Why Riverside Food Network is losing volunteers

Riverside Food Network, a food-bank charity in a UK city: volunteers sort donations and hand out food parcels at 9 distribution sites. Each site lead keeps the shift rota in a spreadsheet; volunteers book or swap shifts by phoning or messaging their site lead, and pay their own bus fares and parking.

Sound research: 2 of 8 models
Respondents: 327
Set numeric questions: 12
Traps planted: 8

What each model made of it

Part 1: the brief each model planned a survey for

Active volunteers (at least one shift in the last 3 months) fell from 640 to 410 over the past year: about 1,000 volunteers stopped and about 770 joined. Sites have had to cut opening hours when too few volunteers turned up. Next year's budget has £45,000 for volunteer support.

The decision

How to spend next year's £45,000 for volunteer support: reimburse volunteers' travel costs, fund a part-time volunteer coordinator with online shift booking, or do both at a smaller scale.

Objectives

Why volunteers who stopped in the last 12 months stopped
Which difficulties set volunteers who stopped apart from those who still volunteer, including the cost of travel
Whether online shift booking or paying back travel costs would bring lapsed volunteers back
How difficulties differ by age group and by site

Who to survey

People who have volunteered with Riverside Food Network in the last 12 months: those who still volunteer and those who have stopped

Limits

At most 10 questions after the screener and 6 minutes; about 330 completes; email and text-message invitation to everyone on the volunteer database who did at least one shift in the last 12 months (410 active volunteers and about 1,000 who have had no shift in the last 3 months); online questionnaire.

Precision asked for

The trustees want results for each of the 9 distribution sites to within plus or minus 7 percentage points at 95% confidence.

A note from the stakeholder

The operations lead is sure volunteers leave because of what it costs them to travel to the sites, and wants the survey to back reimbursing travel.

Part 2: the fielded survey every model analysed

Every model analyses the same survey and the same simulated responses, so every true number is known. This is what they were given.

The survey that was fielded (9 questions)

S1
Which of these best describes you?
One answer
- I volunteer with Riverside Food Network at the moment
- I used to volunteer with Riverside Food Network but have stopped
- I have never volunteered with Riverside Food Network
Continues if I volunteer with Riverside Food Network at the moment; I used to volunteer with Riverside Food Network but have stopped
S2
When did you do your last volunteer shift with Riverside Food Network?
One answer
- Less than 12 months ago
- 12 months ago or longer
- Not sure
Routing Shown only if S1 is: I used to volunteer with Riverside Food Network but have stopped

Continues if Less than 12 months ago
Q1
What, if anything, would make volunteering with Riverside Food Network easier for you?
Open text
Q2
Which of these, if any, have made volunteering with Riverside Food Network difficult for you? Select all that apply.
Any that apply
- The cost of travelling to the site
- How long it takes to get to the site
- Shifts changed at short notice
- No easy way to arrange my shifts (for example to book or swap them)
- Not being told about changes in good time
- Not enough training
- Not feeling thanked or valued
- Physical access to the site (for example parking, steps or heavy doors)
- Something else
- None of these
Q3
Which of these comes closest to the main reason you stopped volunteering with Riverside Food Network?
One answer
- My shifts were changed at short notice
- It was hard to arrange my shifts (for example to book or swap them)
- The cost of travelling to the site
- How long it takes to get to the site
- I was not told about changes in good time
- I did not feel thanked or valued
- I did not have enough training
- Physical access to the site (for example parking, steps or heavy doors)
- My circumstances changed (for example work, study, health or moving)
- Other
Routing Shown only if S1 is: I used to volunteer with Riverside Food Network but have stopped
Q4
If you could arrange your shifts online (for example to book or swap them), how likely would you be to volunteer with Riverside Food Network again?
Scale

Scale 1-5: Very unlikely to Very likely

Routing Shown only if S1 is: I used to volunteer with Riverside Food Network but have stopped
Q5
If your travel costs were paid back, how likely would you be to volunteer with Riverside Food Network again?
Scale

Scale 1-5: Very unlikely to Very likely

Routing Shown only if S1 is: I used to volunteer with Riverside Food Network but have stopped
Q6
Which Riverside Food Network site have you volunteered at most often in the last 12 months?
One answer
- Northgate
- Eastfield
- Millbrook
- St Anne's
- Hollins Park
- Canal Street
- Westbury
- Bridge End
- Oakwood
- More than one site about equally
Q7
How old are you?
One answer
- Under 25
- 25 to 44
- 45 to 64
- 65 or over
- Prefer not to say

Fielding. Invited by email and text message from 2 to 16 March 2026, with two reminders: all 410 active volunteers (at least one shift in the last 3 months) and all 1,000 lapsed volunteers (a shift in the last 12 months but none in the last 3 months), from the volunteer database. Active: 231 started and 215 completed. Lapsed: 124 started and 112 completed. Median time 4 minutes 10 seconds. Respondents are classed as active or lapsed by their answer to S1. Tables show the 327 completes, unweighted. Percentages are of each column's base.

