More and more people in need: the number of Tafel customers has almost tripled

Created: 12/23/2022, 10:02 am

By: Franziska Seliger

Group photo of the Tafel team: At the Christmas edition of the Penzberger Tafel, representatives of the Rotary Club were present in addition to the helpers.

Also representatives of the sponsors: the two Penzberg churches and Caritas.

© Franziska Seliger

First the pandemic and now the Ukraine war with all its consequences: Both have made the operation of the Penzberger Tafel significantly more difficult.

The number of people in need has risen sharply in recent months.

However, the commitment of the volunteers is still great.

Shortly before Christmas Eve, they set a Christmas table for their customers again.

Penzberg – The Christmas edition just before Christmas Eve is a firm tradition at the Penzberger Tafel.

In addition to the regularly offered food, there are always very special delicacies for the customers - that was also the case on Thursday.

For example, meat donated by the Rotary Club Penzberg, large loaves of cheese or fine chocolate were offered.

The cheese was a donation in kind from a private person, says Ursula Floßmann from the board's management team.

And a mother from Penzberg brought the chocolate with her children.

Floßmann, her colleague Christine Geiger and the currently 30 or so volunteers are always deeply moved by such helpful gestures, they say.

The support that the Tafel receives from citizens, associations, institutions or companies from the city and the region

is enormous – “especially at Christmas,” says Floßmann.

"Regardless of where we ask: We are always helped," emphasizes Geiger, looking at Mayor Stefan Korpan, who came to the table with two boxes of gingerbread.

Because running the food bank is not easy in these times, admit Geiger and Floßmann, whose management team recently got a third person in Robert Herele.

Within a year: number of Tafel guests increases from 122 to 332

At the end of last year, there were 122 people who were supplied with food during the weekly distribution, so there are currently 332 people, says Floßmann.

Of these, 147 are children.

Around 100 Tafel passes have currently been issued, and it is not uncommon for a family with three or more children to hide behind a pass, explains Floßmann.

Of these 100 ID cards, 74 were issued to Ukrainian refugees and 14 to local Afghan staff.

Tafel has had to buy additional goods for a long time

Due to the increased number of people in need, it has been necessary to buy additional goods from the Tafel for a long time, since the food donated by the shops was no longer sufficient.

Geiger expressly emphasizes that this is not because the shops do not want to give anything.

"We're getting a lot.

But it's just not enough.” The money for the additional purchases comes from donations.

At the Penzberger Tafel, one does not think of stopping admission.

"We still have capacity," assures Geiger.

It is the large number of donors, supporters and active helpers that allows Geiger to look positively and energetically into the next year, because: "We have a great team and a great sense of togetherness." She emphasizes that whining is not her thing.

"Let's look ahead and get on with it."