2025-10-31-accounts - Westerham Foodbank

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Annual Report and Accounts

for Westerham Foodbank

For the Year ending 31 October 2025

Presented at the Annual General Meeting

20th March 2026

Our Mission

The prevention and relief of food poverty and the promotion of good health for the public benefit of all those living in and around Westerham, Kent, by primarily, but not exclusively operating a Foodbank and providing allied services.

WESTERHAM FOODBANK

Registered Office: Russell House, Market Square, Westerham, Kent. TN16 1RB Email: westerhamfoodbank@gmail.com Phone: 07721 509477 Registered Charity No: 1196367

Notice is hereby given of the Annual General Meeting of Westerham Foodbank

for the year ending 31 October 2025

to be held at 2pm on Friday 20th March 2026

Scout Hut, Hortons Way, Westerham

AGENDA

Apologies for absence – welcome and introduction -Trustees
Minutes of AGM February 2025
Matters arising from the previous AGM Minutes (year of 2023-2024)
Chair’s Report for year 2024-2025
Financial report for year ended 31 October 2025
Election of Trustees/Appointment of Officers
Any questions
Any other business/close meeting

To be followed by tea and cake

WESTERHAM FOODBANK MINUTES OF AGM 7 FEBRUARY 2025

ATTENDEES Mike Ogden – Volunteer Mike Bull – Morrisons Jenny Smith Diana Esler – Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) - Cllr Michael Pearsall – Royal British Legion John Stewart – Volunteer Kate Joyce – Citizens Advice Bureau Ian Breminer – Westerham Town Council 9W Caroline Martin – Volunteer Mary Heasman – Volunteer/ex Trustee Sandra White – Volunteer Philip Fletcher Teresa Hales – Volunteer Anne and Les Eames – Volunteers Judy Duffield – Volunteer Kate Brew Tony York – Driver/Morrisons Neil Proudfoot – WTC Carole Stewart – Volunteer Tracy McAllister – SDC – Heroes Anne Jagelman – Volunteer Chris Payne – Volunteer Anne Bailey – Volunteer Jonathan Lord – Volunteer APOLOGIES Fiona Owen – Trustee Jacqui Lendrim - Trustee Angela Howells – Town Clerk Westerham Town Council Anne Fletcher Barbara Humphrey Biggin Hill Carpets Canon John Diver Heather O’Neill Howard Kendall Jill Raffe Kevin Dunn Lyndsay Hirst – Access Insurance Patricia Saward Stuart Money – St. James Place Val Maag Sue Talbot, Sue Redpath

1. Apologies – see above

Minutes from previous AGM 02.02.2024 were passed without comment.

3. Matters arising – none

Chair reported on current situation concerning support of households by Westerham Foodbank (WFB)
now around the mid 50’s – 6 new households since January 2025.
New households are now presenting with more complex needs and issues through referrals from agencies such as Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and social prescribers
Clients can be giving up work or working less; particularly when needing to take up caring responsibilities.
Thanks to CAB and Sevenoaks Heroes for the support they offer on a regular basis
WFB wanted to take this opportunity to remember Sian Hiller at Edenbridge CAB who so sadly and suddenly passed away recently. She was a tremendous help to us and will be much missed.
Donations – we are so very grateful for all the donations we receive in all forms – they are all much appreciated and we could not operate without them.
Admin – as a registered charity the paperwork has increased exponentially – and it has been a huge challenge to the Trustees to ensure that all safeguards, policies and financial arrangements have been organised and written to meet Government requirements. It has also been a year of digitisation – this has proved to be incredibly efficient – so a very big thank you to Liz Wicks, husband and team at the Westerham Brewery for all their hard work and generosity in so many ways.
The Team – we run the Foodbank with a marvelous team of volunteers – you are all vital to the safe and much needed service from WFB – we now have 7 Trustees and over 40 volunteers – but we are always looking to recruit more as we have to bear in mind Succession Planning to ensure we can continue into the future. We are delighted to be supporting a current Duke of Edinburgh school student who is working with Trustees to build a web page for WFB as part of their project.
The Future – the future looks uncertain – the cost-of-living index is predicted to rise by a further 4% this year according to the Bank of England report from 06.02.2025 – for those on very low incomes this a very worrying prospect and as such we cannot see any diminishing of the need for our services in the immediate future.
Retirement of current Chair – Helen Ogden – who has served WFB for 10 years and have been part of the development and successful continuation of the Foodbank – but has reached the end of her current term of office as a Trustee. Helen was thanked by all for all her dedication, hard work, professionalism and sheer perseverance in the face of so many very difficult circumstances and challenges. She will, thankfully, continue as a volunteer.

