Annual Trustees Report 2024 Larne foodbank ANNUAL Trustees Report 2024 Our Vision Is to work towards an end to food poverty Our Mission Larne Foodbank Is to partner with local communities to help those who are experiencing food poverty Objectives To collect, sort and store donations of long-life food and toiletries Who we are Larne Foodbank is a non4enominational Christian outreach registered charity operating under the aUspiS of the Trussell Trust which has several hundred foodbanks throughout the United Kingdom. Larne Foodbank is supported by many churches, organisations, groups and individuals in and around Larne To provide a three day supply of food to individuals or families in crisis We supply a 3-day pack of nutritionally balanced food items as well as toiletries to people in crisis. To signpost possible longer term solutions or support for clients Larne foodb
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Annual Trustees Report 2024 Larne Foodbank. its Management Board, Trustees. administrative team and some 70 volunteer workers have been meeting the needs of those suffering food poverty within our community since March 2013. In the eleven years of operation, we have provided 3 days, emergency fch3d and other essential items to 16,415 people,. 10,520 adults and 5.895 children. This report covers the period from 1st April 2023 to 3111 March 2024. 1:R• ort from Paul Adam8on Tru8ts0 and Chair f Larne F odbank Mana ement Board: I took over as Chairman in January 2024 and have seen a lot of changes at Larne Foodbank over the past year. We have seen many chan8es in personnel; chan8es in our structure; and changes to the Larne Foodbank Constitution. Most notably we record with sadness the death of our Honorary Secretary and good friend and colleague MrAlex Munro. Alex is greatly missed by all in the Foodbank Community. My thanks 80 to the small workin8 group who identified that the structure and operations within the Foodbank did not meet our chan8ing needs. We have now changed the constitution which was ratified at our AGM held on 23, May 2024. The number of people fed between 2022123 and 2023124 has risen marginally from 2847 to 2870 However, it should be noted that the number of children needing SUPPOrt represents 41.6% of all people in receipt of food partels. The statistics below show a levelling off between 2023 and 2024. But the Increase from 2022 to 2024 represents a massive increase of 49.4%.1 think we can all agree the times are very challenging for our neighbours in Larne. l say nei8hbours, as the parable of the Good Samaritan tells us our neighbours are anyone we come in contact with, and the values of our Foodbank mean we • welcome strangers. • help them in their hour of need, • show compassion, without judgement. Our Volunteers show these values at every distribution session. You can 8au8e from the Food Donated and Food issued, that basicaltyl, what we are getting in is 80in8 Straight out. The stock level in our small warehouse is at the lowest it has been for some time. but we have never run out. When we ask for food and products that we are short of, the people of Larne respond in such a positNe way, responding to our need as a foodbank. Wrthout the support of the people of Larne. we couldn't meet our clienvs needs. The Foodbank and tts Referrers Work in partnership to best help our clients to escape from the cycle of financial hardship. The foodbank provides the basic need of food with our specialist referrers workin8 with the clients to develop pathways and 501utions out of their particular problems. We do commit to supporting some clients with additional food parcels on the understanding that they continue to work with referrers to complete the programme identified that will break the cycle of poverty they find themselves in. Some agencies are more successful in assisting people than others and we have sought to develop 8ood working relationships with these agencies for the benefit of our clients. Flnancial hardship is the main reason why people attended our foodbank. Financial hardship includes cost of living crisis, inflation, increased debt, utility bills, food, rent, mortgage payments. We all know this but fortunately for some of us we haven't been pushed over that threshold. It 15 a very
