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A volunteer from the Berliner Tafel prepares the food distribution
Photo: Britta Pedersen / picture alliance / dpa
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Böhm, at the beginning of the week the prime ministers first agreed on new regulations to contain the coronavirus - and then immediately collected them again.
It was also about a lockdown over the Easter holidays with additional supermarket closings.
Did politics think of the people you regularly meet at the table?
To person
Karsten Böhm
, 64, runs the Berlin food bank in the capital.
He is a trained social worker and works as a deacon at the Evangelical Trinity Church in Berlin.
Karsten Böhm:
I think these people were simply forgotten.
The subject of poverty is apparently a long way off for politicians in everyday life during the pandemic.
For my customers at the Tafel, it is a great relief that the regulation of the Easter lockdown has been withdrawn.
Politicians have simply forgotten that these people have to go shopping at the beginning of the month when they receive new money.
Maundy Thursday is April 1st - especially since the supermarkets close with the following public holidays, would have been a disaster for many.
Our customers here at Tafel have a high level of competence in shaping their lives with very little money.
Most of them receive social assistance or the so-called basic security.
That's up to 446 euros for a single person.
Or up to 1413 euros for a family with two small children.
At the end of the month there is simply no more money, these families could not have stocked up on food in advance.
SPIEGEL:
How have poor people got through the crisis so far?
Böhm:
These people were completely neglected by politics.
The Easter lockdown would have been just another point in this drama.
For example, no thought was given to what happens when poor people are quarantined.
As a member of the middle class, I can simply order from Lieferando in this case.
I also probably have friends who have enough money to go shopping for me.
If this network does not exist, it becomes very difficult.
Our customers cannot fall back on it.
They must be lucky that someone they know brings them their share from the board.
Or someone from the nursing staff who comes by regularly and takes on the effort.
“We care for 180 families.
Two to three new ones are added every week «
Karsten Boehm
SPIEGEL:
How has your clientele changed during the corona crisis?
Böhm:
More and more people are coming.
We look after around 180 families in total.
Two to three new ones are currently being added each week.
There has hardly been any change in the composition of the customers; the single mother and the pensioner in particular continue to seek our help.
I recently had a single father here who came with his eight-year-old daughter.
His refrigerator is empty and he has no money, he said.
We weren't open at the time, but luckily I can still provide people with essentials in such an emergency.
This currently happens at least once a month.
SPIEGEL:
In the first lockdown last spring, many boards had to close for fear of the virus spreading.
How have you changed your system since then so that it is also available to those in need during the pandemic?
Böhm:
In the first lockdown a year ago, like everyone else, we went straight to the iron.
We have a team of 50 volunteers who organize the edition, the majority of whom are over 70 years old.
We had to protect them too.
We then started packing the groceries in bags in advance pretty quickly.
For the first few weeks, I did the issue at the door practically on my own.
We were better prepared for the current lockdown.
We have formed small teams that prepare and distribute the bags.
In the past, our customers had to wait three to four hours with us to get their groceries.
Today it's an average of 30 minutes.
They can no longer choose anything for this.
SPIEGEL:
What do you want from politics with regard to people in need?
Böhm:
Most people don't know how tight money is when you have to live on basic security.
I would like more support and, above all, higher standard rates for those in need.
I am also thinking of the family with the eight children who have been in quarantine for weeks because one of the children always has an infected classmate.
Perhaps they are very lucky and their neighbors provide them with groceries from the table.
But what if not?
And just because the children are full doesn't mean they are well entertained.
There have been great initiatives in the past, for example the boy scouts packed and distributed bags with handicraft utensils for the children.
Something like this is a real help for families in this difficult situation.
Many families are doing fantastically well in this difficult situation, and not just our customers.
I think that politicians should finally recognize that loudly.
