High energy costs drive more and more Germans to food banks

BERLIN (AA) – Due to high energy prices and inflation, more than 2 million people in Germany are seeking help at food banks, according to the national Tafel Deutschland association.

"The situation is extremely tense at all food banks," a spokeswoman for the association told Die Welt newspaper, stressing that the demand has increased compared to the previous year.

"Now also more people coming who have a job," she said, adding that skyrocketing prices, and the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine has increased the number of people turning to food banks.

Many refugees from Ukraine are also among those in need of help, according to the umbrella association of the food banks.

There are a total of around 960 of these food banks in the country. Those in need receive food there that can no longer be sold.

In 2020, nearly 1.1 million Germans were receiving help from the food banks, according to a survey by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).

Three quarters of those seeking help at food banks live on basic welfare, according to the DIW’s study. Many of those affected are threatened by poverty and have health problems.

Single parents and couples with children are particularly prevalent at the food banks. Children are reported to account for a quarter of the total.