More customers, fewer donations: every third food bank has admission stops or waiting lists

2023-12-23 05:49:50

More customers, fewer donations Every third food bank has admission stops or waiting lists

December 23, 2023, 4:00 a.m. Listen to article

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A good 970 food banks distribute food to people who cannot otherwise afford it. And there are more and more of them. According to the head of the organization, many food banks can no longer provide for everyone in need.

According to a newspaper report, hundreds of food banks in Germany have waiting lists due to the large number of people. “In total, around a third of the food banks in Germany have temporary admission stops or waiting lists,” said the chairman of the food bank umbrella organization, Andreas Steppuhn, to the editorial network Germany (RND). There are also food banks that have shortened their opening hours. “Only what food is actually available can be distributed,” he said.

There are currently 973 boards. Steppuhn spoke to the German Press Agency last week about a “permanent crisis mode”. 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.” The high inflation not only affects customers, but also the food banks themselves. In addition, the number of food donations is declining because supermarkets and discounters now work more sustainably and therefore throw away less.

Compared to previous years, Stepphuhn says on average 50 percent more customers come to the food banks. It’s not just refugees, “but there are now pensioners, single parents or people in the low-wage sector,” says Steppuhn. In 2023, there were 1.6 to 2 million people who regularly received support from the food banks, he told the RND. “We also experienced in times of crisis that authorities said: Go to the food banks, you will be provided for there.”