Bremerhaven: Tafel about to close – 1,000 people in need!

Bremerhaven: Tafel about to close – 1,000 people in need!

The Bremerhaven Tafel is facing an alarming situation: it plans to stop distributing food at the end of the year. The reason for this is clear and bitter: lack of financial resources. This is an unprecedented case in the regional association of food banks in Lower Saxony and Bremen NDR reported. Around 1,000 people rely on food from this facility every week.

However, the closure is not only a catastrophe for the food bank itself, but also for the people of Bremerhaven. The city, considered one of the poorest in Germany, has a high poverty rate, especially among older people. According to the taz 35.6% of Bremerhaven's residents are at risk of poverty and are entitled to use the food bank. Uwe Lamp, chairman of the regional association, describes the closure as a cry for help and plans to explore options to save the food bank.

What are the reasons for this worrying development? The drastic cuts in funding for work opportunities have hit the food bank hard. In addition, the contracts of ten employees who are financed by the job center expire next spring. The losses from the cold storage facility, which is no longer available, also put a strain on the food bank. New hygiene regulations have further tightened the financial requirements. The headquarters of the food bank no longer meets modern standards, which further complicates the situation.

The challenges are diverse. Nevertheless, there remains hope for a new solution to meet the high demand. Political support and the commitment of charities to set up a new food bank could be the first steps in the right direction. An emergency aid fund is needed to provide temporary financial support to institutions like Tafel Bremerhaven.

Everyday life at the Tafel is organized by volunteers who generally work unpaid. Around 95% of the food banks in Lower Saxony rely on volunteers. The prices for the food are only between one and three euros, which just about covers the operating costs. However, the increasing costs for rent, electricity and logistics must be covered by additional income, which is hardly possible in the current situation.

A rethink is required. Uwe Lamp calls for an effective board of directors to run the food bank in a business-like manner and hopes for a kind of reorganization that would make it possible to maintain the distribution of food for those who depend on it. There are currently 106 food banks in Lower Saxony, including one in Bremen and Bremerhaven, which support around 200,000 people every week. Any closure would not only be an enormous loss for Bremerhaven, but could also set a precedent for other food banks in Germany.

It remains to be seen whether and how things will continue with Tafel Bremerhaven. At the moment it appears that the fight for existence is in full swing and the next few weeks could be decisive.