The German food charity Die Tafeln has announced a massive increase in the number of Germans in receipt of food aid. A spokeswoman for the organization, Susanne Lexa, told German public broadcaster ARD that those receiving food aid had increased by more than 50 percent since 2001. This year, the charity has been helping to feed a half-million people -- mostly the unemployed and their families -- in Germany, and the trend looks set to continue. Lexa is expecting the reforms to the current welfare laws to have serious ramifications for food bank charities, and believes that the 2.1 million people currently claiming the lowest level of unemployment benefit, and who are set to be hit hardest by the reforms, will become dependent upon the work of Die Tafeln. The organization is active in 380 cities across Germany, distributing food from some 1,000 locations to people in need. The food donations come from shops, supermarkets, and multi-national companies.