Beaminster Foodbank Charity number: 1206328 Annual report for Year 1[st] January 2024 - 31[st] December 2024
Beaminster Foodbank is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation
It has four trustees.
Beaminster Foodbank Objectives
Beaminster Foodbank exists for The relief of financial hardship amongst people in Beaminster and the surrounding area in such ways as the trustees from time-to-time think fit, in particular, but not exclusively by:
a) providing emergency food, essential toiletries, and household items to individuals and families in need and/or for distribution by charities or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty
b) such other means, including (but not limited to) the provision of support or signposting to relevant information and other advisory services.
All our work in the past year has been direct to the relief of poverty through providing food and toiletries.
Report from Foodbank Co-Ordinator – Helen Smith
Beaminster Food Bank continues to provide food to people within Beaminster and surrounding villages experiencing financial difficulties.
We try to provide a friendly, individual service and treat all with dignity.
Last year we provided 858 parcels, helping 2,477 people, of all ages including families, the elderly and overseas care workers. We also supplied the Senior Youth Club at Prout Bridge project with money to support a hot meal at their club on a Friday night, feeding approximately 30 young people every week.
We have good support from around the town, receiving food donations from various points and can provide fresh meat, fruit and vegetables from the cash donations given to our local butchers and greengrocers. Morrisons Bridport supply a trolley of food once a month.
Volunteer Report – Patricia Herbert, Volunteer Co-ordinator
Beaminster Food Bank services a small rural town and the surrounding villages. We are very lucky to have a small, regular and loyal group of volunteers who work on a roster system with volunteers working either fortnightly or weekly or a flexible 3-4 hour session.
We aim to be a friendly Food Bank and are able to get to know our clients as individuals and treat all with dignity and kindness whilst maintaining confidentiality. Confidentiality is important and sometimes a challenge for volunteers who live with clients in a small community.
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Our Volunteers aim to be flexible and aware of clients’ dietary requirements, cooking abilities, likes and dislikes. This can be a challenge sometimes, but we are flexible and try to stock foods suitable for clients from other countries. We are limited by space and must operate out of a small store suitable for 2 people only but manage well within the limitations.
Achievements and Performance
This has been our busiest year to date, with the most food parcels and people fed. We have continued to increase our cash spend on food but have been grateful to receive grants and donations to continue our work.
We rely entirely on our excellent and committed volunteers to purchase, sort and distribute food. We are supported by the Prout Bridge Project who gives us space in the building to carry out our work. We have built strong community partnerships with schools, healthcare professionals, CAB, Magna Housing and Prout Bridge to support clients who use the foodbank and to signpost them on to further support.
We are part of a community network of other food providers in Beaminster which are Fare Share Pop Up Community Larder and Beaminster Community Fridge. We are supported by Emily Brown, Dorset Council, Community Engagement Project Officer and Help and Kindness who coordinate support for food charities in the wider Dorset area. We work closely with Beaminster Charities to support some of our Beaminster family foodbank clients with a Christmas hampers. We have a number of regular monthly financial donors.
We are distinct from other foodbanks in a number of ways. Clients are able to self-refer. We aim to provide food to their tastes and needs and to give enough food for around a week. We can provide support for longer periods of time if needed. We are supported by a local voucher scheme run in association with our local greengrocers and butchers.
Financial Review
| Financial Review | ||
|---|---|---|
| Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period |
Para 1.21 | We consider ourselves in good financial health with income exceeding expenditure. Just over 50% of our income comes from grant funding and without that funding we would need to do more fundraising and spend more of our reserves. |
| Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held |
Para 1.22 | We don’t hold reserves, all our monies are held in our current account. We have operating costs for 14 months available at current expenditure. We also realise that should we lose our free space in the building, we would need to rent a space and costs would increase. |
| Amount of reserves held | Para 1.22 | No reserves. Current balance in the bank account is £21,000 |
| Reasons for holding zero reserves |
Para 1.22 | n/a |
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| Details of fund materially in deficit |
Para 1.24 | n/a |
|---|---|---|
| Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern |
Para 1.23 | We feel comfortable that we are a going concern. |
Additional Information
Our primary source of funds are donations, both food and cash. We also benefit from money donated as vouchers at our local greengrocer and butcher. We have been supported by generous donations from the Household Support Fund administered by Dorset Council.
The principal risks facing the charity are:
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Losing access to our space to operate. We currently are guests in a building owned by Dorset Council and run by the Prout Bridge Project. If we lost this space we would not be able to operate until we found other suitable premises. This would stop our work and would have a cost impact on the future running of the foodbank if we had to pay for rent.
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Inflation on food prices. Every year the price of food increases and so the cost of feeding people goes up too.
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Lack of donations – without generous donations we would not be able to provide food to our clients.
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Substantial cuts to government welfare might increase the number of clients we would support.
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Losing our regular grant money from Dorset Council
Structure Governance and Management
Beaminster Foodbank is governed by constitution. It is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation whose only voting members are its charity trustees.
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a. Trustees can join the governing board by applying. The chair, secretary and treasurer are elected from the board by the trustees. Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed [for a term of [three] years] by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees.
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b. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.
Trustees are given a copy of the constitution and previous annual report on joining the trustee body. They are given a tour of the foodbank and meet with volunteers to understand the work of Beaminster Foodbank. They are supported in their first year by a current trustee.
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| Charityname | Beaminster Foodbank |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses | |
| Registered charity number | 1206328 |
| Charity’s principal address | 6 Prout Hill, Beaminster DT8 3AY |
| Charityname | Charityname | Beaminster Foodbank | Beaminster Foodbank | Beaminster Foodbank | Beaminster Foodbank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses | |||||
| Registered charity number | 1206328 | ||||
| Charity’s principal address | 6 Prout Hill, Beaminster DT8 3AY | ||||
| 4 Trustee(s) | |||||
| Name Role |
Date of appointment |
||||
| Rev Joanna Beatrice Neary Chair |
18 November 2020 | ||||
| Daphne Eileen Belcher Trustee 31 October 2022 |
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| Helen Clare Smith Trustee 18 November 2020 |
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| JOY HELEN EDWARDS Trustee 18 November 2020 |
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Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s)
Full name(s) Joanna Beatrice Neary
Position (eg Secretary, Chair Chair, etc)
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Date 117125
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