Population. From the volunteer database. Active volunteers (410): under 25 18%, 25 to 44 26%, 45 to 64 26%, 65 or over 30%. Lapsed volunteers (1,000): under 25 22%, 25 to 44 30%, 45 to 64 23%, 65 or over 25%. Volunteers are spread roughly evenly across the 9 sites.

The stakeholders asked:

The operations lead: 'Travel cost is the difficulty volunteers mention most. Doesn't that show we should spend the £45,000 on reimbursing travel?'
The chair of trustees: 'If we bring in online booking, how many of the volunteers we lost will come back?'
The volunteer manager: 'Our youngest volunteers who left mostly blame travel. Should we start a travel scheme for under-25s?'

The tables (7)

Q2 Which of these, if any, have made volunteering with Riverside Food Network difficult for you? (select all that apply)

	Total	Active volunteer	Lapsed volunteer	Under 25	25 to 44	45 to 64	65 or over
Base	327	215	112	27	49	110	141
The cost of travelling to the site	38.2%	37.2%	40.2%	74.1%	40.8%	35.5%	32.6%
How long it takes to get to the site	17.1%	16.7%	17.9%	14.8%	14.3%	20.0%	16.3%
Shifts changed at short notice	27.2%	14.4%	51.8%	33.3%	34.7%	20.9%	28.4%
No easy way to arrange my shifts (for example to book or swap them)	22.0%	11.6%	42.0%	18.5%	20.4%	25.5%	20.6%
Not being told about changes in good time	19.0%	7.4%	41.1%	25.9%	24.5%	15.5%	18.4%
Not enough training	11.9%	11.6%	12.5%	7.4%	10.2%	10.9%	14.2%
Not feeling thanked or valued	9.8%	7.4%	14.3%	3.7%	6.1%	11.8%	10.6%
Physical access to the site (for example parking, steps or heavy doors)	7.0%	5.6%	9.8%	0.0%	6.1%	7.3%	8.5%
Something else	3.1%	2.8%	3.6%	0.0%	2.0%	2.7%	4.3%
None of these	19.6%	28.4%	2.7%	14.8%	20.4%	20.0%	19.9%

Respondents could choose more than one answer, so columns add up to more than 100%.

Q2 Which of these, if any, have made volunteering difficult for you? Lapsed volunteers, by age (select all that apply)

	Total	Lapsed, Under 25	Lapsed, 25 to 44	Lapsed, 45 to 64	Lapsed, 65 or over
Base	112	11	21	36	44
The cost of travelling to the site	40.2%	81.8%	42.9%	47.2%	22.7%
How long it takes to get to the site	17.9%	9.1%	23.8%	22.2%	13.6%
Shifts changed at short notice	51.8%	45.5%	57.1%	47.2%	54.5%
No easy way to arrange my shifts (for example to book or swap them)	42.0%	27.3%	38.1%	47.2%	43.2%
Not being told about changes in good time	41.1%	54.5%	52.4%	30.6%	40.9%
Not enough training	12.5%	9.1%	19.0%	8.3%	13.6%
Not feeling thanked or valued	14.3%	9.1%	14.3%	16.7%	13.6%
Physical access to the site (for example parking, steps or heavy doors)	9.8%	0.0%	9.5%	16.7%	6.8%
Something else	3.6%	0.0%	0.0%	8.3%	2.3%
None of these	2.7%	0.0%	0.0%	2.8%	4.5%

Respondents could choose more than one answer, so columns add up to more than 100%.

