**Dunstable Foodbank**
Trustee’s Report and Annual accounts covering the period 1[st] September 2024 to 31[st] August 2025 Registered charity number 1198625
Objects & Purpose of Charity Page 2 Legal & Administration Details Page 3 Trust Policies & Procedures Page 4 Trustee Responsibilities Page 5 Trustee Report Page 6-7 Financial Statement Page 8 Trustee Approval Page 9 Independent Examiner’s Report Page 10
## **Objects & Purpose of Charity**
The objects of the Charity as stated in the Declaration of Trust are:
"To relieve persons in Dunstable and the surrounding areas who are in conditions of need, hardship, or distress (beneficiaries) in such ways as the Trustees from time-to-time think fit."
"In furthermore of the first object, to supply boxes to beneficiaries, either directly or through agency partners approved by the Trustees, such boxes to contain tinned and dried foods to ensure a healthy, balanced and nutritious diet for up to three days."
"To do any other thing consistent with the primary purpose of the Charity, including
(but not limited to) the provision of counselling or other advisory services."
## **Legal & Administration Details**
The Charity was registered with the Charity Commission on 13th August 2022. The Charity previously operated as a CUA under charity number 1148632.
## Trustees:
**Chair Mr. Stuart Douglas** 4 Norcott Close Dunstable Beds LU5 4AH
## **Treasurer**
**Mr. Dudley Peacham** 23 Park Street Dunstable Beds LU6 1NL
**Appointed 1st April 2025 Mrs Jenny Goff** 138 Langdale Road Dunstable Beds LU6 3BT
**Appointed 1st Apr 2025 Mrs Katie Owen** 142 Holdate Drive Luton Beds LU4 0XD
**Mrs Gwynneth Bianchi** 9 Regent Street Dunstable Beds LU6 1LP
**Appointed 1st April 2025 Mr Mike Pittam** Vicarage Cottage Valley Road Studham, Dunstable Beds LU6 2NN
**Appointed 1st April 2025** Mr Jason Hodges 37 Kingsway Dunstable Beds LU5 4HE
## Bankers:
HSBC Bank, 63 George Street, LUI 2AR
## **Trust Policies & Procedures**
## Reserves Policy:
## **Dunstable Foodbank will**
- Maintain reserves in the General Fund at the level of at least 6 months General Fund expenditure.
- Also maintain 6 months anticipated expenditure for a van rental.
The reserves will be used at the discretion of the Trustees, to be agreed and minuted at a Trustees meeting.
The level of the reserves will be reviewed annually and minuted at a Trustees meeting.
## Financial Control Policy:
The Trustees have considered the operational, financial, and strategic risks faced by the Charity. They have formulated a policy that they believe allows them to control the financial affairs of the charity in line with Charity Commission recommendations.
## Risk Assessment:
The Trustees have considered the operational, financial, and strategic risks faced by the Charity. Management information is available to the Trustees to enable them to regularly monitor these risks and take appropriate mitigation measures. Public/Product Liability and Employer's Liability insurances are in place.
## Staff Disciplinary and Grievance Procedure:
The Trust has no formal written staff disciplinary and grievance procedure in place.
## Child Protection:
The Trust has adopted and adheres to the Child Protection Policies of the Trussell Trust.
## Data Protection:
The Trust is registered with the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. Registration number: ZA119722
## **Trustee Responsibilities**
The Trustees are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of its income for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
- prepare the financial statements on the 'going concern' basis unless it is inappropriate to presume
- that the Charity will continue.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and **hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.**
## **Trustee Report**
## **2024-2025 Annual Report**
It has been a privilege for the trustees to serve our community in Dunstable and Houghton Regis through the Foodbank. From April 2024 to March 2025, Dunstable Foodbank remained highly active, providing food parcels to local people facing hardship—an ongoing need that, sadly, shows no sign of easing in the near future.
## **Food Parcels Distributed**
As the graph below shows, the last financial year saw a slight decrease in the number of food parcels distributed. While any reduction may appear positive, many households remain under significant pressure as the cost of living continues to affect day-to-day essentials.
- Demand remains high, despite a modest year-on-year decrease.
- Rising bills and everyday costs continue to push people into crisis.
- Ongoing global uncertainty makes it difficult to predict whether this improvement will be sustained.
