30 facts about the Berliner Tafel

By Bjorn Trautwein

• The idea for the table came from New York. Sabine Werth heard about the City Harvest project – brought the idea to Berlin
• At first, only women helped, driving to supermarkets in their private cars
• The Berliner Tafel distributes around 660 tons of food per month, which is around 8000 tons per year
• 2700 volunteers are active at the Berliner Tafel

• There are now almost 1000 Tafels in Germany
• During the first Corona lockdown, 175,000 bags full of groceries were packed
• 65 tons of food were donated after the Fruit Logistica fair this year alone
• Around 80,000 people are currently registered at the 55 “Loaf and Soul” distribution points, who receive food once a week
• The food distribution is not free. Those in need pay “with a coin” – that can be 50 cents to 2 euros
• The Berliner Tafel does not distribute alcohol as a matter of principle
• A total of 16 teams collect groceries from supermarkets and bakers every day
• Food is also delivered to 400 social institutions such as shelters for the homeless, women’s shelters or children’s institutions
• In total, the Tafel supported almost 2 million people in 2022
• From 33 euros a year you can become a member of the Berliner Tafel
• The Berliner Tafel rejects state funds and is only financed by donations and membership fees in order to remain independent
• 2,077,513.10 euros were raised in 2021 – 60 percent of this through donations, another 9 percent through membership fees
• The expenses in 2021 were exactly 1,999,097.04 euros.
• The Tafel runs a shop on Pestalozzistraße where you can “pay” for second-hand goods with groceries
• There is only one “board” per city so that there is no competition. In Berlin, therefore, all issuing offices are under one roof.
• At the Beussel market, the food bank owns a train carriage that has been converted into a show kitchen, in which children are taught

• At Christmas, Berliners donated 7.5 tons of food in supermarkets for the needy as part of the “One More!” campaign.
• In 30 Berlin restaurants you can order a “soup with meaning” for the Berliner Tafel and donate with it
• 5300 school cones were distributed to needy children at the start of school last year
• In a converted BVG bus, 4,000 schools are informed about healthy eating every year with the KIMBA project
• The Berliner Tafel has around 12,000 plastic boxes for transporting groceries
• The panel drives Mercedes: 26 Sprinters are in use every day, 18 of which are refrigerated trucks
• On average, a day’s tour for delivery is around 80 kilometers long
• Around 60,000 volunteers are active for the Tafel nationwide, working around 20.4 million hours a year on a voluntary basis
• The “Berliner Tafel” has also been available for eating for ten years: in the form of a real bar of chocolate, which can be bought in several supermarkets.
• Since last year, the Berliner Tafel has even had a grave in the St. Matthäus-Kirchhof in Schöneberg. Helpers who no longer have relatives can be buried there