Needy people with donated food are standing at a distribution point of the Leipziger Tafel eV in the west of Leipzig.
Image: dpa
Around a third of the panels are so overloaded that they had to impose a freeze on admissions. The Tafel could not absorb “what the state cannot manage,” warns the chairman of the umbrella organization Tafel Deutschland, Jochen Brühl.
Dhe Tafeln in Germany have never helped so many people in need as they do now. “Since the beginning of the year, we have seen an increase in customers of 50 percent,” said the chairman of the umbrella organization Tafel Deutschland, Jochen Brühl, to the Düsseldorf newspaper Rheinische Post. A total of about two million people would come.
At the same time, food donations have declined. “Around a third of the boards are so overloaded that they had to impose a freeze on admissions,” said Brühl. Sending people away who are looking for help is enormously psychologically stressful for helpers.
According to Brühl, the individual fates are striking. “People have great existential fears and worries about how they can pay for food, housing and heating.” However, the panels could not absorb “what the state cannot do”. State aid is “insufficient” and comes too late. “People who come to the Tafel have no reserves. Poverty-affected people now need quick help,” emphasized Brühl and also appealed to society’s solidarity: “We are a rich country, we can ensure that everyone gets through this winter safely.”