Annual Trustees Report 2024 narrow line and we know iys not going to get any easier. This coming year, I believe will be more challenging for the foodbank. From April 23 to March 24 Trussell Trust foodbanks in Nl distributed 90,375 food parcels, with Nl seeing the largest percentage increase of food parcels distributed in any of the UK regions, an increase of Il%. The Trussell Trust have in place a 10-point plan called 'Guaranteeing Our Essentials,. They will canvass government both here at Stormont and at Westminster to ensure peoples income covers the cost of living while sUPPOrtingthe wellbeing of everyone who needs help. As a Trussell Trust Foodbank we will continue supporting this campaign in the coming year, an election year as well. It is a sad indictment of government and society that we had 375 referrals for clients who had never attended the foodbank previously. It shows that people are being pushed over the edge financially and the only people they can turn to for support are foodbanks and our referrers. At Christmas of 2023 CAP, Equality Period, St Vincent de Paul and Larne Foodbank ensured another successful Christmas Hamper programme. Hampers were prepared and delivered to feed a total of 692 people. Our Admin Team put in a lot of work and stress behind the scenes to make thi5 all happen. The response from our partners and volunteers was amazing and local business such as ASAP helped us with logistics. We can't underestimate how the School and Church Harvest collections fill our stores in readiness for Christmas ad without this contribution I don't know what we would do. ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR Obviously, I'll leave something or someone out, so accept my apologies in advance. Schools out Pro8ramme- providing familles overthe school holiday perlods with additional help. Breakfast Club- providing cereal and juice to some local breakfast clubs. Supporting CAP- Wendy and Sharon ran a cook along with your children course. We supported it with a little additional food and encouraging people to get involved. Larne Community Cluster, provided training for our Volunteers and we would encourage all our volunteers to take advantage of any training offered. 11 of ourvolunteers completed a emergency first aid at work course, and gained certification. Supporting the Trussell Trusts'Guaranteeing Our Essentials" campaign. Supporting the School Uniform scheme throu8h our friends at MEACAS. Highlighting the Hunger in Nl Report. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Craigyhill Methodist Church for their continued support and commitment to Larne Foodbank. A special thank you to our Administration Team for their continued dedication and hard workthroughout the year, and of course you, our volunteerTeam, a massive thank you.
Annual Trustees Report 2024 2: Runnln the Foodbank: Finanee: The cost of wnning Lame Foodbank is approximately £42k per annum, see Statement of Receipts and Payments, (The figures presented at the AGM are given below). Table 1.. Figures presented at the AGM of Receipts and Payments in the year ended 31 S March 24 and a graph showing the reIpts and payments over the eleven years of Lame Foodbank. ¢¢olpts-ar Ended Jl" Marth 2024 Unrestflct ' 8221 Just Gi¥ini P•opl•sFundf•lsl Fundr•islni Ev•nts 1170 1152 h4)011 2335 Chrd Dlr•cMy Church•s Indlr•dlyiouIh Its Momb•rs 2159 13318 Glft Ald Totsi 1831 441512 1221 52373 Payments - Year Ended 31" March 2024 Unrestrfct•d ' Funds i Donetlonsto Partn•r CharlS 3560 Fr•th Food vouth•r•nd stork 4820 8827 Vl•i•s and Offit•exp•n f•nt Exp•ns 750 Equlpm•nl TryH•llTrust H$ttIOn 360 33135 8827 41962 Yotsl r•¢•ipts Total P•ym•nts 44152 8Z21 52373 3313S 8827 41962 Swplus /- D•fl¢ltforth• Y••r Fundj •t 3tst M•ith Olpr•viay•Ir •l•nc• 11017 10411 90762 91368 101779 101779
Annual Trustees Report 2024 80000 Receipts and Payments over 11 years of Larne Foodbank 60CQO 40000 13114 14115 15116 16117 17118 18119 19120 20121 2ty22 22123 23124 Clearly our finances are stable and very healthy. We are pleased to report that over the past year we have received restricted donats'ons from local businesses of £8,222 and a further £7,305 of unrestrided donations, a total of £15,527 from local Business. It is hoped that we can secure some grant funding towards the cost of wages over the n8Xt financial year. GDPR: There were no data breaches in the year that this report covers. Safeguardlng: Thefe are no safeguarding issues to reporL Heatth and 8afety: Emergency First Aid training was undertaken by eleven of our volunteers on 111n October 2023. The training was funded by MKI and East Antrim Borough Council through the Lame Community Cluster and delivered by BISP Training Ltd. 3: Annual tat18ti Donations.. 