Focus on change

Focus on the futureIn the next five years, we will provide food and nutrition support services to more people living with and affected by HIV by taking the following strategic action:

We will expand our service offer to respond in the best way possible to the individual needs of our beneficiaries and improve their quality of life.

We will increase our geographical reach to broaden the impact of our work and support more people living with HIV.

We will build partnerships with other service providers to tackle medical conditions likely to affect more people living with HIV.

We will ensure long-term sustainability and cost-effectiveness of services provided by The Food Chain.

Acorn House 314–320 Gray’s Inn Road London WC1X 8DP

T 020 7843 1800W www.foodchain.org.uk

Registered Charity number 1003014Registered Company number 2580505

Edited and designed by www.portfoliopublishing.com Front cover photo: Annie Bungeroth

annual review 2015

This has been a year of major change for The Food Chain and we can reflect on our achievements with pride.

Our Eating Together shared meal service has expanded to two days

each week, and our partnership with FoodCycle means that our

kitchen is now also open on Sundays to serve a meal to any current or former service user and their friends and family

whenever they wish. In addition, the benefits of our Eating Positively

cookery and nutrition course are now being shared with people living with HIV in Manchester as well as London, thanks to our strong partnership with George House Trust. Feedback from the small number of people who needed home-delivered meals from our partner Wiltshire Farm Foods has been very positive, and we are confident that this scheme is meeting acute need more effectively than our previous service.

All in all it has been a good year for The Food Chain.

This has all taken place against a backdrop of less income than the year before. It is a testament to the hard work, strength and determination of all our volunteers and staff team that we have achieved so much. In an increasingly challenging funding climate we have held fast to our vision and devised a strategic plan for the coming years that we believe will both meet the real needs of people living with HIV, and be sustainable in the longer term.

We will continue to strive to reach the largest possible number of people living with HIV and in need of our services in London and other parts of the UK.

Our work is made possible by the unstinting generosity of all our supporters and we thank you all very much for helping us to continue feeding the fight against HIV.

Colm Howard-Lloyd, Chair of Trustees

Siobhán Lanigan, Chief Executive

Focus on a landmark year

Focus on our purpose

The Food Chain exists to provide access to food and nutrition support services at times of particular need or crisis to enable people living with HIV to get well, stay well and sustain independent living.

Working together since 1988, we are a supportive and nurturing community of volunteers, staff, supporters, organisations and people living with HIV.

Our individually tailored services include dietetic advice, home-delivered meals, groceries, communal lunches and cookery classes.

For more information about our services, please visit www.foodchain.org.uk

200 volunteersand 10 staff continued

to target the largest possible number of people living

with HIV and in need of our services in the

past year.

Our small staff team is committed to providing high quality services

and support for all our service users and volunteers.

Photo: Simon Denton

1,075 peoplewere supported during the year.

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624 people living with HIV

accessed one or more services, depending

on their needs.

3,224

grocery deliveriesprovided 624 households with food when they were struggling, financially or

physically, to shop. This is equivalent to

118,400 meals.

Focus on Paul“The Food Chain has made me a happier, stronger individual.”

St Thomas’ Hospital referred me to The Food Chain last year after I had spent eight weeks in a coma, and five months in hospital. My weight plummeted from 14 to 7 stone, and I was later forced into emergency accommodation. I spoke with The Food Chain’s dietitian on the phone, who started by arranging for me to receive the grocery service.

A few weeks later I had to go back into hospital for a further two weeks. The Food Chain was very helpful – putting grocery deliveries on hold while I was in hospital and re-starting them as soon as I was discharged, so I could continue receiving everything they could offer.

As I got better I started attending Eating Together on Wednesdays and Saturdays. That has linked me to other people and groups and I feel I can now talk positively about my situation. I feel comfortable in my own skin again.

I was previously a professional sailor, working on private yachts all over the world. The nature of my work meant I never needed to cook for myself. The

Eating Positively cookery and nutrition classes have really helped. I enjoyed learning new things, like which oils to use and why. Now I’ve learned how to cook something for myself and how to make it homely. I won free-to-enter raffles at Eating Together and often took home recipe cards and ingredients. I now cook regularly and really enjoy it.

The Food Chain has given me energy, and a healthier outlook on life. I’d rate the service a million out of 10!

My weight is now back up to 14 stone. I feel like I’ve been reborn. For the first time in my life, I am feeling strong. The Food Chain has made me a happier, stronger individual.

Paul is a service user at The Food Chain.

Photo: S

imon D

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Vanessa hard at work in the kitchen with fellow volunteer Teresa Rider.Photo: Simon Denton

5,126 hours were given by our volunteers,

which is the equivalent of 2.5 additional full-time posts,

or £47,000 if calculated at the rate of the London living wage.

280 people learned how to better manage their HIV at Eating Positively cookery and nutrition classes.

157 carers received respite support from

shopping and financial worries.

Focus on Vanessa“Volunteer roles are well-defined, and it’s

easy to jump in and get started and feel like you’re

contributing right away.”

I’m a full-time student studying

for a BSc in Human Nutrition as I would like to pursue a new career as a nutritionist. I was previously a corporate librarian and have had various roles doing research support, archives, records and information management in the US, Canada and here in the UK. I combine my studies with being a volunteer on the Eating Positively cookery and nutrition course.

I think the Eating Positively course is one of the most interesting things that The Food Chain does as it provides an opportunity for people to become more self-sufficient and self-confident in the kitchen as they gain cooking skills and nutrition knowledge in a hands-on setting.

