Admission stops and waiting lists – food banks complain about overload

More people in need, fewer donations – the food banks in Germany are overloaded. In many cities there are admission stops and waiting lists. According to the Tafel umbrella organization, demand rose rapidly this year.

According to the Tafel umbrella association, around a third of the food banks in Germany are overloaded. There are “temporary admission stops or waiting lists,” said chairman Andreas Steppuhn to the Germany editorial network. Some contact points would also shorten their opening hours. The rush is particularly large in the big cities.

In total there are around 1,000 food banks in Germany. Compared to previous years, according to Stephuhn, there are an average of 50 percent more customers. In 2023 there were 1.6 to two million people who regularly received support from the food banks. One could now speak of a “permanent crisis mode,” said Steppuhn. First the war in Syria, then the corona pandemic and finally the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have further aggravated the situation in recent years. “Poverty in Germany is increasing – and noticeably.”

Many different customers

In Germany, wages and pensions are too low for people to make ends meet, he criticized. The boards felt this. This means that not only unemployed or homeless people come to the distribution points, but also people with low pensions or minimum wage jobs.

“We need wages and pensions that people can actually live on – this includes a minimum wage of 15 euros,” said the CEO of the German Social Association, Michaela Engelmeier. “As long as that doesn’t happen, millions of people will have to stock up on their fridges.”

Fewer donations

According to the federal association, the food banks primarily need food such as rice and pasta, which tend to be donated less because of their long best-before date. According to the Federal Food Trade Association (BVLH), companies can increasingly adapt the ordering of goods to the behavior of customers by using artificial intelligence. This will make it possible to further reduce the proportion of goods that cannot be sold. This meant that there was less food that could be donated, said a spokeswoman for the NRW trade association.

The first German food bank was founded in Berlin 30 years ago. 60,000 helpers, 90 percent of whom are volunteers, are involved with the food banks nationwide.