Germany ranks 22nd out of the 182 countries that are listed in the Human Development Index issued by the United Nations for 2009. Human development is defined by the UN as the perspective of people leading lives in accord with their needs and interests. Ideally, this means that Germany is very good at providing such a perspective – outsiders may think this is true, but they should take a closer look at the actual truth.
In my hometown, the small town of Laatzen, near the city of Hannover in Germany, the two rooms that house the Laatzener Tafel e.V. are right next door to a second-hand shop, and a furniture restaurateur who employs mainly permanently unemployed people. One man is carrying a trash bag and is picking up wrappers that are lying in the mud. I want to ask him how he feels about the job that pays one Euro an hour, but the woman that I am accompanying today says he doesn’t understand a lot of German.
Today I am spending the day with Karin*, a woman who requires the service that the Laatzener Tafel provides. The Tafel is the place where people can buy food and other necessities at a cheap price, because they cannot afford to pay the prices that supermarkets demand. The prices and sizes of the pre-packaged goods vary, depending on how many people in a family rely on the Tafel.
Karin
Karin is not only a customer at the Tafel, but also works voluntarily for the Tafel. She picks up food and other donations from supermarkets three days a week, and delivers them back to the headquarters of the Tafel. The donations from the supermarkets are products that are about to expire, or are partially damaged and thus cannot be sold anymore.
At the Tafel, other volunteers sort out anything that is not good enough for people to eat, in a collection for the local pet sanctuary. The Laatzener Tafel e.V. is affiliated with the general German Tafel e.V.; however the system here is a little different. Many Tafel institutions in Germany provide those in need with a warm meal – the Laatzener Tafel instead provides people with the ingredients to prepare their own meals. This is something many people appreciate, as they feel they are not accepting charity, especially since they still pay for the food.
Lady volunteers putting breadrolls into plastic bags for hygiene purposes
Karin drives to various supermarkets in the area of Laatzen, and its neighboring towns Hemmingen and Pattensen, from eight o’clock onwards, to pick up food. We start off at a well-known German supermarket chain close to the headquarters of the Tafel, and I have difficulties pulling open the backdoors of the truck that was donated to the Tafel for their work. Karin herself cannot open the door, because her left thumb is dislocated after an accident here at work. Her doctor told her not to work, but Karin feels that she owes it to the Tafel – who else would do her job otherwise?
We pick up the food at the delivery entrance of the supermarket, and push the wagon with the products to the truck. Inside the truck, we put all the products into foldable plastic boxes. These too were donated to the Tafel at one point. The driver of the truck, Hans*, another customer of the Tafel, also helps us with loading everything on the truck. He used to work for the local center of the German automobile club ADAC, but his position was cut in 2007 because a work efficiency program was introduced. Both he and Karin had troubles finding jobs and then turned to the Tafel. The work they do is not paid, but both are happy doing what they do: contributing to people’s well-being and perspective to leading lives in accord with their needs and interests.
Karin explains to me how the system of the Tafel network works, while we drive from supermarket to supermarket: Initially, in many cities people started initiatives called Tafel, where they provided services to the poor, mainly in forms of meals or food. They were usually supported by the city, like in Jena – a larger German city, or by an organization such as the German Red Cross, like in Hannover. Because there were so many of these initiatives, they soon formed the umbrella organization Tafel e.V., responsible for all initiatives in Germany, providing general guidelines.
The Laatzener Tafel, together with the second-hand shop mentioned earlier, was provided with rooms in Laatzen in the beginning, which they later purchased themselves, and were donated two used trucks, by Mercedes Benz. The Laatzener Tafel, as “eingetragener Verein”, or registered association, has members who pay membership fees, and in return get a say in how the Laatzener Tafel provides its services. The Laatzener Tafel also earns money from the purchases made by customers. This pays for fuel costs and repair costs that add up.
The Laatzener Tafel has three distributing points, one in Laatzen, one in Arnum, a village further away, and one in Pattensen. Those in Arnum and Pattensen are located in churches which cooperate with the initiative. All people who work for the Tafel do so on a voluntary basis, and are honorary workers. They receive nothing in return, not even discounts for the Tafel distribution. The cost for a prepackaged ration can be from €1,50 to €2,50, ranging from a one person household, to a family of more than five people. Donations also keep the initiative afloat.
While we load on food, and drive around, I get to know Karin a little better. She hasn’t had an easy life, and is knowledgeable in different areas of life, such as fashion or the military. When we stop at a herb store that sometimes has donations to make, Karin teaches me the names of many different herbs and plants. In between, she gives me a radish or two to eat, while she and Hans carry the heaviest donated goods into the truck.
There are many stories Karin has to tell, one I experience myself. Both Hans and Karin suddenly become annoyed about something happening on the road, I cannot see it from the back seat where I am perched. I ask her what the commotion is about, and she explains: during the times when there are exhibitions on the fairgrounds right next to the headquarters of the Tafel, the fairground security often controls the traffic – usually to a disadvantage to anybody that doesn’t enter the fairgrounds. Apparently it’s not the first time this has happened, and Karin calls the police to check whether this is in order. It turns out it is not, and the police promises to send a car to the affected junction.
The Sprinter truck, donated by Mercedes Benz
We get back to the Tafel at noon, with a full truck, and unload everything we collected over the morning. Mostly bread, vegetables and fruits have been donated, but Karin has a surprise for everyone currently cleaning or setting up the Tafel for the afternoon sales: tissues. I find it incredible how everyone cheers over a commodity like tissues, but they don’t seem to be readily available to everyone. Before I can thank everyone for letting me experience this day, Karin slips me a bar of chocolate that isn’t due to expire for a month. My protest falls on deaf ears, and I go home, with an aching back, tired arms and legs, but a warm heart.
*: Names withheld by request
SOURCES
• "Human Development | Human Development Reports (HDR) | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)." Human Development Reports (HDR) - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 18 Oct. 2009 .
• Karin. Personal Interview. 21 Oct. 2008.
• "laatzener tafel." laatzener tafel. 18 Oct. 2009 .