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AFP, LOHNE, Germany
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In the western German village of Lohne, where the only grocery store closed its doors earlier this year, residents do their food shopping on board a red-and-green supermarket bus that rolls into the main square once a week.
For 90 minutes, locals get a chance to buy the essentials without having to get into a car to drive to the nearest store.
The supermarket-on-wheels is a pilot project between Germany’s third-largest food retailer, REWE, and the Deutsche Bahn railway company.
Photo: AFP
The bus began plying its route in March, catering to rural villages in the state of Hesse where brick-and-mortar stores have become an increasingly rare sight, turning some areas into so-called food deserts.
For the about 600 inhabitants of Lohne, where the balconies are dotted with colorful geraniums, the arrival of the REWE shopping bus is a welcome sight after the village’s only mini-mart closed for good in the spring.
“I can get the