18.970 Kilogrammes of food and essential Éiems were donated to the Foodbank in 2023-24 with just under 23% being donated by local churches and 39% being donated via the ASDA donation point. We are particularly grateful for this as ASDA contribute a monetary donation as a percentage of the total weight donated by the public. Donations overall We On again good and VR ar8 immensely grateful to the local community for their support. As you can see from the diagram below we distributed more food than was donated and our stocks are ducing. However, the Foodbank was able to meet the demand. We are humbled to see the support, throughout our 11 years of operation, where the donations received Correlates closely to the volume of food distributed. However, as can be seen the amount of food being donated is falling behind a little and we have had to purchase some items ourselves to ensure we have all the items on the picking lists. The amount of purchased food is expected to increase over the next year. Food Donated and Issued April 23 to March 24 18.970kg Food Donated 20.IO¢k8
Annual Trustees Report 2024 Food Donated and Issued over 11 years 250ty) 150 14 18 19 io Food donated 4ood issued 13 Roferrer8' A stron Referral A enc P rtnerBhi Individuals and families are referred to us through a wide range of some 52 active referral agencies who are intended to also assist people with their crisis. Some referral agencies are better than others at providing the important additional assistance to help people wth a long term resolution to their crisis. We have tried to signpost people to th&8e agencies and work most closely with those who provide this help. Referrals during the past year,1 April 2023 to 31 st March 2024, We 2,870, up from 2,847 in the same pefiod in 2022123. While this is a very small increase from last year it should be noted that the increase over the period 1 April 2022 to 31 st March 2024 is just under 50%. Larne Foodbanks. increase this past year is much lower than the Trussell Trust Northern Ireland increase of 11 %. Table 2: Referral agencies and numbers of p80ple referred with a graph b810w'. Roferral agency Number Referral agency Number Advice Nl 613 21.3 FSIT 108 MEACAS 397 13.8 Churches 108 Larne Community Care 305 10.6 Doctors surgeries 95 Health Visitor Teams Social Service Teams 93 Cristians Against Poverty (CAP) 156 The Simon Community 82 St Vincent de Paul 124 Equality Period 69 Local Electéd Representatives 124 Self-referral at Foodbank 869 Womens Aid 122 Fewer than 30 referrals 129 Horizon Surestart 108 3.85 Total Indlvlduals Referred 2870 100
Annual Trustees Report 2024 Referral Agencies wAce Nl MEACAS Larne Communlty Care Centre He3lth Visitors CAP Lame 21% 3% 3% Saint Vlncent de Paul • Elected Representitives Womens Aid HcKiton s$tart 4% 14% FSIT 4% Churches 4% DoctOfS sur8erys • Social services reams 4% 11% • The Simon Communlty Equallty Period r Dlstrlbutlon Centre Fewer than 30 referrals Statistics gathered throughout the year show our nine main Referrers were: Advice Nl, 21.3%; MEACAS (fomerly Citizens Advice),13.8%,. Larne Community Care and Crisis H0using,10.6°'. Health Visitor Teams, 5.9%,. Christians Against Povety (CAP), 5.9%. st Vincent de Paul, 4.3%,. Elected Representatwes, 4.3%; Women'5 Aid, 4.3%. and Horizon Surestart, 4.3%. Most of these referral agencies are good at further assisting people with their crisis. The plan to phase out the number of sew-referrals at Lame Foodbank has been more successful this past year and we have managed to reduce it to 2.4% of the total referrals. Down from 7% in the previous year. Cr1818 t ' as Identifiod b referrer8: When an individual or family is referred to the Foodbank the referral agency completes a fom. part of which is to identify the reason(s) why the referral is being made. This form has been amended by Trussell Tnjst over the past year in order to give further evidence which can be used as a lobbying tool to Change Government Policy. Referrers are able to identfy the main and secondary reasons for crisis. The table and chart below shows that 65% of those referred a listed as having financial difficulties, with the biggest reason being the rising cost of essential. This has r8sulied in the Trussell Trust along th the Joseph Rowntree Foundation instigating a 'Guarantee Our Essentials, Campaign to endeavour to get Govemm8nt to covef the Cost of basic essentials within the benefrts system.