Q3 Which of these comes closest to the main reason you stopped volunteering? (lapsed volunteers)

	Total	Under 25	25 to 44	45 to 64	65 or over
Base	112	11	21	36	44
My shifts were changed at short notice	29.5%	18.2%	38.1%	22.2%	34.1%
It was hard to arrange my shifts (for example to book or swap them)	13.4%	0.0%	19.0%	16.7%	11.4%
The cost of travelling to the site	11.6%	72.7%	9.5%	5.6%	2.3%
How long it takes to get to the site	0.9%	0.0%	0.0%	2.8%	0.0%
I was not told about changes in good time	12.5%	0.0%	14.3%	5.6%	20.5%
I did not feel thanked or valued	6.2%	9.1%	4.8%	5.6%	6.8%
I did not have enough training	0.9%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	2.3%
Physical access to the site (for example parking, steps or heavy doors)	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
My circumstances changed (for example work, study, health or moving)	23.2%	0.0%	14.3%	38.9%	20.5%
Other	1.8%	0.0%	0.0%	2.8%	2.3%

Asked only of respondents who have stopped volunteering.

Q4 If you could arrange your shifts online (for example to book or swap them), how likely would you be to volunteer with Riverside Food Network again? (lapsed volunteers)

	Total	Main reason: scheduling	Main reason: travel cost or distance	Main reason: something else
Base	112	48	14	50
Very unlikely	18.8%	16.7%	21.4%	20.0%
Fairly unlikely	17.0%	8.3%	35.7%	20.0%
Neither likely nor unlikely	24.1%	14.6%	28.6%	32.0%
Fairly likely	23.2%	37.5%	7.1%	14.0%
Very likely	17.0%	22.9%	7.1%	14.0%
Net: likely (4-5)	40.2%	60.4%	14.3%	28.0%

Asked only of respondents who have stopped volunteering. Columns group Q3 answers: scheduling is the first two options; travel is the third and fourth.

Q5 If your travel costs were paid back, how likely would you be to volunteer with Riverside Food Network again? (lapsed volunteers)

	Total	Main reason: scheduling	Main reason: travel cost or distance	Main reason: something else
Base	112	48	14	50
Very unlikely	17.0%	14.6%	7.1%	22.0%
Fairly unlikely	28.6%	27.1%	21.4%	32.0%
Neither likely nor unlikely	27.7%	31.2%	14.3%	28.0%
Fairly likely	17.0%	16.7%	35.7%	12.0%
Very likely	9.8%	10.4%	21.4%	6.0%
Net: likely (4-5)	26.8%	27.1%	57.1%	18.0%

Asked only of respondents who have stopped volunteering.

Q6 Which Riverside Food Network site have you volunteered at most often in the last 12 months?

	Total	Active volunteer	Lapsed volunteer
Base	327	215	112
Northgate	10.4%	11.6%	8.0%
Eastfield	6.7%	6.5%	7.1%
Millbrook	11.0%	10.2%	12.5%
St Anne's	10.7%	11.2%	9.8%
Hollins Park	11.3%	13.0%	8.0%
Canal Street	8.9%	7.4%	11.6%
Westbury	8.9%	8.8%	8.9%
Bridge End	13.1%	14.9%	9.8%
Oakwood	12.5%	12.1%	13.4%
More than one site about equally	6.4%	4.2%	10.7%

Q7 Age

	Total	Active volunteer	Lapsed volunteer
Base	327	215	112
Under 25	8.3%	7.4%	9.8%
25 to 44	15.0%	13.0%	18.8%
45 to 64	33.6%	34.4%	32.1%
65 or over	43.1%	45.1%	39.3%
Prefer not to say	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%

Open-text answers to Q1. What, if anything, would make volunteering with Riverside Food Network easier for you? (12 of 109 shown)

V006 · Active volunteer, 65 or over, Bridge End Happy with everything as it is, so I've got nothing to suggest.
V008 · Lapsed volunteer, Under 25, Millbrook Honestly, the travel. Two buses each way and it takes me an hour and ten minutes door to door.
V009 · Lapsed volunteer, 65 or over, Millbrook Rota changes seem to get decided and then not passed on. I'd like an email as soon as my Thursday shift is moved or dropped, rather than hearing about it second-hand from another volunteer.
V014 · Active volunteer, 65 or over, Oakwood no, nothing. it's fine as is
V019 · Lapsed volunteer, 45 to 64, Westbury Fewer last-minute cancellations, and if they have to happen, tell us the day before, not an hour before. I've turned up to a locked door at one of the sites with no warning at all.
V023 · Active volunteer, 65 or over, Hollins Park Nah, nothing. All fine.
V025 · Active volunteer, 65 or over, Eastfield Somewhere nearer to my house. Half an hour's drive plus fuel every time is more than I'd like.
V028 · Lapsed volunteer, 45 to 64, Millbrook All fine here, nothing I'd want different.
V029 · Lapsed volunteer, 45 to 64, St Anne's if the nearest site wasn't a 40 minute walk from my flat i'd find it so much easier
V034 · Active volunteer, 65 or over, Hollins Park Some parking validation. £7 to leave the car near the Northgate site is daft when you're giving your time for free.
V035 · Lapsed volunteer, 65 or over, Millbrook Nothing I can think of. Volunteering at my site works perfectly well for me as it stands.
V039 · Active volunteer, Under 25, Bridge End Everything about it is fine for me as it is, so I'd leave it all alone.

