The decision to limit new membership of the "Tafel" food bank in Essen has resulted in a major backlash, with many politicians commenting on the move. German Chancellor Angela Merkel commented on the developments, saying that she wasn't in support of the decision taken by the "Tafel" in Essen.

"What's happening is not a good thing but it does show what kind of pressures are out there, and it exemplifies just how many people are in need of such assistance," Merkel said in a television interview.

"That's why I hope they can come up with a solution that won't exclude any particular group."

Merkel, whose Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party is presently adding finishing touches to building a new coalition government five months after general elections, is, however, finding herself at odds with some of her contemporaries in the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament.

Stephan Stracke, a parliamentarian from the Christian Social Union (CSU) party (the CDU's sister party in the state of Bavaria), told DW that he "fully understands the decision taken by the food bank":

"We have stressed from the beginning since the summer of 2015 that there will be incredible challenges in accepting so many refugees in our country," he said, referring to the CSU's overall reluctance to go along with Merkel's more liberal refugee policy.

Vandalism at 'Tafel' food bank

Jörg Sartor, the manager of the Essen "Tafel" meanwhile has had to defend his decision repeatedly, saying it had nothing to do with xenophobia: "All we want is to establish a more equitable distribution," he said, stressing that it was only a temporary measure meant to last a number of months.

However, the backlash against him and the food bank came not only from politicians but also from the public, with vandals damaging some of the "Tafel" property, spraying the word "Nazi" on the facility in Essen.

Sartor dismissed the vandalism as "kid's stuff" during an interview with public broadcaster WDR: "We are going to continue operating as usual."

"That said, I am worried about our volunteers - that they will be too scared to show up for the food distributions," he added.

Poverty: not a question of background

Politicians from across Germany's political spectrum joined in on that sentiment, saying that volunteers running the food bank shouldn't have to face the consequences of the divisive decision. The leader of the Free Democrats (FDP) Christian Lindner told the daily Bild newspaper that politicians like Merkel should stop criticizing the "Tafel" food bank and instead offer assistance. Senior Green Party politician Robert Habeck agreed with that assessment, saying that volunteers were now having to hash out the shortcomings of politicians.

Katja Kipping, head of the Left party (Die Linke), said in a television interview that "when it comes to helping people in need, their passport shouldn't matter."

"We need a social contract in this country which ensures that no one is in danger of poverty," she stressed. 

Parliamentary leader of the Left party Sahra Wagenknecht meanwhile told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that the fact that "there are problems at the Tafel has been known for a while."

Wagenknecht said that with "more and more people in need in Germany the organizations that serve them are simply not getting the resources they need."

Working together to help refugees

Despite his criticism against Chancellor Merkel, CSU politician Stephan Stracke, who is also part of the parliamentary committee on labor and social affairs, agreed that the work of the volunteers should be highlighted in order to combat misunderstandings about the issue:

"This is an example of outstanding civic commitment. It really hurts me when I hear that volunteers are now being conflated with terms like Nazis or racists. What we need is greater recognition of what these volunteers manage to accomplish here," he told DW.

"What we need to do is to make sure that people don't need (these services) in the first place and that we manage to integrate as many foreigners in the labor market as possible."