Annual Trustees Report 2024 Table 3.. Crisis type5 and numbers referred (it shoukl be noted that a main cause and a secondary cause of crisis is recorded),. Reasons for referral Financial- earnings related Change in work hours Unemployment following permanent work Unemployment following temporary work Delay in or awaiting other income Financial - benefits related Benefit delay Benefrt deduction due to overpayment or benefrt advance Benefit reduction due to change in eligibility Benefit reduction due to sanction Awaiting first benefit payment for less than a month Awaiting first benefit payment for more than a month Financial - debts, costs and expenses Priorty debt Non-priority debt Cost of dependents has increased Rising costs of essentials Other unexpected expense Personal circumstances Insecurely housed No access to financial support due to immigration status Loss of support from friends or family Change in relationship status Domestic abuse Change in dependents Health New physical or mental health condition Ongoing impact of physical or mental health condition Change in existin8 physical or mental health condition Vouchers Adults Children Total 19 43 49 81 18 53 24 45 73 126 27 89 28 36 78 121 13 45 60 li 52 181 24 97 li 19 17 22 12 li 56 69 135 421 127 118 125 238 756 212 56 iio 312 547 178 174 235 550 1303 390 63 76 21 97 li 84 39 92 37 li 41 57 27 22 40 17 52 38 92 156 15 191 24 257 12 4088 116 66 1361 2348 1740 Reasons for referral April 23 to March 24 Heatth Wl 293 Personal ¢ircuMstsnS 111111479 Financial debts. costs and expenses Financial- bènèfits related 11111349 Flnancial- earnlngs relaied 1111315 I(KN) 1500 20CKI 25(KI 3000
Annual Trustees Report 2024 Numbers of le negdln Foodbank hel Table 4: yearon-Year and cumulative rU$ and graphs below show Lame Foodbanks statistics over the past eleven years. Year Yearly flgure8 Cumulatlve flgures Children Adults Total Children Adults Total 2012-13 2013-14 153 615 154 623 777 2014-15 128 432 560 282 1,055 1.337 201&16 214 647 861 496 1,702 2,468 3.287 2,198 3,173 4,341 6,442 6,691 8,777 10,698 13,545 16,415 201&17 209 766 975 705 2017-18 349 819 1,168 1.101 1,054 2018-19 352 749 1,406 4.036 4,845 6,041 20120 440 809 1,249 2,086 1,846 2,736 2020-21 890 1.196 2021-22 810 1,921 2,847 2,870 3,546 7.152 2022-23 1.155 1,692 1,676 4,701 5,895 2023-24 1,194 10,520 Number of people fed over past two years 1st April to 31st March 202312024 2870 202212023 2847 500 1500 2511) 3500 • Children • Adults 11 Total Number of people fed by Larne Foodbank each year since opening in 2013 4000 3000 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
Annual Trustees Report 2024 The Trussell Trust identrfies Northem Ireland as having rewrded the largest increase in food parcels issued in the past year at 11 % increase. England shows 5% increase, Scotland a decrease of 0.1 % and Wales a 1 % increase. This shows that Northem Ireland has work to do to help prevent people needing Foodbanks and for us as a net4vork of Foodbanks to help resolve people's crisis by signposting to further assistan. This is why Larne Foodbank continues to build Closer working relationships with our ferra1 agencies, churches, charities and community groups. gathering strength, information and high quality signposting to continue to reverse this alaming trend. trat Ic an bu8ines8 lannin Goals and initiatives of Larne Foodbank a listed below with comments on what we were able to achieve. GOAL MET? NOTE To continue to provid& food for families and individuals who find theMSeeS in crisis. Met The basic role and functh?n of the Foodbank. To signpost those who seek our help to other agencies who may be of assistance. Met We have improved our referrals to agencies such as GAP. Mid and East Antrim Affordable Food Club, St Vinnt de Paul, Larne Baby Bank and others. To continue to develop our services in Glenami and Carnlough. Partly met We still find that referrals from Glenarm and Camlough are low. To continue to monitor the impact of the wetfare system. Met Through local agencies, MEACAS, Advice Nl and the Trussell Trust nationally as can be seen in the Hunger in Nl r8POrt. To continue to seek support from grant awarding bodies. Not Met While we did apply for one grant we were unsuccessful. To grow our relationships with local communities and schools and fomi stronger links with other Foodbanks. Met We continued with our 'schools out, programme through the summer holidays and supplied breakfast cereal to some local schools. We connected w811 with Carrick Foodbank. To build on the intensive survey of our volunteers with training events and skills developmenl... Met We offered 8 number of training opportunities to our volunteers including First Aid, Social Media, Manual Handling and Safeguarding training. To develop stronger relationships with local business. Met We received donations of £15,527 from Local Business in the year 2023- 24. Further work can be done. To generate a markelinglfund raising strategy Partly met While our staff produces a monthly UPDATE infonning the community about our worf( and we continue to be more proactive through Facebook, we would like to develop this further.
