Food Banks & Pantries: Crisis Response in Germany

Dear donors,

The food banks in Germany continue to face major challenges.

As an umbrella organization, Tafel Deutschland understands itself as a service association and advocate for more than 970 member food banks. We provide targeted support for our network of food banks and community food pantries throughout the country.

To tackle the continuing challenges of the local foodbanks in Germany and to support them in their mission to rescue quality food and redistribute it to people in need, we have expanded our funding programs.

Here is some news from the field:

1. Support program “Tafel Staff Fund”

Each member board and each regional association can apply for funds for celebrations, events or gifts in kind to express their thanks to the staff for their commitment.

2. New support program for transport costs:

Tafel Deutschland has relaunched its support program for transport costs. All member food banks can receive a flat-rate subsidy for their ongoing fuel costs. This payment is intended to ease the financial burden on food banks in connection with food distribution.

3. Supporting the regional logistics infrastructure

While local in-kind donations are declining in some cases, the ability to obtain large in-kind donations from food manufacturers and distributing them to the local food banks is becoming increasingly important. In this regard, strengthening the logistical infrastructure of the regional Tafel associations – distribution hubs, warehouses, vehicles etc. – is key. 

In order to meet the increased costs of the regional storage and distribution as well as to maintain the logistical structures, the regional associations are supported by Tafel Deutschland with financial resources.

4. Digitization strategy and IT equipment

Equipping local food banks with hardware such as laptops, tablets or smartphones is a central goal of the digitalization strategy of Tafel Deutschland. This measure aims to digitalize customer management and logistics processes and promote existing software solutions such as our “eco-Platform”. The aim is to relieve the burden on food bank volunteers in their operational work and increase efficiency.

These programs are crucial to enable the food banks to rescue more food and thus help more people in poverty. They would not be possible without the generous and continuous aid of our supporters. We would like to thank all supporters who donate via GlobalGiving for their contribution!

Links:

• https://www.tafel.de/english-information