A supermarket on rails? In Hesse, this has become a reality. Until December 11, Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Regio, REWE Region Mitte and Fairtrade Germany are going mobile with the "Fair Supermarket Train".
Where travelers or commuters normally take their seats with their sandwiches and their newspapers, you can now find Fairtrade, organic and regional foods. The special train consists of three shopping wagons and an on-board bistro. Buying a ticket is not necessary. Shopping is possible on the supermarket train from 9 am to 7 pm. There are 3,000 items to choose from. The supermarket is managed at the stations by a rotating team of 30 trainees from the respective sales area.
Get on board and shop around
Sustainable living goes everywhere
"As a means of transport, rail is ecological, fast and convenient," said Mario Theis of DB Regio. "We accompany many people in their everyday lives and help them to be sustainably mobile - whether it's to work, to the countryside, to visit friends or just to go shopping. For us as DB Regio, sustainability and regionality is in our DNA. Something we have in common with our partners REWE and Fairtrade, and something we want to advance together."
Shopping enjoyment to the fullest
REWE has been a Fairtrade partner from the very beginning
Sustainability is also a focus at REWE. The stores offer a wide range of sustainable as well as local products and are Fairtrade partner of the first hour: "Seasonal, regional, fair - this is the triad of sustainability that REWE demonstrates with the fair supermarket train", said Jürgen Scheider, CEO of REWE Mitte.
"The fair supermarket train shows how many areas of our everyday lives we can make more sustainable and fair," added Carsten Lorenz, Head of Key Account Management at Fairtrade Germany. "It's fitting that five of the six cities where the train stops are designated Fairtrade cities, committed to greater sustainability and fair trade at the local level."
REWE trainees welcome passengers, pardon: customers, on board. No ticket needed to shop here.
Setting the course for sustainability
Within this project, REWE, Fairtrade and DB Regio are combining their commitment to more sustainability in everyday life - be it in traveling or shopping and the desire to create awareness for this. Sustainable means making everyday life more ecological and fairer today so that future generations can live well. After its first stop at Frankfurt Central Station, the train will make scheduled stops in Fulda, Giessen, Kassel, Darmstadt and Wiesbaden in the coming weeks, each Friday and Saturday.
Source: www.rewe-group.com/de