Annual Trustees Report 2024 To aim for a continuation of the 'fresh produce vouchers,. Met We have the funds to continue this highly successful scheme. To engage wth the Trussell Trusts 'Guarantee Our Essentials, campaign Met We took every opportunity to promote this initiative at our AGM and at other community events. Conclusions: The work carried out by our volunteers and staff. the generosity of the local people, organisations and businesses and the partnerships formed with l¢)cal Referral Agencies has placed us in a strong position to deal with the numbers of those who seek our help while at the same time working towards a day when we are no longer needed. Signed.. Chair Lame Foodbank Date.. Signed.. Honorary Secretsry Larne Foodbank Date:
Annual Trustees Report 2024 Public Benefit Statement 2023/2024 During the year 2023/2024 Larne Foodbank received donations of 18.970 Kilogrammes of food and toiletries from a variety of sources: _ collettion points in local shops, local churches. local businesses, individuals, organisations and schools. Larne Foodbank provided a minimum of three days, supply of non-perishable food and toiletries to families and individuals, who were identified by referral agencies as being in crisis, leading to food poverty. We also issued vouchers for fresh meat, fruit, vegetables, milk and bread to individuals and families on their initial visits. Other items such as cat and dog food (supplied by USPCA) were issued when available. Recipients must obtain a voucher from one of our 52 referring agencies before receiving food. In the year ending March 2024 we gave out 20.104 kilogrammes of food and toiletries fulfilling 1029 vouchers. This provided food to 1676 adults and 1194 children, a total of 2870 people. The bulk of these recipients were referred by Advice Nl (21.3%), Mid and East Antrim Community Advice Services {13.8Yo), Larne Community Care Centre (10.6%) Health Visitor Teams {5.9¥0) and Christians Against Poverty (5.4%). The average number of food parcels issued to each unique family was 1.76 parcels in the year. The major reason for clients being in crisis was identified by our Referrers as Financial hardship. including debt, costs and expenses (65%). Other reasons identified by referrers as reasons for referral were: _ Personal Circumstances (11.5%), Benefit issues (8.5Yo), Earnings related problems (8%) and Health issues {7%). At Christmas of 2023 Larne Foodbank, along with our partners from Christians Against Poverty, Equality Period and St Vincent de Paul, delivered 381 bags of food and other items to 236 homes. The work of Larne Foodbank is supported by over 70 volunteers who sort, date and store food, meet with and listen to clients and manage and administer the charity with the support of three part-time paid staff. Signed on Behalf of the Trustees of Larne Foodbank Signature Print Name Date /Jrn pJJi
Annual Trustees Report 2024 Larne Foodbank 31 Sl March 2024 I have examined the Receipts and Payments account of the Larne Foodbank for the year ended 3111 March 2024 with the b¢)oks and records and in my opinion the Receipts and Payments account is in accordance thefev4ith. Physical f&)d donations are not part of my vieW. I(~- Stephen Knox 22 Bay Palk. Lame 21$t May 2024
Annual Trustees Report 2024 Statement of receipts and payments- Year Ended 31 March 2024 Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Funds 202312024 Total 202212023 Recei ts Voluntary Receipts Donations and Gift Aid Grant. donations for restricted items 42982 42982 49509 11400 8221 8221 Miscellaneous Fundraisin8 Events 1170 44152 1170 52373 8221 60909 Pa ments Cosi of Fundraising C05t of Charitable Activities Governance costs Grants and donations Ifor the allevation of poverty) Total Payments 29215 8827 38042 40563 360 360 360 3560 3560 3000 33135 8827 41962 43923 Surplus/-DeficiF for the year Funds at 31st March of previous year Balance 11017 90762 101779 .606 606 10411 91368 101779 16986 74382 91368 Reconcilliation Balance per Bank Petty Cash less cheque not cleared Cash and Bank in Hand 101723 91326 56 42 101779 91368 Signed iiNX4 Date Audited Ik 'Y Date
Annual Trustees Report 2024 foodbank Larne Foodbank Statement of assets and liabilities . Year ended 31st March 2024 Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Endowment funds Total Funds Previous Year Cash in Bank and in Hand £ 101,779.00 £ 101,779.00 £ 91,368.00 details current value Assets retained for the charities own use Food Stock 7,917.00 20.(XI 10,687.44 30.00 Computers printers office equipment training equipment storage facility Total loo.00 50.00 90.00 100.(M) 20.00 30.00 4,375.00 £ 12,522.00 4,900.00 15,797.44 details Vouchers - outstanding payments Liabilities 1,265. 1,138.00 Signature Print Name Date CL4 J.ILJ_ ki j LS'J fjlINlJ AL(gAJlbER