15 years Team Austria Tafel: More and more Lower Austrians in need!

15 years Team Austria Tafel: More and more Lower Austrians in need!

In Lower Austria, more and more people are facing major financial challenges. Laut noen.at sind 14 Prozent der Bevölkerung armutsgefährdet, während 3 Prozent, also rund 56.000 Personen, sogar in absoluter Armut leben. Food purchases become enormous stress for these groups.

To help these people, the “Team Austria Tafel” was founded 15 years ago. This project, which was created in cooperation between the Red Cross and Hitradio Ö3, aims to make free food available to needy people. There are currently 35 issues in Lower Austria, and over 1 million customer contacts have been recorded since the beginning of the campaign, which impressively shows the enormous range and the need.

a strong network

The first issue opened its doors in March 2010. Since then, impressive 17,500 tons of food have been saved and distributed to needy households. While the number of households that need help rose from 30,000 to 115,000 households in 2024 at the beginning of the campaign, the initiative has a decline in donations. Therefore, working closer cooperation with producers and farmers is being used to secure large goods donations and to cover the increasing logistics costs for transport.

The delivery of food donations and hygiene articles are directly to people who live in difficult financial circumstances. The approval of the reference is based on the poverty hazard threshold, which is currently at 1,661 euros per month for one-person households, as Roteskreuz.at reports. When picking up for the first time, the needy must register and make an explanation for household income.

action day and call for donations

In order to draw attention to the emergency and at the same time support regular care, a special day of action for the 15th anniversary of the "Team Austria Tafel" will take place on June 6th. On this day, durable foods and hygiene products can be bought and donated in participating supermarkets. With higher public attention, the initiative hopes to increase the necessary resources to support the needy.

How the statistics underline the situation: The data on minimum security and social assistance, which, among other things, serve to protect against poverty, show that many people rely on financial aid to ensure their livelihood and living requirements, so statistics.at.

The Austria Tafel team offers important support for many Lower Austrians: inside. Against the background of rising living costs, the use for the weakest in our society remains of crucial importance.