Kirkcaldy Foodbank holds 2025 AGM

Kirkcaldy Foodbank held its 2025 AGM in the hall at Pathhead Parish Church on Friday, April 11.

Secretary Neill Mitchell welcomed an audience of about 40, with a particularly warm welcome for guest speaker, Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy MP Melanie Ward. He said the main focus of the AGM was to pay tribute to the efforts of the foodbank's volunteers.

Neill then introduced chair Angela Campbell to give her 2024 report. She highlighted several of the foodbank's key achievements during the last 12 months.

Angela said: "With the support of Fife Council, we successfully moved to new premises at the Park Road Centre which has secured us with a permanent location so we can build on the work of our foodbank.

"We are continuing our approach to joint partnership working - building new connections which benefit our clients.

"We ran several successful initiatives during the past year known as our Spring and Winter Boosts which ensure our clients get access to all the benefits they are entitled to."

Angela went on: "We supported the Burntisland community with the successful creation of their own independent foodbank by providing advice about setting up a charity, volunteer information and encouragement.

"We adopted an approach at the end of 2024 that enables us to know what our clients need in terms of food support and gaining a better understanding of how many people stay in a particular household.

"That means we are making the best use of the donations we receive from the Kirkcaldy community.

"This has also enabled us to become more sustainable, and we also know that we are reaching those most in need.

"We continue to highlight the impact of poverty, but equally demonstrate the value of the work of our volunteers.

"The fact that we were asked by our local MP Melanie Ward to give evidence to the Child Poverty Taskforce shows how impactive our work has been."

Angela added: "We are dedicating this AGM to our volunteers to thank them for their continued support, because without them and their unique skills and compassionate dedication, none of this would be possible."

Neill then introduced treasurer Jacqueline Armitage to present the accounts and give her financial report.

Jacqueline said: "Our finances are in a healthy position due to good financial governance and monitoring by the board which ensures the foodbank is sustainable in terms of its ongoing future.

"Our bank balance remains strong, although once again we showed a deficit - of £28,248.20, slightly higher than our deficit of £28,045.39 last year.

"This deficit includes a reduction in both income and expenditure.

"We continue to be supported by many individuals in addition to a core cohort of businesses within the community.

"This generous support affords the foodbank an ongoing level of financial security.

"This income is supplemented by other income streams e.g. community groups, faith groups, schools and individuals.

"However, this year there was a reduction of income across these groups of £25,000.

"We continue to apply for grants and have been successful in receiving a number of smaller grants amounting to an additional £16,250 compared to previous years. Fundraising activities have also generated more income this year.

"To mitigate the overall reduction in income, the board has worked extensively to review and reduce expenditure and we continue to closely monitor spend in light of food price increases."

Neill then moved on to the election and re-election of trustees. Kathleen Henderson, George Wilcock and Jamie Greig have all resigned as trustees and Neill paid particular tribute to the work of former treasurer Kathleen, and former secretary and stock manager George.

Norah Smith and Fiona Walker were both elected as new trustees.

Neill then introduced the guest speaker for the evening, Melanie Ward MP.

Melanie opened her remarks by praising the "amazing job" done by the foodbank, and said: "It is one of the few organisations in my constituency that I would like to put out of business!"

She said a huge amount of work had gone into finding a new home for the foodbank, and it was "brilliant" that it is now co-located with a number of council services.

"People being able to access other services is making a massive difference," she said.

Melanie recalled visiting the foodbank last July just after the General Election with the newly-appointed Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray.

"Ian said then that the work you are doing is changing lives, and that is certainly the case," said Melanie.

She said the government was working to tackle the causes and effects of poverty through the Child Poverty Taskforce, adding that it was "important to understand what the coalface of poverty is like".

Melanie said that foodbanks are a relatively recent phenomenon, but that 7.2 million people in the UK now live in food insecurity.

"If children grow up in poverty it will affect their whole lives, so it is important that we do what we can to tackle it," she said.

She also pointed out that 75% of children in poverty are in working households.

Melanie closed her remarks by again paying tribute to the work done by the foodbank and its volunteers.

After a vote of thanks by Neill, those present were able to enjoy refreshments.

• Kirkcaldy Foodbank's annual report for 2024 can be found here: https://www.kirkcaldyfoodbankcharity.org.uk/_files/ugd/6272cd_2dfd3bc94050493f90d41a8a0e2f6a65.pdf

Pictured, from left, are Jacqueline Armitage, Angela Campbell, Neill Mitchell and Melanie Ward MP.