City and municipal utilities donate 10,000 euros to the food bank
22.11.2023 – The Advent season is approaching - and while some people are already planning their Christmas presents and festive meals, more and more people don't know how they are going to pay for their next supermarket shop at the end of the year. That's why the city and Stadtwerke Offenbach are once again donating 10,000 euros to the Tafel Offenbach e.V. food bank.
"Inflation is leading to less money in our wallets and is unsettling many people, even if it is now slowly easing. However, prices have continued to rise in 2023 and therefore more and more citizens in Offenbach are also dependent on support," said Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke on Monday, 13 November 2023, at the handover of the cheque to Tafel Offenbach. "Especially during the Advent season, everyone should know and feel that no one is forgotten." The charitable aid organization Tafel distributes food to those in need once a week in Krafftstraße and at four other distribution points, for which Schwenke expressly thanked everyone involved on site with a handshake.
In 2020, the Offenbach food bank had to provide for around 800 people. Almost twice as many are now coming, while the number of donations is declining. "We therefore have every reason to continue supporting the head of the Tafel, Christine Sparr, and her 50 or so volunteers," emphasized Stadtwerke Managing Director Peter Walther. The association is "an outstanding example of solidarity in action in Offenbach". The city and Stadtwerke also wanted to play their part in this.
The support is needed more urgently than ever, the head of the food bank was pleased to say:
Christine SparrIn fact, we hardly had any reserves left, as we are also receiving fewer and fewer food donations from retailers - now I can finally buy the next round in bulk for our clientele.
The social worker has been with the food bank for 18 years. She is now one of only three living recipients of the badge of honor, the second highest award from the city of Offenbach. "I still remember the good times when we had too many goods to hand out," said Christine Sparr. "Today, I'm constantly on the road by car to swap our goods with other food banks in half of Germany and make sure the local people are half-fed." Sparr is saving around a quarter of the donations for Christmas: Then there will be bags of gingerbread and sweets in Offenbach: "The grannies like dominoes best - and we guarantee that every child will get a Santa Claus."