What the Heck’s a Tod Box and Why Should You Care?
There are two things you should know about Tod Box. Neither of them are particularly original ideas, I’ll admit. But both of them could change the world. Or at least improve a few things here in the Calder Valley…
Number One: Tod Box is a service that delivers locally produced goods to the people of Calderdale by cargo bike. It’s worth noting that delivery by cargo bike isn’t a whacky new phenomenon. We haven’t reinvented the wheel (pardon the pun). In fact, people have been delivering goods by pedal powered means since the bicycle was invented. However, with the introduction of pick up trucks and vans, the cargo bike began to see a decline. By the late 1960s, the wide-spread popularity of the car practically killed off the cargo bike altogether.
Leslie Greenwood with ice cream delivery tricycle in Todmorden, pre-1950.
Ahh, the car. The Marmite of the transport system. Love them or hate them, cars, vans and other combustion engine vehicles are undoubtedly causing problems for people and the planet - and those problems need solving. Re-enter the bicycle. I could wax lyrical about bikes and their amazing ability to solve nearly all of those problems but a) we’d be here all day and b) we’ve already written a brilliant article about it right here.
Delivery van stuck in West Yorkshire. Photo: @WYPDogs
So let’s move on to number two: Tod Box supports local food systems and provides a convenient alternative to supermarket shopping.
Why, you might ask, does a bicycle delivery company care about local food systems?
Let’s start at the business end of things. We’re a local business that works with other local businesses, all of which are run by local folk like me or you. By stimulating our little economy we’re helping our community to prosper. In fact, research shows that £10 spent with a local, independent shop means that up to an additional £50 goes back into the local economy, because they in turn spend locally and the money circulates within the community. That means we’re all supporting one another, as opposed to inflating the already bulging wallets of tycoons and billionaires. Winner.
Tod Box traders, Calder Cheesehouse
But it’s not just about money. Shopping locally is also much better for the planet. Supermarket shopping directly contributes towards environmental damage and even poorer human health. This is because the biggest single cause of global warming is, you guessed it, vehicle pollution. The average item of food purchased from a supermarket travels over 1,000 miles by lorry, plane and van. Buying locally produced goods helps to mitigate the pollution caused by food miles. Better still, buying through Tod Box reduces emissions even further because we deliver the goods by cargo bike, eliminating yet another journey typically done by you in your car or van.
That’s not the only reason supermarkets suck. Many of them also support factory farming and source lots of their meat from abroad. Don’t be fooled, people. It is perfectly legal for supermarkets to disguise foreign products by using Union Jack packaging and “Produce of the UK” stickers that actually just indicate the product has been processed or packaged here. Sneaky, right?
The brilliant thing about Tod Box is that every product is either produced or supplied by real life, local people. So you know exactly where your food comes from. Heck, you can even ask the trader how it’s made. Face to face. In person. No robots or call centres. Revolutionary.
Todmorden Fruit & Vegetables’ Jordan, veg box curator and Tod Box trader
Finally, let’s just take a second to appreciate how original the people of this valley actually are. We’re a unique bunch, and so is the stuff we make! That sort of individuality can’t be bought in superstores. In fact, supermarkets are reducing both the biodiversity in the countryside and the amount of choice we see as customers. They’re forcing us to buy the same old, boring stuff week in, week out. For example, there are 2,300 apple varieties and 550 pear varieties in the National Fruit Collection (yep, that’s a real thing). How many of those can you name? How many have you seen on the shelves? You can only choose from a very small handful of fruit varieties in the supermarket because your choice has been limited by what they’ve deemed to be the most profitable for them. They dictate that to the farmers and variety is lost for everyone else.
So let’s ask again, what is Tod Box and why should you care? Put simply, it offers a convenient way for you to buy delicious produce and get it delivered in an environmentally friendly way. Each “box” has been specially curated by a local trader and can be ordered as a one off, or as a regular subscription service - so you get your favourite items delivered every week, completely hassle free. Try it, you never know, we just might change the world.
Order yours at www.cargodale.co.uk/tod-box
Hassle-free, pollution-free, supermarket-free Tod Box delivery!
