Every can helps

Around eleven million tonnes of food ended up in the rubbish in Germany last year. Private households threw away 59 percent of it. Statistically, this means that each and every one of us throws about 78 kilograms of food into the bin every year. At the same time, more and more people in Germany are going hungry.

Inflation and war make themselves felt

"The need for food donations has increased enormously in the past year," says Alina Scheufele, head of logistics at Tafel Deutschland e.V., which is providing information about its work until 24 January in Hall 3.2 at the invitation of the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE). The food banks have been collecting food donations for 30 years and distributing them to people affected by poverty. "Currently, the Tafeln are supporting more people than ever before, about two million people," says Scheufele.

More needy, fewer donations

Last year, 58 percent of the more than 960 food banks in Germany reported that the number of their clients had increased by 20 to 100 percent since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Around 16 per cent reported that their numbers had doubled or more than doubled. One in three food banks imposed an intake freeze in their time of need, 62 percent gave out less food per household. Supporting too many people was rated by 76 percent of the food banks as their biggest current problem. This was immediately followed by the fact that the amount of food donations had also decreased, as reported by 68 percent of the facilities.

How producers and retailers can help

"At the Green Week, we would like to talk to retailers and manufacturers in particular and encourage them to donate food rather than throw it away," says Alina Scheufele. Because food is also destroyed in supermarkets and by producers, even though it is still edible. Mostly because the best-before date has expired or is approaching, often simply because the packaging was printed incorrectly or because fruit or vegetables have visual defects.

Private donations highly welcome

But private visitors to the fair can also get information from Alina Scheufele and her colleague Sabine Felix at any time. "We are happy about every donation, no matter how small," Scheufele emphasises. "And if you say: you only have a few tins of food left - tins like that are very much in demand, so you are already helping a lot."

More information on the work of Tafel Deutschland e.V. can be found in Hall 3.2 near the show kitchen and on the internet at https://www.tafel.de/.