Social worker Sabine Werth saw this waste and started the Berliner Tafel (Table) organization in 1993 , in order to give the food to those who needed it . The problem was collecting all the food , which also included " remains " from parties and buffets , and distributing it to needy men , woman , and children . Sabine organized groups of volunteers with cars and vans to do this work . At first , the Berliner tafel provided food only for homeless people , but nowadays anybody in need can pick up a bag of groceries for a low price - the symbolic price of one euro . Today , Berliner Tafel feeds up to 15,000 needy people a day , and there are approximately 800 food banks all over Germany .