Number of food banks in Germany 1993-2024
As of 2024, there were 975 food banks in Germany. This was an increase compared to the previous year at 964. It was also the highest number of food banks since 1993, when the German Tafel scheme was set up.
Food bank usage
‘Tafel’ in Germany is an organization that it similar to the concept of food banks in the United States. These food banks operate at a regional level and provide food that would otherwise be destroyed to those in need either for free or at a heavily discounted price. In 2022, around two million people were using food banks in Germany, this was the highest figure since 2014. This new peak is likely due to the large increase in food prices over the past two years. Both 2022 and 2023 saw a year-on-year increase of over 12 percent. It is not just Germany that is facing higher food prices. Countries across the world have been experiencing a rise in the price of groceries. Over 10 percent of people living in Spain, Great Britain, Germany, France, and Italy said that it was usually difficult for them to afford food items at the end of 2022. In France and Italy there were noticeably higher rates.
Poverty
When it came to the average financial wealth of adults in Europe, Switzerland, Iceland, and Denmark topped the list. Germany ranked 13th on the list, with average wealth of adults at 113,00 U.S. dollars. This average, however, does not represent the entire population, and there are people in Germany, as in every country, who struggle to finance day-to-day life. In 2022, there were around 16.7 percent of people at risk of living in poverty. This was a slight decrease compared to the previous year, but still significantly higher than in previous years. In certain cities the risk of living in poverty was even higher than the national average. The city of Duisburg, which is located in western Germany, had an at risk of living in poverty rate of over 30 percent. In Bremen, a city close to Hamburg, the share of those facing financial difficulties was almost 30 percent.
