Germany’s Silbertaler project tackles senior loneliness and poverty

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A project in western Germany helps seniors battle often-overlooked challenges – not just old-age poverty, but also loneliness.

“We thought: nobody is interested in old people,” said Griseldis Ellis, who runs a foundation to combat old age poverty in Germany.

“But the response has been overwhelming. People are much more open, empathetic and interested than they are often given credit for.”

She and her wife, Christine Kienhofer, have been running Silbertaler, a project in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, since 2021.

They deliver fresh fruit, vegetables and other foods to senior citizens living at home.

At the start, the two women collected donations in kind. They soon realised that the need was greater than they had thought.

The city of Speyer helped to establish contact with those in need. Now, the foundation says it is financed by donations.