## **Donations**
Thankfully, the Foodbank continues to be supported by the extremely generous public, local churches, and a range of businesses across Dunstable and Houghton Regis. Whether through one-off gifts or regular commitments—financial donations or food items—we are deeply grateful. This ongoing support enables us to continue helping people who are going through difficult times.
## **Citizens Advice Collaboration**
Unless further funding is secured soon, our partnership with Citizens Advice is likely to end shortly. Through the SLA grant provided via our Trussell Trust partnership, a Citizens Advice representative has been available on-site during opening sessions at our distribution centres, offering timely and practical support to clients facing urgent personal difficulties. Food shortage is often a symptom rather than the underlying issue; having Citizens Advice on-site has enabled quicker access to wider support and services. We will, of course, continue to signpost clients to Citizens Advice during our daily sessions, as we did before the grant began.
## **New Warehouse Premises**
With the tremendous support and dedication of our volunteers and helpers, we successfully completed the relocation to our new premises at Unit 13, Eastern Avenue, Dunstable in March 2025. Although the move presented some initial challenges, these were swiftly addressed, and we are now fully settled and benefiting from facilities that are ideally suited to our needs. We are extremely thankful to our Landlords IPL for allowing us to obtain these premises and also for their excellent support to the Foodbank over the last year.
## **Trustees**
This last year saw the departure of one trustee, Ricky Turner, due to an increase in his ministerial commitments. Thankfully, we have also welcomed several new trustees who have brought valuable additional skills and experience to the board. The addition of Mike Pittam, Jason Hodges, Jenny Goff, and Katie Owen has been a real blessing, increasing our number of trustees to seven and enabling us to share responsibilities more effectively. This has made the day-to-day running of the Foodbank much more manageable.
**Financial Statement**
## RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS
## 2024/25 2023/24
|**Income **
Unrestricted|Restricted|Total
|Total|
|---|---|---|---|
|£
£
£
|||£|
|Donations from churches
10,340
-
10,340|||17,997|
|Donations from individuals
18,959
-
18,959|||20,437|
|HMRC Gift Aid
-
-
-
|||-|
|Other Donations
14,629
5,200
19,829|||24,707|
|Local Authority/Other Grants
6,218
7,505
13,723|||45,080|
|Trussell Trust income
13,905
69,956
83,861|||66,693|
|Donated Amazon Items Sale
2,264
-
2,264
-
Credit Interest
733
-
733
269||||
|**Total Receipts:**
**67,048**
**82,661**
**149,709 **|||**175,183**|
|**Expenditure**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Fixed Asset purchases
-
-
-||||-|
|Warehouse costs
14,878
5,200
20,078||||32,827|
|Vehicle Running expenses
3,030
-
3,030||||3,151|
|Stock purchased/Fresh Food
930
1,440
2,370||||1,907|
|Administration support
51,090
-
51,090||||52,175|
|CAB support
-
49,351
49,351||||43,024|
|Telephone, Postage and Internet
1,089
-
1,089||||479|
|Donations
-
-
-||||-|
|Insurances
1,754
-
1,754||||1,794|
|"Short Life" equipment
79
-
79||||2,667|
|Miscellaneous/other
625
625||||1,561|
|Printing
500
-
500||||714|
|**Total Payments:**
**73,975**
**55,991**
**129,966**||||**140,309**|
|**Net**
**(6,927)**
**26,670**
**19,743 **||||**34,874**|
|**Opening Balance 1st September 2024**
**157,556**|||||
|**Income**
**149,709**
**Expenditure**
**(129,966)**|||||
|**Net transfer from/to CUA**
**11,883**|||||
|**Closing Balance 31st August 2025**
**189,182 **|||||
We approve these accounts and confirm that they have made available all relevant records and information for their preparation
On behalf of the Trustees
|||
|---|---|
|**___________________________________**|**___________________________________**|
|
Signature
**___________________________________**|Signature
**___________________________________**|
|Name
**___________________________________**|Name
**___________________________________**|
|Date
Date||
## **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Dunstable Foodbank:**
I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31[st] August 2025, which are set out above..
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner:
As described on page 5, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that the audit requirement of section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act) does not apply. It is my responsibility to state, on the basis of procedures specified in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners under section 43(7)(b) of the Act, whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiners report:
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
## Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act; and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting
- requirements of the Act have not been met; or:
2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
**___________________________________ ____________________________________**
Signature
___________________________________
Date
Name