2025-03-31-accounts

CHEF – The Community Health Education Food Project

A CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION

CHARITY REGISTRATION NO. 1196599 ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS January 2025

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(HARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES THIS CERTIFIES THAT CHEF-THE COMMUNITY HEALTH EDUCATION FOOD PROJECT REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1196599 HAS BEEN REGISTERED BY THE Charlty Commlsslon for England and Wales ON THE DATE OF 16 November 2021 CERTIFIED BY lan Karet Chair Dr Helen Stephenson CBE Chief Execukn"ve Officer 21Page

A CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION

(CHARITY NO. 1196599 )

ANNUAL REPORT January 2025

CONTENTS

	Pages
Trustees’ report	4
Charity Accounts	10
Notes to the Accounts	13

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

22[nd] February 2024

Status

CHEF has charitable status and is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“CIO”).

1196599

Charity registration number Trustees The trustees are;

Sarah Gardner (Chair & treasurer) Naomi Youngs David Youngs

Patron The charity currently does not currently have a patron.

Governing document As a Charitable Incorporated Organisation whose only voting members are its charity trustees CHEF has adopted the “Foundation” model constitution when entered on the Register of Charities on 16[th] November 2021.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT 23rd February 2024

Objects: TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT THE HEALTH OF THE PUBLIC BY PROVIDING HEALTHY EATING AND BUDGETING ADVICE.

EDUCATIONAL COOKING WORKSHOPS ON COOKING SKILLS, FOOD PREPARATION AND HEALTHY EATING.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080030356001

“I was inspired to set up the charity CHEF, whilst volunteering as a Community Champion for Hillingdon for All. I learnt through H4ALL that West London has a health problem with diabetes and obesity (caused by bad eating habits). There is also a cost-of-living crisis, with many people struggling to afford food. I remembered when travelling with my uncle in the Australian outback, we made the food last with basis cookery skills (after the meat had spoilt, we made curries with a few vegetables and lots of spices). By teaching people how to cook, they can make their food go further and they will be healthier. Whilst carrying out charity work with the London Community Kitchen. I witnessed the amazing things that they achieved and was impressed with their ‘Plant to Plate philosophy’. Volunteering with both the Rotary club, supporting local foodbanks and as a Trustee of Hounslow Community Food Box I saw the need for Food banks had increased substantially since 2020. From my time as a school governor, I also knew that cooker skills were no longer standard on the school curriculum. I felt that we needed something like this in Hillingdon, and subsequently CHEF was born.

I would like to thank Hillingdon for All, in particular Naomi, Bell Farm Christian Centre our cookery teacher Purnima and her cookery assistant Poonam (both H4ALL community Champions), Jacqui for her expertise and Jennipher for her microwave recipes, and everyone else who has made the concept of CHEF become a reality”

– Sarah Gardner Chair and Founder of CHEF, Well-being for All and Serving Our Superheroes.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

22[nd] February 2024

MAIN ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT

To improve and protect the health of the public by providing education on cookery skills and healthy eating, whilst focusing on cooking on a budget, to help end food poverty.

CHEF – Community Health Education Food Project Purpose

CHEF (Community Health Education Food Project) was established as a locally rooted community initiative to improve food confidence, nutritional knowledge, and healthy eating outcomes for people experiencing disadvantage. Through a combination of place-based delivery and digital public health campaigns, CHEF has achieved wider national reach and emerging international engagement.

Who CHEF Supported

• Refugees and asylum seekers

• Children and parents engaged in health improvement programmes

• Food bank service users

• Care-experienced young people preparing for independent living

• Individuals and families affected by the cost-of-living crisis

What CHEF Delivered

Started in 2021 and delivered free cookery education sessions for Afghan refugees in West Drayton, in partnership with Bell Farm Christian Centre and H4ALL ( Hillingdon for All) .

• Sessions focused on healthy, affordable cooking, confidence with UK vegetables, and practical meal preparation.

• Participants were supported with cooked food to take away and recipe guidance.

• Contributed healthy, budget-focused recipes and nutrition guidance to an NHS child obesity pilot programme , supporting after-school cookery sessions involving children and parents and the recipes featured in the NHS cookbook.

• Shared recipes and budgeting advice and advice re storage on food and making leftovers go further i.e. pickling vegetables to preserve them etc via Facebook page.

• In 2023 we delivered a low-energy and microwave cooking campaign in collaboration with Jennipher Marshall-Jenkinson (UK Microwave Technologies Association), supporting households facing rising energy costs. Other campaigns included ‘eat the rainbow’, food preservation and explaining expiry dates / understanding labels and money saving tips.

