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2023-12-31-accounts

FEAST

(Families Eating And Sharing Together)

Annual Report and Financial Statement For the period 4 July 2022 to 31 December 2023

About FEAST

FEAST (Families Eating And Sharing Together) is a food project based in Kent. We are passionate about tackling food inequality through various projects including the hosting of family meals during school holidays and running two community larders in the locality called FEAST Fresh.

Trustees: Peter Smart – Chair
Catherine Leeson - Secretary
Christne Ansell
Liesje Athwal
Sarah Hardcastle
Felicity Layton
Michael Smout
Jennifer Smart
Charity number: 1199711 (England and Wales)
Principle address: Tonbridge Methodist Church
Higham Lane
Tonbridge
TN10 4JG

Review of the year / Trustees report

2022 was a busy year for FEAST. We continued with our core mission of addressing food poverty via two main projects; FEAST Lunch and FEAST Fresh. Our membership model means that guests fit our criteria, and it helps us identify further help and support, as we get to know our guests at a deeper level.

We also strengthened processes, reviewed policies and began to gather meaningful Management Information on a regular basis. This helped us to make fast decisions to reflect the changing face of poverty this year when we saw a significant upswing in the demand for our services (over 30% increase since 2021, much of this was in the last quarter of 2022).

Work on securing grants and other funding meant we could offer great social opportunities for our guests and pass on help with fuel and phone costs. Relationships with other charities also meant we could pass through individual welfare help, with guests receiving support with white goods, carpets and, through the Winter Warmers scheme supported by Tonbridge Lions, items to help them cope with the cold while managing increasing energy costs.

We were also supported by local churches and other charities to enable us to make sure every guest had a voucher to buy their Christmas turkey and a bag of ‘all the trimmings’ for Christmas. This, alongside the Tonbridge school fresh food market means that our guests could look forward to eating well over Christmas. Beautiful home-made blankets were also given out, gifted to us by Tonbridge Charity Crafters.

We remain so very grateful to so many organisations and people.

Facts and figures 2022

FEAST Fresh

In 2022 we ran 104 Community Larders, with an average of 45 visits per larder. In 2021 we averaged 32.5 visits per larder, so this is an increase of 38% in demand and equates to 4693 ‘larder visits’ so 4693 big bags packed with meat, dairy, veg, fruit, tins, dried goods and bread!

439 individual households used those larder visits. If we use 3 as the average number of people in each household, we can say 1317 people in our local area benefitted from the FEAST Fresh project in 2022.

In 2021 we reached 326 households, so 2022 was an increase of 35%

By the end of 2022, 152 of these have become full members of FEAST.

To achieve this, we bought surplus food from Fareshare, purchased food from local supermarkets, picked up leftover food at the end of the day from local supermarkets and received donations of food from both companies, shops and individuals.

We spent £5,760.20 with Fareshare

We spent £12,412.32 buying food from local stores.

We estimate that we receive over £6000 worth of goods in donations per month (recording started in July 2022).

FEAST Lunch

We held 24 FEAST lunches in 2022 across 4 different Churches.

We served 646 meals across 46 families.

Thanks to some specific Reconnect funding we were able to offer social activities and were pleased to have a range; forest school, circus skills, football, skate-boarding, science workshop, drumming. arts and craft.

We also held events at the Angel Centre (with roller skating and soft play) and Carroty Wood (with climbing, abseiling and ‘the great escape’).

Volunteers

None if this would be possible without our volunteers. There are no paid staff at FEAST.

As at the end of 2022 we have 112 fully active volunteers on our books with 3 more under recruitment.

Other activities

Christmas

We sent shopping vouchers worth £10, £20 or £30 (depending on household size) to 110 guests

140 bags were delivered out containing ‘all the trimmings’

Fuel

We issued fuel (gas/electric) vouchers worth £49 each to 151 guests

Winter Warmers

76 households benefitted from this scheme. We distributed:

Welfare

Tonbridge Lions Welfare fund secured two cookers, a freezer, a fridge, bunk beds and some carpets for six of our guests

Safeguarding

No safeguarding issues were reported during the period.

Risk

Risks are identified and managed across all levels of the charity. Trustees are accountable for the risks the charity takes. Strategic risks are considered by the Board at least every six months.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees recognise the need to hold sufficient free reserves to safeguard our core activities in the event of unforeseen events - such as a global pandemic and national lockdown - and to protect the organisation from unexpected funding challenges.

In the light of recent global events and after benchmarking against other similar organisations the Trustees believe that the charity should aim to hold unrestricted reserves of between 6 and 12 months of their operating expenditure.

Based on the 2022 financial year, we therefore aim to keep unrestricted reserves at between £24,000 and £48,000 over the coming year.

Towards the end of 2022, the demand for FEAST increased rapidly. We were concerned that, if numbers stayed high or even increased, we would soon struggle to accommodate all of our guests across our two weekly larders. We were wondering whether a third larder might be needed

By September 2023 our volunteer numbers had increased, including several from the Oaks Specialist College. This amazing college caters for young adults (16-25) with additional needs and looks to find opportunities for their learners to hone their skills. Following discussions, we have set up FEAST @ the Oaks, a Friday morning larder that offers ambient food to anyone unable to book a slot on Wednesday or Saturday or for our large families to have a second opportunity each week to access further food. This is going well, and the Oaks are also offering tea and coffee and a simple lunch. We are very happy with this partnership – it seems just perfect.

