Gabi comes prepared.
Today, on this windy Wednesday in April, is also her first time here.
You don't want to do anything wrong, especially if you want something.
"I hope you can help me here," she says.
The pensioner in the black jacket, gray sweatpants and black knitted hat showed up punctually at half past twelve in front of the brick church in Frankfurt's north end.
She parks her dark shopping trolley in front of the metal fence of the church.
Wait, smoke a cigarette, wander around a bit.
Until it's her turn.
Until she receives three bags full of groceries.
Every Wednesday is issue day in the Nordend.
Volunteers from the Frankfurter Tafel come and bring vegetables, fruit, meat and much more with them.
For those who don't know how else to afford their meals.
The number of these people is constantly growing.
And in the past few weeks, it has once again grown particularly rapidly.
It's been a long time since food prices have risen so much in such a short space of time.
At the beginning of this week, the discounter Aldi raised the prices for butter, among other things, and the packet now costs more than two euros.
Before it was 1.65 euros.
Various products from the discounter had already become more and more expensive in the weeks before.
Other retailers such as Rewe have already increased their prices.
It is said that future increases will be examined very carefully.
However, nothing can be guaranteed.
The Federal Statistical Office collects data on food price increases.
The most recent values represent February 2022, data for March are to be published in the coming week.
Compared to the previous year, groceries were on average 5.3 percent more expensive this February.
Above all, fresh goods such as cucumbers and tomatoes, with price jumps of more than 25 percent, cost significantly more.
But fats, oils and flour are also increasing in price.
A reversal trend?
Not yet in sight.
When the Frankfurter Tafel in the Nordend hands out food, long queues form.
Out of the church courtyard, around the corner and when it's very crowded almost to the entrance of the nearby subway station.
Lots of retirees come here.
When they can't stand, they leave their trolley in line and sit on a nearby bench.
Some Hartz IV recipients are in line, as are single parents, some with their children in tow.
And on this windy April day, a group of Ukrainian refugees is also here.
Women and children who apparently do not quite know what to do.
This is all new for Gabi, the pensioner who is here for the first time today.
She used to buy the things she needed from Aldi, sometimes from Penny.
Now that's no longer possible.
"I used to spend around 50 euros on each of my weekly purchases," says Gabi.
Now that is much, much more.
"I don't have the money." So she came here a few hours before the start of the issue, signed up and is now supported by the Tafel.
The boards don't have it easy right now
The Tafel in Germany – there are a total of 950 – don't have it easy, on the contrary: They are reaching their limits.
Far fewer donations of food and money have been received in the past few weeks.
But: "The needy are more, much more," says Norbert Nickel, warehouse manager of the organization in Frankfurt.
About 1,000 people appeared in his camp last week and asked for donations - although there is actually no issue there.
The needy people are concerned that food prices in particular are rising, says Nickel.
"The fear is there that we won't have enough for them here either."
A discounter on an arterial road in the west of Frankfurt.
No hip branch somewhere in the center.
No, a cuboid block like something out of a model construction kit, like the ones there are hundreds of in Germany – and which has been placed here in the middle of an industrial park.
Andrei Popsor, black cap, blue sweater, jeans is getting a shopping cart.
As an exception, he does his shopping during the week.
He says: "Everything is getting more expensive.
I notice that above all in the food.” Especially in the vegetables.
"Now we're trying to save money," he says.
Just dispose of leftovers?
They stopped doing that at his house now.