5. Treasurer’s Financial Report

Thanks were given to Liz Wicks for the comprehensive report on the finances as they stand on 07.02.2025 – the Finance Report covered the period to our year end 31.10.24, more general comments were current but not specific.
Expenses have been kept low – 7% of income used for expenses.
New costs include signing up to JotForm – the client shopping request list. We receive a charity discount and it has saved 6 ‘man’ hours a week of organising lists for delivery to clients each week
Equipment – scales needed to be bought to meet Health and Safety guidelines on volunteers handling heavy weights while fulfilling client food requests
Insurance costs have gone up – the new premium has now reached £615 pa – this is unavoidable and needs to be covered
We have a healthy surplus
Liz wishes to give Helen Ogden a personal thank you for guidance and support during her first year as Treasurer

6. Election of Trustees

Helen Ogden stood down as Chair and as a Trustee
Tim Warren was formerly elected as a Trustee
Nominations for posts of Chair and a new post Vice Chair
Appointment of Officers
Fiona Owen was duly appointed Chair - (Nominated by Jacqui Lendrim and seconded by Sharon Lord)
Sally Houston was duly appointed Vice Chair – (Nominated by Jacqui Lendrim and seconded by Sharon Lord)
Treasurer – Liz Wicks remains Treasurer
Gift Aid Trustee – Steven Porter remains as Gift Aid Secretary
Secretary – with the appointment of a Vice Chair, the tasks undertaken by the Secretary will be shared among continuing Trustees
Other roles – each Trustee takes on a lead role for of the key lines of the administration of WFB – determined by the Trustee Group

8. Any Other Business (AOB)

Mr. Michael Pearsall, representing the Royal British Legion (RBL) asked the Board if we are aware of any ex-service personnel accessing or receiving support from WFB. He reported that there are funds available from SDC – and would like to work together with WFB to identify individuals and families who would qualify for help. The discussion raised the topic of GDPR and the lack of access to relevant information and wondered how this might be overcome. It was felt that it would be useful to put Mr Pearsall in touch by email with Kate Joyce from CAB who might be able to investigate how to access the numbers. (She noted that there were consent changes at the CAB with less permissions to share information.) The support from RBL includes things like the supply of white goods or renovations needed to homes etc.
It was suggested that perhaps on the WFB Referral form from prospective (and existing, returning clients on re-referrals) that an addition might be made in terms of a question asking if anyone in the family was ex-service personnel, and if the answer was yes, would they be happy to be contacted by the RBL.
The Vice Chair has agreed to begin the email chain and will monitor developments.

The meeting closed with thanks from Diana Esler thanking WFB for all their hard work, with especially kind words for our outgoing Chair, Helen Ogden.

Tea and cake were then served.

Chair’s Report for 2024-2025

Report from the Chair 2024/2025

This report covers Westerham Food Bank’s 11th year of operation.

Again, it has been a year of change, our first year without Helen Ogden leading us. We really missed Helen’s knowledge, wisdom and energy. We have survived! This is due to the team of enthusiastic and dedicated trustees guiding us forward.

Our aim

Our aim continues to be to make ourselves redundant but that does not look like it will happen any time soon. We therefore continue to provide food, sufficient for three days each week, for those in need in and around Westerham.

