Food Train

What Food Train does

Food Train is a Scottish-registered charity (Scottish Charity Number 24843, Company Number 158165) founded in 1995/1996 in Dumfries, providing practical support services to help older people in Scotland eat well, age well, and live well independently at home. The charity supports approximately 3,000 older adults annually through a portfolio of five core services: Shopping Delivery (volunteers collect orders from supermarkets and deliver groceries weekly via branded vans), Support at Home (small household tasks such as changing lightbulbs and vacuuming), Meal Makers (a neighbourhood food-sharing programme where volunteer cooks deliver home-cooked meals weekly), Library at Home (monthly book and audio book delivery in West Lothian), and Food Train Friends Befriending (one-to-one home visits and group outings to reduce isolation). Services are delivered through a network of 12 local branches across Scotland staffed by 41 employees and 1,500+ volunteers, with the Dumfries Hub opened in 2022 functioning as a social facility with a pop-up cafe and free meeting space.

Beyond direct services, Food Train operates the Eat Well Age Well sub-brand, a nationally funded project addressing malnutrition among older people in Scotland through a dietitian-staffed advice line, training programmes developed with NHS Tayside and Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership, screening tools (including the Paperweight Armband sourced from Age UK Salford), and policy advocacy that contributed to the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act. Revenue is generated through a diversified mix: modest service charges (£7 per grocery delivery, £5 per month for Meal Makers and Befriending, £1 annual membership), individual donations and legacy gifts, corporate partnerships (ASDA, Morgan Stanley), payroll giving, the Sponsor a Box programme (£10 per box per year), Easyfundraising affiliate income (2,700+ retailers), and grants from the Scottish Government and People's Postcode Lottery. The charity uses third-party platforms (Salesforce CRM, Jotform, Microsoft 365, PayPal) rather than proprietary technology. Food Train holds the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, Real Living Wage Employer accreditation since 2017, and Invest in Volunteers accreditation, and operates under CEO Rosie McLuskie with a volunteer Board of Trustees chaired by Alan Dalziel.

Name

Food Train

Legal name

Food Train

Website

https://thefoodtrain.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Food Train is a Scottish charity supporting 3,000 older adults across Scotland via 12 branches and 1,500+ volunteers with weekly grocery delivery, befriending, home-cooked meals, household help, and a national malnutrition-prevention project (Eat Well Age Well).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social care services for older adults

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLADAGAD

Meal Preparation, Nutrition Support & Feeding Assistance

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Elder Care & Long-Term Care/Non-Medical In-Home Care & Personal Care

SECONDARYHSABAAAC

Meal Preparation & Nutrition Support (Non-Medical)

Home & Personal Services/Elder Care & In-Home Care Services/Non-Medical Companion Care

SECONDARYBPAGAEAA

Food Assistance & Food Banks

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

Keywords

• Elderly support services
• Grocery delivery services
• Community befriending services
• Older adult nutrition
• Volunteer charity support

Headquarters

HQ city

Dumfries, Scotland

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Food Train relies on public donations, fundraising activities, corporate partnerships, and Easyfundraising (turning everyday shopping into donations through 2700+ retailers). The organization receives no government core funding.
2. Service Charges: Modest service charges for shopping delivery (£7 per delivery), meal makers (£5 per month), befriending services (£5 per month), and support at home services. These provide partial cost recovery while maintaining affordability.
3. Legacy Gifts: The organization accepts bequests and legacy gifts in wills including residuary gifts, pecuniary gifts, and specific gifts. Legacies are described as an important part of their income.
4. Sponsorship: Sponsor a Box program where individuals or organizations can sponsor grocery delivery boxes for £10 per box per year.
5. Payroll Giving: Employees can donate through payroll giving, a tax-efficient method of regular giving where donations are taken from pay before tax.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Food Train is a Scotland-wide charity delivering practical support services that help older people eat well, age well, and live well independently at home. Its five core delivery services are Shopping Delivery (weekly groceries collected and delivered by volunteers), Meal Makers (weekly home-cooked meals from volunteer cooks), Support at Home (small household tasks), Library at Home (book delivery), and Food Train Friends (befriending visits and group outings). The Eat Well Age Well sub-brand runs a national malnutrition prevention programme with a dietitian advice line, training, screening, and policy advocacy, funded by the Scottish Government and People's Postcode Lottery.