As a student of nutrition, it’s a great opportunity to see community nutrition in practice and see the almost

immediate difference that healthy food can have on an individual’s health. It’s also just a really great place to be – the staff, other volunteers and service users are all so nice and friendly.

I love the rush of getting the kitchen ready for service users to arrive, the fun of helping them cook whatever dish we’re working on that week, and I love cleaning up afterwards and restoring order to the kitchen again! But the absolute best part is to see someone complete the series of five classes and the sense of accomplishment they feel.

The Food Chain seems to make a real difference in people’s lives when they need it most. The organisation itself is well-organised – staff are friendly, volunteer roles are well-defined, and it’s easy to jump in and get started and feel like you’re contributing right away.

Vanessa is a volunteer at The Food Chain.

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A fantastic array of fundraising events, large and small, took place throughout the year.

Photo: Rob Williams

Patrons Allegra McEvedy and Jack Monroe enjoyed meeting dedicated volunteers Gill Houghton and Judith Goodman.Photo: Sam Brewster

We rely completely on trusts, companies and individuals to fund our services. It is impossible to mention all the people who have supported us but we would like to thank everyone who ran, swam, baked, skydived, cycled or shook a bucket for us this year. Here are just a few outstanding fundraising moments.

Summer socialPatrons, volunteers and supporters of The Food Chain enjoyed a luscious Persian feast in our own kitchen courtesy of the exceptionally talented Saima Khan, Head Chef at The Hampstead Kitchen. We raised £6,322 having fun!

Topsie’s bingoThe lovely and generous Topsie Redfern (below) did a superb job as bingo-caller and entertainer at our first-ever bingo fundraiser. Our bingo evenings raised a splendid £1,255 this year.

The Food Chain at The Foundling£11,400 was raised at this fantastic evening of entertainment in the company of patrons Allegra McEvedy, Jack Monroe and Jay Rayner. The music provided by Jay’s jazz quartet was a high note of the evening!

Carol service at St Paul’sAs well as enjoying an evening of carols and poems (below), our audience donated £1,598. That’s a lot of mince pies!

Matt’s London MarathonFor the first time this year The Food Chain had one allocated place in the London Marathon, and our new trustee Matt Wills (below) raised an amazing £3,000 for us. Thank you Matt, and well done!

“As I pick myself off the floor after a really hard and cold training run, my moaning is instantly thwarted by a client I saw recently who said that the support she received had saved her

life… Without The Food Chain and other

HIV charities, I’m not sure how

people would manage their health and social care needs effectively.”

Matt

Red RunStaff and volunteers also put on their running shoes for the 5K and 10K Red Run to mark World AIDS Day (right). It was a fun day: one of our team came first, and together the team raised £2,500.

Ku Bar auctionThe Ku Bar World AIDS Day auction was even more successful than in previous years, and that’s saying something! It raised an astounding £22,320 this year.

Focus on fundraising and fun

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Jay Rayner, Stephanie Mallas, Julie Hesmondhalgh and Steve King enjoyed celebrating the achievements of our first Food for Life graduates.

Focus on new partnerships FoodCycle

Sunday afternoons at The Food Chain are buzzing with activity, thanks to our partnership with the national charity FoodCycle. A FoodCycle hub makes use of our kitchen, and every week

produces a delicious three-course meal from produce donated by

local supermarkets and markets. The Sunday FoodCycle meal benefited 59 people in its first six months.

Food for LifeIn a first for The Food Chain, we have worked outside London this year with George House Trust, the Manchester HIV charity. With the help of funding from Manchester City Council, we trained volunteers and staff in delivering cookery and nutrition classes that will now continue independently. It has been a great experience working with the George House Trust.

“We are thrilled by the success of this partnership initiative and hope that it will be the first of many projects where expertise, knowledge and skills can be shared to directly benefit the lives of people living with HIV.”

Stephanie Mallas, Joint CEO, George House Trust

Focus on financeCharity finances for the financial year ending 1 April 2015

For every £1 spent...

87p is spent on our charitable work supporting people living with HIV

10p is spent on raising income

3p is spent on running The Food Chain

294 children benefited from

home-delivered meals or groceries, including 18 babies under the age of six months.

95% of referrals were for people

struggling to afford food(compared to 80% in 2013). 86% had a total weekly household income of £62 or less.

Grants £408,197

Food delivery services

£292,302

Donations £71,431

Gifts in kind £12,780

Fundraising and events £84,316

Food Chain kitchen and

other £24,259

Education and outreach services

£258,187

Fundraising £66,256

Governance £15,751

Total income£600,983

Total expenditure

£632,496

Focus on our

supportersOur special thanks go to the

following trusts, companies and community groups that

supported us during the year:

• The Actors’ Church, St Paul’s • Awards for All • Barbara Ward

Children’s Foundation • Big Lottery Fund • City Bridge Trust • Core Recruitment • 5 out of 5 • Fuserna Foundation • George House Trust • Gilead • GS1 UK • Help a Capital Child • Henry Smith Charitable Trust • Hyde Park Place Estate • ITIQ Consulting • Ku Bar • London Catalyst • London Titans • MAC AIDS Fund • Make a Difference Trust • Milton Damerel • The Monument Trust • Out@Time Warner • Tula Trust • Viacom

• Wandsworth Oasis

and others too numerous to mention.

1,218 meals delivered at homefrom our partner Wiltshire Farm Foods gave 12 people respite from cooking during a period of acute ill-health.

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