Tafel Deutschland e.V. is the national association of food banks and community pantries in Germany. Our network of over 60,000 volunteers at nearly 950 branches nationwide is working to safely provide food and other resources to around 1.65 million beneficiaries throughout the country, many of whom are especially vulnerable to Covid-19 due to their age or preexisting health conditions along with those impacted by the economic downturn.
Compliance with health and safety precautions is costly. 63% of volunteers are 65+ years old; many are staying home during the pandemic. More people are turning to the Tafel for help and many are at higher risk of a covid infection due to age or preexisting conditions. 90% of our food is donated locally by supermarkets, but to meet increasing demand, bulk donations are being sourced from international producers and the agricultural secor, which requires more resources for national logistics.
We are working with companies to donate or reduce the cost of materials needed to implement safety measures and helping local Tafels access funds to increase their spaces, adapt their operations and obtain necessary supplies and equipment. We are recruiting younger volunteers who are at less risk while finding ways to keep senior citizens engaged in our movement. We are expanding our logistics facilities and staff to be able to accept more large donations and break them down to manageable sizes.
The goal of raising $1,000,000 averages out to less than 1,000 euros per Tafel and does not seem like much in that context, but the intent of this project is to increase the capacity of Tafel Deutschland e.V. to support our national network in the areas where the most action is needed: volunteer recruitment and management, operational adaptations and expansion, as well as food sourcing and logistics.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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