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2024–2025 | Food Education at Scale

• Developed and launched our own CHEF healthy budgeting cookbook , in August 2024, which was designed to translate food education into a portable, scalable resource . Many of the recipes were designed around typical food bank food parcels (we worked with the food banks to see what ingredients were typical in food parcels. The books also included cooking tips (methods and timings), tips for budgeting, meal planners, healthy eating information and tips on stretching food.

• Distributed cookbooks with herb and spice packs to enhance dignity, choice, and nutritional value within food aid.

• Supported care-experienced young people through the Staying Close Project , delivered by Emlea Support Services in partnership with the London Borough of Hillingdon , helping young people build essential independent living skills.

• 1 October 2024 – Official launch of the CHEF cookbook at Emlea Support Services, Hillingdon House .

• Currently working on a Food for Focus project with Dr Rachel Gow re food to help with symptoms on ADHD – we have been sharing information on Food for Focus on our facebook page and we are looking to run a pilot in schools, accessing how changes in the menu affect the focus of students in the classroom.

2024–2025 | Digital Public Health & Information Campaigns

• Delivered ongoing healthy eating, budgeting, and low-cost cooking information campaigns inc microwave cooking via CHEF’s Facebook platform, enabling reach beyond local in-person delivery.

• Campaign themes included:

• Budget-friendly recipes using typical food-parcel ingredients

• Cost-of-living food advice and meal-stretching guidance

• Signposting to food banks and free food support

• Seasonal campaigns (school holidays and Christmas)

• Originally set up as a local initiative in Hillingdon, in 2024 we updated our charity governing documents to update our purpose so that we could serve a wider customer base and help more people in need.

Digital Reach & Audience Impact (Facebook Insights)

• CHEF maintained an active and growing digital community of 394 followers , supporting the ongoing dissemination of public health and food education messages.

• Audience profile reflects those most likely to influence household food choices: o 60% women / 40% men

• Core age groups: 35–44 (31.9%) , 45–54 (31.4%) , 55–64 (20.7%)

• Geographic reach demonstrates scale beyond CHEF’s local origins :

• 96.7% United Kingdom , confirming strong national reach

• International followers recorded , including Australia (0.5%) and Italy (0.5%) , demonstrating emerging global interest in CHEF’s food education content

• Content discovery data highlights scalability:

• 50% accessed content directly via the CHEF page

• 39% discovered content through Reels , extending reach beyond existing followers and local networks

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• Facebook functioned as a low-cost national dissemination channel , enabling CHEF to share consistent, evidence-based food education at scale.

Scale, Breadth and Impact

CHEF demonstrates:

• Local depth through place-based delivery with refugees, families, food banks, and care leavers

• National breadth through UK-wide digital engagement and information campaigns

• Emerging international reach through overseas followers engaging with CHEF content

• Growing digital presence , strengthening CHEF’s ability to scale impact sustainably

CHEF – Community Health Education Food Project

Locally delivered. Nationally relevant. Growing and scalable public health impact.

https://www.facebook.com/CHEF-Community-Health-Education-FoodProject-102515458900673

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CHEF was featured in the Lets Talk Business Magazine:

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CHEF ACCOUNTS

Receipts and Payments Account

During the reporting period, the charity received a trustee donation of £15 and incurred governance costs of £182.28 relating to charity insurance.

For the period ended January 2025

During the reporting period, CHEF received a small amount of voluntary income and incurred governance costs.

• Total income: £15.00

• Trustee donation

• Total expenditure: £182.28

• Charity insurance (governance cost)

• Net payments for the year: £167.28

• Cash and bank balance at start of period: £169.68

• Cash and bank balance at end of period: £2.40

All funds held at the year end are unrestricted.

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis , in accordance with Charity Commission guidance for small charities.

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

Notes to the Accounts – January 2025

Taxation

CHEF is exempt from the payment of taxes to the extent that it is a registered charity and therefore is not liable for Income Tax or Corporation Tax on income derived from charitable activities. CHEF does not have an obligation to register for VAT.

Gift Aid

CHEF is not registered for Gift Aid.

Receipts and Payments

During the reporting period, CHEF received £15 in voluntary income from a trustee donation and incurred governance costs of £182.28 relating to charity insurance. The closing bank balance at the year end was £2.40. All funds are unrestricted.

RESERVES STATEMENT

Reserves Policy

Due to the small scale of the charity and its reliance on volunteer time and partnership working, CHEF does not operate a formal reserves policy. The trustees consider the year-end balance of £2.40 to be appropriate for the charity’s current level of activity. The trustees will seek to build reserves when funding opportunities arise to support the charity’s future delivery and sustainability.

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End

Report prepared by Sarah Gardner (Chair & Founder).

22[nd] December 2025

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