The people of Traubing can look forward to being supplied with the most necessary food again soon. The town hall is also negotiating a new supermarket.
Traubing
– Since the last grocery store closed at the end of November, the people of Traubing have had to “drive to Starnberg, Tutzing or Weilheim for every pack of butter,” as Elisabeth Dörnberg (CSU) aptly put it. Local supplies have collapsed except for eggs, milk and meat. But this time could soon be over. The Tutzingen town hall is in negotiations with a vending machine provider to supply the people of Traubing with food. The main committee of the local council was impressed by the concept on Tuesday. As a location, the town hall has in mind a community area diagonally opposite the kindergarten on Birkenstrasse. The managing official, Marcus Grätz, did not hide the fact that, as a Traubinger, he was very interested in a food offering. “It hurts so much that the last general store has closed,” he said. He negotiated with a vending machine operator from Percha and presented the results to the committee.
The “Uncle Tom” company operates vending machines with food throughout Germany. “It offers container solutions that look pretty good and also operates them itself,” said Grätz. What he particularly liked and which also received a positive response from the committee: “The company works with local farm shops and businesses and also offers their products.” In the Traubinger case, this could mean that eggs, potatoes, meat and milk from the environment are offered. “There is nothing that doesn’t work,” said Grätz enthusiastically. What he also liked: The operator checks its locations every day. “He has people on site who take care of it every day.” And if a product runs out, it is reported electronically. According to Mayor Ludwig Horn, the prices of the products on offer are around ten percent higher than supermarket prices. “It has to be financed somehow,” he said. The specific items that are offered also depend on demand, explained Grätz. Wishes could also be expressed.
The town hall's research has shown that all slot machine operators operating in Germany have roughly the same portfolio. “Then we as the town hall prefer someone who is close and checks regularly,” says Grätz.
The committee has clear ideas for the location of the vending machine
Now the administration wants to continue negotiating with the Percha company. A contract should only be concluded if the criteria set by the committee are met. The community will provide the electricity connection, as well as a point foundation on which several machines will be set up. The provider should bear the electricity costs of around 200 euros per year. These would be allocated to the products, says Grätz. And: The contract with the provider should not run longer than five years.
“It’s certainly not comparable to a grocery store, but it’s a good solution for Traubing,” said the mayor. Negotiations with supermarket operators have shown that some are interested, but others are not at all. The town hall wants to continue negotiations. In any case, says Horn, “it will take some time until this is planned”.
Dr. Wolfgang Behrens-Ramberg (Tutzinger List) welcomed the community's commitment, but also emphasized that it should only be an interim solution. Bernd Pfitzner (Greens) was convinced of the success of the concept and said it also worked in Monathausen. For Christine Nimbach (independent), the machines could even become a permanent solution. “It's not so bad to take the bus to Tutzing. I don't have a car and I have no problem getting to my things." Georg Schuster (FDP) suggested that the container be placed in such a way that the parking spaces would not be disrupted too much. There is also talk of setting up a hot drinks machine. Dörrenberg was not enthusiastic about this; she feared a lot of waste from coffee-to-go cups. There should possibly be seating outside the container.