Clients

Clients
CLIENTS	OCTOBER 2024	0CT0BER2025
No. of households	48	34
No. of families	22	17
No. of couples	4	2
No. of singles	22	15
No. of adults	57	44
No. of children	43	36
No. on benefts	Not recorded	7
Previous militaryservice	Not recorded	0

We continue to ask for referrals for clients who need Food Bank support. New clients can seek a referral from most agencies. After 6 months support, we ask for a re-referral, preferably from Citizens Advice. If a client has not needed support for 13 weeks, we contact them asking for a rereferral if they need further support. Thank you to Citizens Advice Bureau Edenbridge for your continued support with referrals.

The main reason our numbers have dropped is due to lack of re-referrals. It should be noted that we are significantly more generous than other Food Banks with our 6 monthly re-referral policy. Two trustees contact the clients to review their situation. Time is given to obtain a re-referral and if circumstances dictate, time extensions given. We encourage the clients to take responsibility. We also have a responsibility to our donors, to ensure we are correctly supporting clients.

Volunteers

The Food Bank would not survive without its wonderful team of 40 loyal volunteers (plus 8 trustees). They carry out a variety of tasks on a rota basis with flexibility, teamwork and good humour. The list of tasks is long and includes:

Collecting donations from various points & delivering to the Scout Hut
Collection from Morrisons on a Thursday morning
Weekly shopping at Morrisons spending the money from their generous token scheme
Early morning help to set up the Scout Hut
Meeting & greeting clients who collect their weekly request
Dating & sorting stock

· Delivering to clients in & around Westerham in all weathers

· Delivering to New Life Church Hub in Biggin Hill

Packing from the shed & the fresh food packers – we average 22 weekly requests

· Restocking

· Cake making – essential

Compiling our rota every 3 months (enormous thanks to Eleanor Lord)

· Access Insurance who help pack the Christmas boxes

Thank you to all our fabulous volunteers. We need and value every one of you.

Donations

Donations in kind

· We are extremely grateful for the generous monthly support from the Token Scheme at Morrisons, Oxted. We benefit from their customer’s generosity and Morrisons topping up the donation. This covers our weekly shop of dry goods. We attend partnership days at Morrisons to thank their customers.

· Collection baskets – these are located in Waitrose Biggin Hill, Westerham Co-op, Wolfe Garage, St. Marys Church, Squerryes Winery Park Run and Westerham Town Council Offices also accept donations.

· Deliveries to the Scout Hut – we receive regular donations from the Catholic Parishes of Westerham and Biggin Hill and also from the Old Yard, Brasted who have so far donated 10 052 items of food. Thank you all.

· Harvest, Christmas & Easter – we gratefully receive generous donations from Churchill School, Holy Trinity Crockham Hill, Radnor House School, St Marks Biggin Hill, St Marys Tatsfield, St Marys Westerham, Bodyworx and Aquaflame in Biggin Hill.

· At Christmas we received a large donation of toiletries organised by Liv Bainbridge, Sacred Heart Prefect at Woldingham School.

· Westerham Brewery continue to support the Food Bank with weekly printing of delivery notes & schedules, a venue for packing the Christmas boxes and a venue for the trustee meetings. Thank you.

Financial Donations

The importance of financial donations and details are contained in the Treasurer’s Report.

Highlights of the year

Jotform - We continue to successfully use this online form builder for client ordering. Clients access Jotform via a link on WhatsApp or email. We now also use it for volunteer availability for the rotas and for our client data base, simplifying some administration tasks.

Food Bank web site – westerhamfoodbank.org

We are extremely grateful to a pupil from a local school doing their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award, who put together our web site. It is divided into three sections – volunteering, getting help and donating with links to contact us. Please do have a look.

New Life Church Hub - We now deliver all Biggin Hill client requests to New Life Church for clients to collect between 10.30 & 11.30 on a Thursday. This has proved to be successful for the clients, who can also access other community support there.

New shed shelves - we needed stronger shelves in the two sheds and these were made and donated by Paul & Kerry Chilvers. Thank you.

Fresh fruit & vegetables – We now supply fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and bread in addition to eggs each week.

