How Calder Valley Food Network is working: a first look
In a nutshell
Based on four interviews and documents, the network’s stock system and regular hub meetings work well, and safeguarding concerns are passed quickly. The main pattern is that success is measured by food parcels while the advice desk that helps people move beyond needing the network is under‑resourced, and warnings about future changes are not turned into action. First we should talk about how the organisation decides what counts as progress and whether the advice desk gets the support it needs. These points should be checked with more volunteers, hub managers and trustees.
What's working
- The stock system works: “The stock system is the thing I'm proudest of. Every hub logs what comes in and goes out on the same system. The warehouse sees the levels and plans the van runs. Weekly rota, every hub knows its delivery day. We haven't had a hub run out in over a year.” – Aisha, operations director
- Hub managers meet fortnightly and it works: “The hub managers meet fortnightly on Teams with me and the warehouse lead. It's where we swap stock, cover volunteers, and sort out clashes. It works.” – Aisha
- Safeguarding concerns are passed quickly: “When we had a safeguarding worry about a child last winter, I rang Ruth and it was with the trustees' safeguarding lead the same day. That bit works brilliantly.” – Priti, Todmorden hub manager
- Trustee visits spot problems before officials: “Two trustees do a hub visit each quarter. It's a proper visit: they sit in on a session, talk to volunteers and to people using the hub, and write a short note. It picked up the fridge temperature problem at Hebden Bridge before environmental health did.” – Helen, chair of trustees
What keeps happening, and why?
Advice desk stays busy while parcel numbers rise
The network counts success by the number of food parcels given out, but the advice desk that helps people stop needing the service gets little time and is not counted in reports. This means more parcels are handed out while the waiting time for advice stays long, keeping people dependent on parcels.
What people said
- “We talk about 'moving beyond needing us' but we measure parcels. More parcels looks like success in the annual report. I raised it once at a board away day.” – Joel, policy and partnerships officer
- “The advice desk is the bit that actually helps people stop needing us. But it's one volunteer adviser two mornings a week, and the waiting time is three weeks. The central team doesn't count it, because it isn't parcels.” – Priti
- “The board get the parcel numbers every quarter. That's the headline figure. Parcels up 30% on last year.” – Aisha
Worth askingWhat would make it possible to rely less on parcels and give the advice desk more time?
Future warnings don't change day-to-day work
A regular look ahead is sent to the board, but it is not linked to decisions about what hubs do each week. As a result, changes in food supply or demand are missed until they appear in queues or stock levels.
What people said
- “I do a quarterly horizon scan: welfare policy, Universal Credit changes, the council's hardship fund, what other food networks are doing. It's a proper document, maybe twelve pages. It goes to the board.” – Joel
- “Last year I flagged that the council hardship fund would be cut, and that we'd see more families in work needing help. That's exactly what happened. Aisha found out when the queues got longer.” – Joel
- “I don't look at food supply. That's operations. I suppose someone should be watching the supermarkets. Tesco changed its surplus policy in the spring and the warehouse lost about a fifth of its intake. Nobody saw it coming.” – Joel
- “Joel does all that. I don't really see his stuff. I think it goes to the board.” – Aisha
- “We get Joel's horizon scan and Aisha's quarterly numbers. They go on the agenda as separate items. I'm not sure we've ever put them side by side.” – Helen
- Board papers show the policy report is minuted as “received with thanks” each quarter, with no decisions linked to it.
Worth askingWhat would help the board turn a future look into changes in what hubs do each week?
How the organisation is set up
Information flows separately: parcel numbers and future look
Parcel numbers go to the board as a headline figure, while the future look goes to the board as a separate item. The two are not combined before choices are made about hub plans or resources.
What people said
- “The board get the parcel numbers every quarter. That's the headline figure. Parcels up 30% on last year.” – Aisha
- “I do a quarterly horizon scan … It goes to the board.” – Joel
- “We get Joel's horizon scan and Aisha's quarterly numbers. They go on the agenda as separate items. I'm not sure we've ever put them side by side.” – Helen
- Board papers list the policy report as “received with thanks” each quarter, with no decisions linked.
Worth askingWho could bring the two pieces of information together before a decision is made?
Shared space at Todmorden hub causes clashes
The café and the parcel team share the same kitchen and fridges, but there is no rota. This leads to clashes and sometimes the café uses stock that was meant for parcels.
What people said
- “Todmorden is basically three things in one building: parcels, the café and the advice desk. I manage all three, plus the volunteers, plus the building.” – Priti
- “The café and the parcel team share the kitchen and the fridges. Tuesday is a nightmare: café lunch prep and parcel packing at the same time, same space, same volunteers. There's no rota between them, it's whoever gets in first. Last month the café used stock that was meant for parcels.” – Priti
Worth askingWhat would it take to set a clear rota for the shared kitchen and fridges?
Do people want the same things?
Different ideas of what success looks like
Some see success as the number of parcels given out, while others see success as the time spent helping people move beyond needing the network.
What people said
- “We talk about 'moving beyond needing us' but we measure parcels. More parcels looks like success in the annual report.” – Joel
- “The advice desk is the bit that actually helps people stop needing us. But it's one volunteer adviser two mornings a week, and the waiting time is three weeks. The central team doesn't count it, because it isn't parcels.” – Priti
- “The board get the parcel numbers every quarter. That's the headline figure. Parcels up 30% on last year.” – Aisha
- “The board is clear about what we're for. Dignity not dependency. We had an away day on it last year.” – Helen
Worth askingDoes the organisation count success only by parcels, or also by time spent at the advice desk?
Who isn't in the room?
- Finance officer
- Funders and donors
- Halifax hub manager (Ruth, also safeguarding lead)
- Hebden Bridge hub manager
- People using the hubs (parcel recipients, café customers, advice desk clients)
- Local council (hardship fund, environmental health)
- Other trustees (seven besides Helen)
- Supermarkets and wholesalers (surplus food suppliers)
- Volunteers (about 180 across hubs, warehouse, café, advice)
- Warehouse staff and van drivers
- Mark, the CEO
Are we doing what we say we're for?
The network says it wants to meet immediate food need and help people move beyond needing the service. In practice, most time and attention goes to giving out food parcels, while the advice desk that helps people move beyond needing the network gets little time and is not counted in reports. This means the stated aim to help people move beyond needing us is not matched by where effort goes.
Smaller things, or things we're less sure about
- Whether the stock system records wasted or spoiled food
- Whether hub budgets are clear enough for managers to plan extras
- Whether safeguarding concerns are logged centrally for learning
- Whether volunteer turnover and satisfaction are tracked
- Whether the café’s finances are kept separate from parcel accounts
What to do next
- Talk with hub managers and the advice desk volunteer about setting a fair rota for the shared kitchen and fridges and about giving the advice desk more time.
- Talk with the board chair and the policy officer about how to bring the future look and parcel numbers together before deciding on hub plans or resources.
- Talk with the finance officer and the operations director about whether a simple cost per hub could be worked out to see if any hub is overstretched.
How this was put together
This note is based on four interviews (with Aisha, Joel, Priti and Helen) and documents seen in September 2026: the annual report and website, board papers for the last year, the stock system dashboard, trustee visit notes for all three hubs, and Todmorden’s own café fundraising spreadsheet. We did not hear from the finance officer, funders, other hub managers, people using the services, the local council, other trustees, suppliers, volunteers, warehouse staff or the CEO. Checking these points with those groups would help confirm whether they ring true.
The technical working behind this report is in for-specialists.md, for anyone who wants it. You don't need it to act on this report.