The food banks in Germany are suffering from the lack of donations, because for weeks now the German population has been buying more food than usual out of concern for the corona virus. For the poor and needy this means that there is less left for them than usual. In the foyer of St. Lioba Church in Frankfurt’s Bonames district, the scenario is the same. Other boards have already had to close because not only were fewer donations available because of hamster purchases but also because the helpers themselves are largely among the risk groups and can only be partially replaced by younger people. For Dagmar Heintz, the team leader of the Tafel edition and herself belonging to the risk group, but no reason to give up. She has been a volunteer for the Tafel for 15 years. Since then she has been working for people and against food waste, as she recently told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Every two weeks – Thursdays from 12 to 14.30 – food is distributed. In times of the Coronavirus 19 pandemic, however, the food is cut down with strict portioning of food, which last Thursday went out after 30 minutes. Unfortunately, some needy people went out to empty, which is very depressing for Dagmar Heintz. However, the food distribution is not intended to ensure the basic supply of the needy people, emphasises the team leader, who is currently working in the background without customer contact. As an additional offer with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, the Tafelausgabe is intended to make people’s diet healthier. Sometimes there are also small portions of meat that have been donated and are very much in demand. The whole range, including pasta and rolls, but also smoothies and pudding as well as herb plants, is available for the obligatory value of one euro. The notice on a board in front of the entrance must be strictly followed, namely the two-metre safety distance to the volunteers, but also to the other customers who are standing in the current short queue.
