Many seniors in Germany need food donations. According to Andreas Steppuhn, chairman of Tafel Deutschland, “a quarter of the people who come to the Tafel are now of retirement age. They receive low pensions or basic security,” he told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”.
The development that more and more old people need support from the Tafel has already been observed in recent years. However, since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, it has become even more severe.
According to the information, around every third food bank in Germany registered even more pensioners among its customers. “For many people, going to the food bank is a way to save money and get through the month,” says Steppuhn.
Even pension increases would not have changed this. Steppuhn assumes that the number of older customers at the food banks will continue to rise given high rents, energy and food prices. According to their chairman, many food banks have waiting lists and have to temporarily stop admissions. Demand simply exceeds supply in many places. According to the umbrella organization, as of February there were 975 food banks with more than 2,000 distribution points in Germany. The food banks receive food donations from supermarkets, discounters or large bakeries – and pass them on to people affected by poverty free of charge or for a symbolic contribution.
