North Belfast Foodbank Annual Report 2022/2023
NI Charity Number NIC 100175
The North Belfast Foodbank provides emergency food and support to people in crisis in the local community. Established in 2013 and part of The Trussell Trust network, the foodbank operates two distribution centres at Ekenhead Halls, North Circular Road, Belfast and Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Agnes Street, Belfast. A warehouse facility operates on Westbank Road, Duncrue.
We are a volunteer led and run foodbank that relies on donations of food and finance.
Key Figures for Year Ended 31 March 2023
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870 vouchers redeemed, feeding 1,410 adults and 1,139 children;
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16.7 tons of food distributed from Ekenhead Halls;
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4.5 tons of food distributed from Immanuel Presbyterian Church;
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1.8 tons of food given to assist other Trussell Trust Foodbanks;
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2.6 tons of food given to help local organisations (Foodstock, The People’s Kitchen, Community Search & Rescue, Belfast Christian Fellowship, Rosemount House, Ballysillan Primary School, Ligoniel Primary School, Currie Primary School, and Seaview Primary School);
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20.2 tons of food was donated; and
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2 tons of food purchased using North Belfast Foodbank reserves (£5,848.13).
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Operations
Our volunteers give their time and gifts to help those who find themselves needing to visit the foodbank. A special note of thanks to all the dedicated volunteers who are the heart of the foodbank.
At present 47 volunteers help at the two foodbank centres along with 22 volunteers at our warehouse and 2 admin volunteers.
The running of the Foodbank takes a great deal of dedication from our many volunteers, such as collecting, weighing, and processing food donations; maintaining relationships with referral agencies and donors; moving food to centres; greeting people; preparing and
distributing food parcels to clients; maintaining accurate computer records of food distributed and other voucher details; and working with the Trussell Trust NI team.
During the year the foodbank undertook 2 major additional client support projects. The first of which was to address client need for energy support. The Foodbank partnering with the Fuelbank Foundation and supported by £8,000 in donations from the LFT Charitable Trust and the RAM Foundation to distribute prepaid energy vouchers to clients. The assessment of need was through our largest referral partner Advice NI.
Secondly the Foodbank created home and personal hygiene packs to go along with food parcels. This was funded through the Foodbank’s reserves with £3,228.08 spend in this financial year. We are grateful to the students at Hazelwood Integrated College who made up the packs for distribution throughout the year.
The Foodbank Distribution Centres open three times per week; Monday 2.00pm to 3.30pm in Immanuel Presbyterian Church; Tuesday 2.00pm-4.00pm and Thursday 6.30pm-8.00pm in Ekenhead Halls.
The Warehouse opens each Monday night 6pm - 7.30pm throughout the year.
We also want to acknowledge the work of the 90 partner agencies who supply our food vouchers to those who find themselves in difficult circumstances and need the service of the foodbank.
Finances
The finances of the foodbank have remained healthy and there have been no concerns regarding income. We continue to look for ways to best use reserves in line with our charitable aims and values as a Trussell Trust network foodbank. The accounts have been audited and signed off by Mr Roy Eakin.
Committee
Thanks must also go to the Foodbank Committee who oversee the work of the foodbank. Beth Dickson (Secretary), Roy Rainey (Treasurer), Sean McCloskey (Project Manager), Beatrice Mahoney, Denise Rainey, Caroline Hamilton, Muriel Thompson, Elaine Hogg, and Toni-Lee Watson have worked hard and shown a real commitment to
the work of the Foodbank. During the year Carolyn and Neil Dawson resigned from the Committee, we thank them for their work and dedication over the last number of years.
Trussell Trust Network
As part of the Trussell Trust Network the foodbank is audited to ensure that procedures are in place and the foodbank is run in accordance with the requirements as a ‘franchise’ of Trussell Trust. Management of Trussell Trust have approved the running of North Belfast Foodbank.