Looking forward

We continue to welcome new volunteers and would also welcome more trustees on the team for succession. Please speak to any of the trustees for more information.

With our current client numbers, the generous weekly support from Morrisons, Westerham Scouts support with our home, the donations in kind & the financial donations we have received, prudent spending and the wonderful support from all the Westerham community, the Food Bank’s future looks secure for another year.

Fiona Owen

FINANCIAL REPORT FROM THE TREASURER – 2024-2025

Financial Year 01.11.24-31.10.25

Banking

We started the financial year with a healthy bank balance which I’m pleased to report continues to date thanks to the generous support of donors and grants.

Westerham Foodbank has a Business Current Account and an interest-bearing 90-day Savings Account with NatWest, where its reserves generate interest income. As of 28th February 2026, it is earning 2.72% gross, 2.75% AER which is competitive, but this is kept under review.

Income - Grants, Donations & Fundraising

We don’t take any support for granted and are very grateful for grants from Sevenoaks District Council’s Household Support Fund, The Barley Trust and The Nisa Foundation and for donations from individuals, local businesses, schools and community events.

Goods in Kind – Morrisons Scheme

Prior to July 2025 the amount available to spend at Morrisons through their ‘Buy a Bag’ scheme was confirmed verbally or by whatsapp message from the Community Liaison at Morrisons Oxted.

A new scheme was introduced in the summer of 2025 which formalized the arrangement, whereby we receive two e-Gift Cards each month which are used to stock up on core items in store each week. The value can be ‘spent’ over a period of time with the value of the Gift Card going down with each shop.

At Morrisons request, approximately 20% of the value received is forwarded to another local charity, Their Voice.

Expenditure

Spending is under constant review.

Administrative costs are kept to an absolute minimum with the biggest expenses being the Jotform subscription and the Insurance premium.

We get a 50% charity discount from Jotform, reducing the annual subscription to £187.11.

There was no increase in last year’s insurance premium thanks to Access Insurance in Croydon who specialise in church, community and charity insurance. Insurance covers us for essentials such as Public Liability, Personal Accident, Trustees Indemnity, cover for Fundraising Activities as well as damage to the storage sheds and their contents and equipment such as weighing scales.

In this financial year administrative costs amounted to 4.94% of total income.

Weekly online purchases are made for fresh goods from Sainsburys. We make use of Nectar prices and discounts whenever possible and a delivery pass to minimize delivery costs. Sainsburys deliver our fresh vegetables, fruit, bread and eggs to the Scout Hut every week, a welcome development that now extends to a choice of 4 fruit, 4 vegetables, free range eggs and bread.

Risks

The board of trustees has determined that our unrestricted reserves should be maintained at a minimum of 6 months of operating expenses to allow us to cover essential costs during unforeseen circumstances, such as: -

Withdrawal of Sevenoaks District Council’s Household Support Fund (£10,115 in 2024/5, down from £11,332 in 2023/4)
Withdrawal of support by Morrisons Supermarket (£5887.53 in 2024/5)
Withdrawal of free use of the Scout Hall by 17th Sevenoaks (Westerham) Scout Group
Other drops in income (donations, grants)

Currently reserves protect the Foodbank’s ability to maintain expenditure at current levels for at least 4 ¾ years should one of these risks came to pass.

Reserves are unrestricted with no restrictions or designations for specific use.

Our Reserves Policy follows.

Liz Wicks Treasurer

Westerham Foodbank Reserves Policy

1. Introduction

This reserves policy outlines the approach Westerham Foodbank takes to maintain a healthy financial position, ensuring we can fulfil our mission even in times of financial uncertainty.