Product overview

Food Train is a Scotland-wide charity offering a portfolio of practical support services to help older people eat well, age well, and live well independently at home. Its core service portfolio consists of five main delivery services: Shopping Delivery (weekly grocery shopping and home delivery by volunteers), Support at Home (small household tasks), Meal Makers (neighbourhood food-sharing with volunteer cooks), Library at Home (book delivery in West Lothian), and Food Train Friends Befriending (one-to-one visits and group outings). The Eat Well Age Well sub-brand — a nationally funded project — provides a dietitian advice line, malnutrition training, screening tools, and policy resources. Food Train also operates a community hub in Dumfries and a Sponsor a Box donor programme. Services are accessible via a £1 annual membership, with individual service charges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shopping Delivery Weekly grocery shopping and delivery service where volunteers collect orders from local supermarkets and deliver fresh food and groceries directly to older people's homes in branded Food Train vans, with a service charge of £7 per delivery.
• Meal Makers Neighbourhood food-sharing programme that connects older people (aged 55+) with volunteer cooks who deliver a freshly prepared home-cooked meal and friendly company on a weekly basis, available Scotland-wide at £5 per month.
• Support at Home Assistance with small household tasks such as tidying cupboards, changing lightbulbs, watering plants, defrosting the fridge, putting out the wheelie bin, and vacuuming, delivered by trained Food Train At Home volunteers at a minimal cost per visit discussed in advance.
• Library at Home Monthly home delivery and uplift service for books and talking books, free of charge, available to anyone unable to access their local library due to poor health, mobility issues, frailty, or disability, currently operating in West Lothian.
• Food Train Friends (Befriending) Befriending service offering one-to-one home visits, group outings, and social activities such as lunches, cinema trips, and garden centre visits to reduce isolation among older people, priced from £5 per month for befriending at home or group outings.
• Eat Well Age Well National malnutrition prevention programme addressing the fact that at least 1 in 10 older people in Scotland live with or are at risk of malnutrition, providing a dietitian-staffed advice line, malnutrition training, screening tools, digital resources, and policy advocacy funded by the Scottish Government and People's Postcode Lottery.
• Eat Well Age Well Advice Line Telephone advice line staffed by a dietitian, open to anyone over 65 or those working with older people, providing support on diet concerns such as poor appetite, weight loss, and healthy eating.
• Eat Well Age Well Training Malnutrition awareness training for anyone who works with or cares for older people, available as live online sessions, bespoke packages, and self-directed e-learning modules, endorsed by the Care Inspectorate.
• Dumfries Hub Social hub in Dumfries opened in 2022 offering a warm space for older people, including a pop-up cafe (Wednesdays 12pm-2pm serving soup, filled rolls, and homebaking), free meeting room hire for older people's groups, and evening/weekend hire for community groups.
• Sponsor a Box Annual sponsorship programme enabling individuals or organisations to sponsor grocery delivery boxes at £10 per box per year, with sponsorships helping fund the 53,870 weekly grocery deliveries made to older people across Scotland.

Quantifiable outcome

• 53,870 grocery deliveries made last year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Good Food Nation Campaign PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood Train worked with many organisations to campaign and subsequently strengthen the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act. These are broader civil society and advocacy partners working on food policy.
• NHS TaysideminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with NHS Tayside to develop training videos for the malnutrition e-learning courses.
• Dundee Health and Social Care PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership to develop training videos for malnutrition e-learning.
• Care InspectorateminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Carers E-Learning is supported by the Care Inspectorate, which has endorsed the malnutrition training for home care staff.
• ASDAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerASDA works with Food Train for grocery shopping services. First shopping day photos show ASDA store partnerships for volunteer grocery shopping.
• Morgan StanleyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner with Morgan Stanley employees volunteering with Food Train as shown in photos from June 2023.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Independent Age: National charity offering advice, information, and direct support services to older people across the UK. Comparable mission of enabling independent living for older adults, with a stronger advice/advocacy focus and weaker service delivery footprint than Food Train.
• Royal Voluntary Service: National charity mobilizing volunteers to support older people in hospitals and communities, including practical help at home. Highly comparable to Food Train's volunteer-led practical support model for older adults across the UK.
• FareShare: UK charity redistributing surplus food to a network of community front-line organisations tackling food poverty. Adjacent food-assistance peer with comparable mission of getting food to vulnerable populations, but operating as a redistribution intermediary rather than direct delivery to service users.
• Age UK: The UK's largest charity dedicated to older people, providing information, advice, advocacy, and local services. Direct peer to Food Train's mission of supporting older adults to live well at home, with national scale that contrasts Food Train's Scotland-only footprint.
• Re-engage: UK charity (formerly Contact the Elderly) running befriending and group activity programmes specifically to reduce social isolation among older people. Most direct peer to Food Train Friends and Meal Makers befriending services.
• The Trussell Trust: UK-wide food bank network addressing food poverty and hunger through emergency food parcels. Peer to Food Train's food-access mission for vulnerable older adults, with a complementary emergency-relief model versus Food Train's preventative/weekly grocery delivery.

Broad incumbents

• British Red Cross: Large UK humanitarian organisation running a wide range of services including independent-living and befriending support for older people at home. Broad incumbent peer offering overlapping practical-support services for older adults as part of a much wider health/social portfolio.

Others

• WRAP: UK charity working on food waste reduction and sustainable food systems with policy influence. Adjacent peer via the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act coalition work that Food Train joined, sharing food-system policy engagement but operating in a different functional role.

Regional players

• Cyrenians: Scottish charity working on homelessness, food poverty, and social exclusion, including community food initiatives in the Edinburgh and Lothians region. A Scotland-focused peer with overlapping food-access mission and comparable charity/grant-funded operating model.
• Aberlour Children's Charity: Largest Scottish children's charity providing direct social-care services across Scotland. Not a direct competitor on food delivery, but a strong regional peer on charity operating model, Scottish commissioning footprint, and government-funded social-service delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-food-train-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Food Train