How to Build Food Parcels Faster Without Guessing What Goes In

Build parcels from a small set of written templates — a base parcel per adult and per child, plus variants for diets and for households without a cooker — and combine them to fit each household. Check before each session that your stock can cover the parcels you've booked. Packers then follow a list instead of making judgement calls, and every household of the same size gets the same parcel.

Why does packing food parcels take so long?

A food parcel looks simple: a bag or crate of food meant to last a few days. Cardiff Foodbank's agency handbook, for example, describes parcels designed so that food lasts at least three days (Cardiff Foodbank). But every household is different. A single adult, a couple with three children, a vegetarian family, and someone in temporary accommodation with only a kettle all need different things.

When there's no written system, each of those differences becomes a decision a packer makes on the spot: how much extra for the children, what to swap for the vegetarian, what's edible without a hob. Decisions take time, vary between volunteers, and quietly empty the shelves of whatever the first packers of the day reached for.

How are food parcels usually packed?

At a food bank without a template system, a typical session goes like this:

1.       The coordinator prints the day's list: names, household sizes, any dietary notes.

2.       Packers work from a laminated "standard parcel" sheet written for one adult.

3.       For larger households, each packer adds "a bit extra" by eye.

4.       Dietary needs are handled by whoever spots the note — swapping tinned meat for beans, or leaving out pasta for someone who can't cook.

5.       If an item runs out, packers substitute whatever's nearby.

6.       Nobody records what actually went into each parcel.

What goes wrong?

•         Parcels vary by packer. Two families of four can leave with noticeably different parcels, which feels unfair to them and makes food harder to budget.

•         The shelves run out unevenly. Generous early packers use up items the afternoon session needed.

•         Special needs get missed. A dietary note on a printed list is easy to overlook in a busy hall. A household with no cooker can be given dried pasta it can't use.

•         You don't know in advance whether you can fill the session. You find out when a shelf is empty halfway through.

•         Stock and reports drift. If nobody records what went out, the stock count and the "food given out" figures are both estimates.

How can a food bank pack parcels faster and more fairly?

1. Write a small set of parcel templates

Don't try to write a parcel for every household size. Write building blocks and combine them:

Here's how the building blocks combine. These are examples, not a recommended standard — set your own rules.

A family of five is then five decisions you made once, on paper, instead of a judgement call every Thursday.

2. List exact quantities in each template

"Two tins of beans, one 500g pasta, one breakfast cereal" — not "some tins". Exact lists are what make parcels consistent, and they're what let you work out stock needs in advance.

3. Check stock against the session before it starts

Multiply each template by the number booked, and compare with what's on the shelves. The item that limits you is often a cheap one nobody was watching — tea, toilet roll, UHT milk.

4. Pre-pack where you can

If you know you'll give out ten adult parcels on Thursday, packing the base parcels on Wednesday turns the session into adding extras and handing over.

5. Record what went out

Record each parcel against the household — which templates, collection or delivery, and weight if you report in kilograms. That's what keeps your stock count honest and your reports accurate.

What should you look for in food parcel software?

How does FoodBank360 help build food parcels?

•         Templates you define. Set up your own parcels — for example Adult, Child, Vegetarian, Kettle, Additional Adult and Additional Child — with exact items and quantities.

•         Scaled by household. Combine a base parcel with additional adult and child parcels to match household size. Custom parcels are available for households that don't fit a template.

•         Calculate Stock. Each template has a Calculate Stock button that shows how many of that parcel your current stock can build.

•         Stock comes out automatically. Issuing a parcel deducts its items from stock.

•         Packing lists and a packing queue. The dashboard shows parcels that need packing, and packing lists can be printed for the hall. Packing lists come with the Scheduler plan and above.

•         The household's details stay with the parcel. Each outgoing parcel records the number of adults and children, dietary details, parcel type, collection or delivery, weight and status.

Parcel templates and stock deduction are part of the Full plan, at £114.99 a month plus VAT, with unlimited users. See pricing →

Food parcel FAQs

What goes in a food bank parcel? Usually non-perishable staples — tins, pasta or rice, cereal, long-life milk, tea — plus whatever fresh or chilled food the food bank can store safely. The exact list is up to each food bank, so write yours down as a template.

How do you size a parcel for a large family? Start from a base parcel and add a fixed "additional adult" or "additional child" parcel for each extra person. It's quicker and fairer than adjusting by eye.

What is a kettle parcel? A parcel of food that needs only boiling water or no cooking at all — for example instant noodles, cereal and tinned food with ring-pull lids. It's for households without a cooker, such as people in temporary accommodation.

How do you handle dietary needs? Make common needs, such as vegetarian, into their own templates, and record specific needs against the household so they appear wherever its parcel is packed.

Should parcels be pre-packed? Base parcels can be, if you know roughly how many you'll need. Add the extras and dietary swaps on the day.

Pack parcels from a list, not from guesswork

Book a free demo and bring your current parcel list. We'll set it up as templates and show you how Calculate Stock works with your shelves.

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