2. Purpose of Reserves

Reserves are funds set aside to cover future needs. They help us:

Ensure stability and continuity of our services
Manage unexpected fluctuations in income or expenses
Fund future projects and initiatives

3. Types of Reserves

Reserves may be categorized into two types:

Restricted Reserves : Funds that are designated for specific purposes, as per donor
stipulations or grants
Unrestricted Reserves : Funds available for any purpose, providing us flexibility in
managing operations

4. Level of Reserves

The board of trustees has determined that our unrestricted reserves should be maintained

at a minimum of 6 months of operating expenses. This level will allow us to cover essential costs during unforeseen circumstances, such as:

Drops in income (donations, grants)
Withdrawal of support by Morrisons Supermarket
Emergency expenditures

5. Review Process

The board of trustees will review the reserves policy annually prior to the AGM, considering:

Current financial position
Risk assessment
Future financial forecasts

6. Usage of Reserves

In the event that reserves are drawn upon, the board will ensure that:

The reason for the drawdown is documented and justified
A plan is in place to replenish reserves over the next 6 months e.g. fundraising
Stakeholders are informed as appropriate

7. Investment of Reserves

Unrestricted reserves may be invested in low-risk, easily accessible options to ensure they grow while remaining liquid. The board of trustees will review investment strategies annually.

8. Communication

This reserves policy is available to all stakeholders, including trustees, volunteers, and donors, to promote transparency and confidence in our financial management.

9. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed every year or sooner if there are significant changes to our financial situation or operational strategy.

10. Approval

This reserves policy was approved by Westerham Foodbank’s board of trustees 21.11.24.

TRUSTEES AT DATE OF REPORT

Name	Date of appointment
TimothyWarren	07.02.25
Elizabeth Wicks	02.02.24
SallyHouston	02.02.24
Sharon Lord	26.05.22
Stephen Porter	02.11.21
Jacqueline Lendrim	01.11.21
Fiona Owen	02.10.21

ELECTION OF TRUSTEES AND APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS

ELECTION		NOMINATED		SECONDED	SECONDED
Sue Mueller		Fiona Owen		SallyHouston
John Stewart		SallyHouston		Fiona Owen
APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS	POSITION		NOMINATED		COMMENTS
Fiona Owen	Chair				Agreed to carryon
SallyHouston	Vice Chair				Agreed to carryon
SallyHouston	Secretary				Agreed to carryon
Treasurer	Liz Wicks				Agreed to carryon
Gift Aid/Charity Commission	John Stewart Liz Wicks		Fiona Owen/Sally Houston		Agreed to take on rolejointly

STANDING DOWN AS TRUSTEE

Steve Porter

Income and Expenditure Statement Westerham Foodbank For the year ended 31 October 2025 Account 2025 % of Income In¢om8 Ck)nalions Crjnalions in kind Grant - Badey Trust Grant - Selenoaks tJstricl C(xmlI HMRC Gift Aid Interest Incom Total In¢omo 10.861.70 5,887.53 1,050.00 10.115.CIJ 1.394.07 938.95 30.247.25 35.91Vo 19.46V• 3.4P 33.44% 4.61% 3.100 100.00% Expenditure Cost of Goods Spent donations in kind arilable DCallonS Gener81 expen8e8 Insurance Sub$criptiM$ Tolgphonas Totsl Expgndltur? 13.034.62 4,918.65 517.37 428.81 615 60 187.11 43.09V. 16.26Y• 1.71% 1.429/tl 2.04% 0.62¥• 0.86Y 66.00% 19.962.24 Balanca of Income after Expendlturo 10,285.01 34.00% Statsment of Flnanclal Position Westerham Foodbank at 31 October 2025 31 Oct 2025 Curr•nt Au•ts Cash at bank and In hand Morrisons e-Gift Card Westerham F(tsk Current AcCnI Wesletham Fcodbank Pètty Cash Weslerham F¢JJJbank Reser Acccunt Total Cash at bank and In hand Total Current 451.51 11,585.52 133.93 36,306.85 48,477.81 48.477.81 N•t Current Aw•is ILlabllltle$) 4B.477.31 Total Assots less Current Liabiliti•$ 48.477.81 N•t Awts 48,477.81 Capltsl and Reserves Current Year Eafflings Retained E8mings Totsl Capltal and Ros•M$ 10.285.01 38,192.80 48,477.81 15