A highlight of 2023 was the celebration of our 5-year anniversary. Hosted at Tonbridge school, we invited volunteers, donors and the Mayor to hear more about what FEAST has achieved. It was a successful event and reminded us all of what we have achieved together. 2023 has been a year of the same; wonderful two-course lunches, and occasional brunches, offered through every school holiday and our busy larders on Wednesday, Friday & Saturday mornings.

We have secured grants and income, been blessed with new, and retained existing volunteers and continue to work with our host locations to create warm and welcoming communities. All of our guests had a voucher to buy their Christmas turkey and a bag of ‘all the trimmings’ to go alongside it. This, with the Tonbridge School Fresh Food market means that our guests could look forward to eating well over Christmas.

We remain so very grateful to these organisations and individuals.

Facts & Figures 2023

FEAST Fresh

In 2023 we ran 104 Community Larders, with an average of 56 visits per larder. In 2022 we averaged 45 visits per larder, so this is an increase of 24% in demand (demand increased by 38% from 2021 to 2022). That equates to 5,807 ‘larder visits’; so 5,807 big bags packed with meat, dairy, veg, fruit, tins, dried goods and bread.

300 individual households used those larder visits. This is a little lower than 2022 – we are pleased that some of our guests are moving on and getting thought the cost-of-living crisis.

At the end of 2023, 162 of these have become full members of FEAST. To achieve this, we bought surplus food from FareShare, purchased food from local supermarkets, picked up leftover food at the end of the day from local supermarkets and received donations of food from both companies, shops and individuals.

We estimate that we receive or collected over £80,550 worth of goods across 2023. This includes pick-ups from supermarkets at the end of the day, collection bins (e.g. Sainsburys), local businesses’ surplus, Harvest Festival giving, churches, community groups regular donations, groups of neighbours and kind individuals. So, if we convert £80,550 into potatoes (£1.29 for 2kg), that equates to just under 125,000kg of potatoes. If left to rot, 1kg of potatoes will produce 2.5kg of CO₂ – so we can model this to suggest that we have prevented 312,500 kg of CO₂ from being released.

FEAST Lunches 2023

We held 23 FEAST lunches in 2023 across 3 different locations. We served 778 meals across 55 families. We ensure there is fresh fruit and vegetables and also use rescued food, so that we are able to offer a two-course meal, costing us on average £2.72 per meal.

Volunteers None if this would be possible without our volunteers. We have no paid staff at FEAST. As at the end of 2023 we had 130 fully active volunteers and estimate that in total they have given just under 9,000 hours to FEAST across the year.

At Christmas we gave shopping vouchers worth £10, £20 or £30 (depending on household size) to all of our members. 140 bags were sent out containing ‘all the trimmings’.

Looking forward into 2024, as well as building on the success of the lunches and larders, one project that we hope to bring in to fruition is the Community Garden. If we can move ahead with this, then we envisage a partnership with other community groups and charities in Tonbridge.

We have been building a membership and welfare team who are getting to know our members at a deeper level. This gives us the opportunity to signpost them to further help. We really want to open up the opportunities our guests have to face challenges and move forwards.

As a way to increase awareness and raise funds, we will be taking part in the Tonbridge Lions Community Fete this year in June, and working with the Oaks Specialist College, we will be parading as ‘Food Waste Heroes’, manning a stall to raise money, build our brand and spread the word about FEAST.

FEAST FEAST FEAST FEAST 1199711 1199711 CC16a
FEAST
Receipts and payments accounts
For the period
from		 04-Jul-22 To 31-Dec-23
Secton A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Endowment
funds		 Total
funds		 Last year
to the
nearest £		 to the nearest
£		 to the nearest
£		 to the
nearest £		 to the
nearest £
A1 Receipts
Charitable Acts 12,931 - - 12,931 -
Donatons & legacies - - - -
General 87,887 - - 87,887 -
Local Government 12,350 - - 12,350 -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
Sub total(Gross income for AR) 113,168 - - 113,168
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see
table).
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total receipts 113,168 - - 113,168 -
A3 Payments
Programme Actvites 60,838 - - 60,838 -
Administraton & Training 1,007 - - 1,007 -
Finance (incl. Insurance & Subs 1,026 - - 1,026 -
Other 97 - - 97 -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
Sub total 62,968 - - 62,968 -
A4 Asset and investment purchases,
(see table)
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total payments 62,968 - - 62,968 -
Net of receipts/(payments) 50,200 - - 50,200 -
A5 Transfers between funds - - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end - - - - -
Cash funds this year end 50,200 - - 50,200 -
Secton B Statement of assets and liabilites at the end of the period
Categories Details Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Endowme
nt funds
to nearest £ to nearest
£		 to nearest
£
B1 Cash funds Current Account 26,001 - -
Business Reserve Account 40,113 - -
- - -
Total cash funds 66,114 - -
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Endowme
nt funds
Details to nearest £ to nearest
£		 to nearest
£
B2 Other monetary assets - - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Details Fund to
which asset
**belongs **		 Cost
(optonal)		 Current
value
(optonal)
B3 Investment assets - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Details Fund to
which asset
**belongs **		 Cost
(optonal)		 Current
value
(optonal)
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s
own use		 - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Details Fund to
which liability
relates		 Amount
due
(optonal)		 When due
(optonal)
B5 Liabilites -
-
-
-
-
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees		 Signature Print Name Date of
approval
Peter Smart Peter Hamilton Smart 20
October
2024
Liesje Athwal 20
October
2024

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of FEAST for the period 4 July 2022 to 31 December 2023

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 Foundation’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all of the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

of the Charities Act; or

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:

20 October 2024

Name: DAVID MURRAY

Independent Examiner