105,145 | |||
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories | Details | Details | Unrestricted funds | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to nearest £ | ||||||
| B1 Cash funds | Nat west bank a/c --240 | 6,661 | 10,081 | |||
| Nat west bank a/c --833 | 0 | 209 | ||||
| Nat west bank a/c --825 | 740 | 1,445 | ||||
| Charities Aid Foundation Current a/c |
1,119 | 3,162 | ||||
| Charities Aid Foundation Gold a/c |
108,937 | 90,197 | ||||
| Cash | 66 | 50 | ||||
| 0 | ||||||
| Total cash funds | 117,523 | 105,145 | ||||
| (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
1 | |||||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Signature | Print Name | Date of approval | |||
| RJHollingbery | Richard Hollingbery | 09 February 2026 |
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Notes to the Accounts
The Accounts are prepared on an Income and Expenditure basis.
Bank accounts are held at the Charities Aid Foundation Bank and the National Westminster Bank. Bank statements have been reconciled in independent records.
No financial value has been placed on the value of donated food and services. No rent is paid for the use of premises, though a contribution is made towards heating costs.
Volunteers give their time at no cost to the organisation.
Overall, we have a surplus of £12,000 compared to a loss the previous year. Although financial donations are a little less than last year, expenditure on food supplies is substantially reduced primarily due to a generous donor who has purchased bulk supplies from our shortages list which are published each month. Expenditure on market vouchers is also reduced due to a fall in the number of people using the Food Bank.
Reserves Policy
The charity only has short-term liabilities. There are no property expenses, and one member of part time staff started employment during 2023, and continues in employment.
Initial enquiries (a few years ago) have indicated that the cost of alternate premises (should they be required) is likely to be in the region of £23,000 per year.
Through the generosity of financial donors, sufficient reserves have been built up over the years which would enable the food bank to rent premises (for a couple of years) should the Methodist Church premises no longer be suitable, thus safeguarding the future of the organisation.
There is also sufficient to cover running costs for a year and to cover the cost of employment of a manager for two years.
| t of a manager for two years. | |
|---|---|
| Reserves. Bank Balances | |
| Approx twoyearspremises costs | £50,000 |
| Oneyear runningcosts | £40,000 |
| Twoyear employment of manager | £25,000 |
| £115,000 |
Examiner
We are very grateful to Murray Whewell who has examined our accounts for the past four years since the Food Bank became a charity.
Approval
Approved & signed on behalf of the Trustees by:
Name: Richard Hollingbery Position held: Treasurer Date: 27[th] April 2026
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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of PACT Food Bank
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the PACT Food Bank for the year ended 31 December 2025.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees, 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. 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:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act
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the accounts do not accord with those records
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the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
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.
Signed:
Name: Murray Whewell BSc MSc MA
Address: 40 Old Farm Close, Petersfield, Hampshire GU31 4GE
Date: 3 May 2026
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