The numeric questions every model answered

What percentage of active volunteers who responded chose 'The cost of travelling to the site' as a difficulty in Q2?
What percentage of lapsed volunteers who responded chose 'The cost of travelling to the site' as a difficulty in Q2?
Is the difference between active and lapsed respondents in the share choosing 'The cost of travelling to the site' in Q2 statistically significant at the 95% level? (1 for yes, 0 for no)
Weighted to the age mix of all 1,000 lapsed volunteers, what percentage of lapsed volunteers would choose 'The cost of travelling to the site' as a difficulty in Q2?
What percentage of lapsed respondents gave a scheduling reason as their main reason for stopping in Q3 (either of its first two options: shifts changed at short notice, or hard to arrange shifts)?
What is the 95% margin of error, in percentage points, on that unweighted share of lapsed respondents giving a scheduling reason as their main reason?
On average, how many difficulties did each respondent choose in Q2 (counting every option except 'None of these', which counts as zero), across all respondents?
What percentage of lapsed respondents said they would be likely (fairly or very) to volunteer again if they could arrange their shifts online (Q4)?
How many of the open-text answers mention shift scheduling (booking or swapping shifts, or last-minute changes or cancellations)?
What percentage of the active volunteers invited completed the survey?
What percentage of the lapsed volunteers invited completed the survey?
If the lapsed respondents were representative, about how many of the 1,000 lapsed volunteers would give a scheduling reason (either of the first two Q3 options) as their main reason, using the unweighted share?

What was planted in the data

What a careful analyst notices. The judges check each analysis against these.

Travel cost is the most-cited difficulty overall, but it is cited about as often by active volunteers (37%) as by lapsed ones (40%), so it does not explain who left. Short-notice shift changes (14% active against 52% lapsed), no way to book or swap shifts and not being told about changes differ sharply.
The operations lead believes volunteers leave because of travel costs. Among lapsed respondents, 43% give a scheduling reason as their main reason against 12% travel cost.
Q2 is multi-select: respondents chose 1.6 difficulties on average, so columns add up to more than 100%.
52% of active volunteers responded but only 11% of lapsed ones, so the lapsed base is small (112) and those who replied may differ from the 89% who did not (for example, still feeling some attachment).
Volunteers aged 65 or over are 43% of respondents but about 26% of volunteers in the database; younger volunteers cite travel cost more. Weighted to the lapsed age mix, travel cost among lapsed volunteers rises from 40% to 47%; a scheduling main reason goes from 43% to 41%, still well ahead of travel cost (21%).
Lapsed under-25s (base 11) mostly give travel cost as their main reason (8 of 11).
The travel-cost gap between lapsed and active respondents (3.0 points) is not significant at 95%.
40% of lapsed respondents say they would be likely to volunteer again with online booking: a stated intention about a hypothetical, from a small and self-selected base.

Key findings.

Travel cost is the most-cited difficulty, but active and lapsed volunteers cite it about equally (the gap is not significant), so it does not explain who leaves
Shift scheduling (short-notice changes, no way to book or swap) and not being told about changes are cited far more by lapsed volunteers, and a scheduling reason is the most common main reason for stopping, even after weighting for age
Travel cost matters more to younger volunteers, so weighting for the older-skewed sample raises it modestly, but the lapsed base is small and lapsed volunteers responded far less than active ones

A sound recommendation, in substance. Fund the part-time volunteer coordinator with online shift booking and swapping (and better notice of changes) first; travel reimbursement is not shown to drive leaving, though a small travel hardship fund for those who need it, such as students, may be worth trying; test by re-inviting lapsed volunteers once booking is live.