Status: 03/03/2023 06:56 a.m
The Tafeln in Germany are currently supporting around two million people – more than ever before. The stress limit had been reached by the helpers, warned the chairman of the Tafel umbrella organization.
As a result of the large influx of people in need, the food banks in Germany are at their breaking point. The helpers are “mentally and physically at the limit,” said the chairman of the umbrella organization of the food banks, Jochen Brühl, to the newspapers of the Bayern media group.
“It’s not a solution that everyone comes to the panels.” The institutions cannot absorb what the state cannot do. “There is enough, just not distributed fairly,” he added. “The boards are currently supporting around two million people, more than ever before in our 30-year history,” said Brühl.
Every third panel imposed a freeze on admission
According to him, 32 percent of the food banks stopped taking in food last year because, for example, there was a lack of food to distribute to the needy. “On a nationwide average, 50 percent more people came to the food banks last year. These are figures that illustrate the current situation,” said the chairman.
Brühl cited the high number of refugees from Ukraine as one reason for the increase. A year ago, Russia launched a war of aggression against the neighboring country. “There are also people on site who can no longer make their living on their own due to the increased prices, including students, the unemployed and, increasingly, people who have a job.”