Hannover-Barsinghausen, 24.03.2026 - When people think of food banks, they first think of food. But people in need require more than just nourishment – they also need the feeling of being able to participate in life. This includes personal care.

lavera Natural Beauty from the Hannover region is starting a collaboration with the State Association of Food Banks Lower Saxony/Bremen e.V. and is donating five pallets with around 5,000 shower products to the distribution center in Springe – which currently supplies 51 affiliated food banks in the region – from Bückeburg, Barsinghausen through Hannover, Braunschweig, Lüneburg, and Gifhorn to Göttingen, right in lavera’s home region. The products were picked up directly at the company’s location in Bantorf and thus reach the people who need them without delay.

The numbers are sobering: Around 974 food banks with over 2,000 distribution points supply approximately 1.5 million people across Germany – 50 percent more than five years ago. Nearly one-third of all food bank clients are minors. Older people who have worked all their lives are also increasingly among those seeking help. Around 200,000 people affected by poverty in Lower Saxony and Bremen regularly obtain food, seasonal items, and hygiene products from the food banks. The state association of the food banks announced in December 2025 that demand is expected to increase rather than decrease in the future. Organized nationwide in 13 state associations, the network is supported by around 60,000 volunteers.

At the same time, the food banks themselves are under pressure: Two-thirds report that the quantities of donated food are insufficient. One-third have already had to introduce waiting lists or stop accepting new clients.

What is almost always missing: hygiene and personal care products. They are donated less frequently – even though personal care stands for dignity and a good feeling about oneself. For lavera, this is not a side note but the core of their own commitment.

"We are a company from Lower Saxony – and the food banks supplied by the Springe distribution center support people in our immediate neighborhood: in Bückeburg, Barsinghausen, Hannover, Celle, Hildesheim, Göttingen, and many other towns and regions in Lower Saxony," says Sabine Kästner, company spokesperson and sustainability officer at lavera. "The cooperation allows us to help people directly in our region."

For lavera, the donation is also a consistent step in dealing with products that can no longer be sold: instead of disposing of goods, they are given, whenever possible, to where they are needed. "We want to destroy as few products as possible", says Kästner. "When products are discontinued from sale, we always ask ourselves: 'Who can use them?'"

The donation to the distribution center of the food banks in Springe is part of ongoing social commitment: unsellable products, when available, go to the city of Barsinghausen for aid projects in Ukraine and the partner city Kovel as well as to the donation platform Innatura, which supplies social organizations nationwide with in-kind donations.

lavera does not want to boast with this commitment but to encourage. Similar to the support for private forest owners, whom lavera helps to reforest forest areas destroyed by climate damage, it is about a simple conviction: Those who have the opportunity to help should do so – and inspire others to do the same.

Companies with products that are no longer sellable but still flawless have an easy chance to do good. "The Springe distribution center provides the necessary logistics – and shows how effortlessly such donations can be received", says Sabine Kästner. "It doesn’t take much. Sometimes a shower is enough."

Sources:Tafel Survey 2025,www.tafel.de;https://ots.de/CFC5Tj

lavera. Purely Natural. Truly Beautiful.

Since lavera was founded in 1987, Thomas Haase has followed a clear vision: to make high-quality Natural Beauty accessible to everyone. With over three decades of experience, the family business is now one of the pioneers of Natural Beauty. More than 450 employees combine deep knowledge of the power of nature with the highest scientific standards. From the initial idea to the finished formula, everything is created in-house. lavera continuously works to make the world more sustainable through its products and commitment. Around 250 lavera products are available in 40 countries. www.lavera.de

The Springe distribution center has been in operation since 2024. With enough pallet spaces for refrigerated, frozen, and dry goods, it currently serves 51 affiliated food banks. The distribution center is thus an important link between manufacturers and suppliers of goods, the umbrella organization Tafel Deutschland, and the individual food banks. It enables easy and quick intake of products and is a conveniently accessible contact point for those who have surplus goods to donate.vz-hannover@tafel-niedersachsen-bremen.de