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Ready to be picked up: every Thursday there are 250 bags full of groceries in the Church of the Redeemer in Berlin-Moabit.
In the morning, the helpers at the Berliner Tafel's "Loaf and Soul" distribution point packed them.
However, it is uncertain whether the bags will be enough for everyone that day. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and due to rising food prices, more and more needy people have been coming here.
Rolf Jaenke, head of the issuing office
»In the beginning we had around 10-20 new admissions every week, until we just reached a limit and we had to realize: We simply can't supply any more because A. doesn't fit in time and B. the number of food donations has decreased.«
The result: a recording stop.
Only the approximately 250 regular customers are allowed to pick up groceries.
These include Ukrainian refugees, but also pensioners or people who are dependent on social assistance.
They have to prove that they receive government support or a low pension.
Just like Uwe.
He's been coming for 10 years.
He clearly feels the current problems of the board.
Uwe, pensioner
»Yes, significant, about 150 refugees are here now, before we were done in two hours and now it takes three to four hours that we have to queue here.
Sometimes there are only two or three potatoes inside, two or three onions, fruit and vegetables, there are to some extent, sometimes bread, but otherwise it has gotten worse.«
The groceries are donated by supermarkets - but recently less and less has arrived at the food banks.
Rolf Jaenke, head of the issuing office
»There is simply less available, the supermarkets see, it gets expensive, they have to calculate more precisely and if they calculate more precisely, then in the end they don't have that much, which is basically surplus.
So where the expiry date has expired, for example.
You can see for yourself, in the supermarkets the shelves are empty for some items and what are they supposed to give us.«
All over Germany, the food banks are at their limit, many can no longer take on new customers.
In Berlin, 10 of the 47 distribution points of "Load and Soul" only distribute groceries every two weeks.
Rolf Jaenke, head of the issuing office:
»I think it will get worse.
So I'm not too optimistic about the future.
It's okay that inflation may stay within a certain range or decrease, but the supply situation of both the food bank and our distribution points, from the supermarkets, will not improve.«
The bags this Thursday are just barely enough.
In order for the Berliner Tafel to be able to help everyone in the future, they need donations and further support.