What If The Real Impact Cannot Be Measured

A bag of surplus food can be brilliant… and still leave you thinking, what on earth am I meant to cook with this? We’re on location at Sale Moore Community Centre to talk with Roxy, who has a rare mix of warmth, grit, and practical know-how, and she shows how she adds some cooking support to our bags and generates impact of her own. 

We dig into the simple tricks that make affordable food schemes work day to day like swapping recipe ideas without judgement, using whatever turns up in the bag, and making tea feel like a treat rather than a compromise. 

Roxy shares how she builds meals from what’s available (including a fakeaway-style dinner using vegan chicken nuggets, potatoes, and onions), plus how budgeting and batch cooking can stretch ingredients much further than most of us expect. 

Roxy also talks about feeding young people through community and youth work across Trafford, why teenagers want a proper dinner rather than “snacky bits”, and how food helps concentration and belonging. Her story is rooted in lived experience as a single mum supporting a child with additional needs, and it underlines the difference between surviving and living when money is tight. We also reflect on the ripple effects that don’t show up in neat impact measures, and why community partners, hub spaces, and trusted local leaders are priceless.