The short of it

By Kate Hassett

Image: JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP/Getty Images)
Image: JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP/Getty Images)
This vending machine dispenses food to feed the mind, not the stomach

Have you ever found yourself waiting for a bus, or a friend and noticed that the first point of call is to reach for your phone? Gone are the days when people would travel with a book, eagerly waiting for any opportunity to devour the words on the pages. Now, the second there is idle time, phones emerge to fill the void.

But one French company is seeking to change this.

In Grenoble, known as the capital of the French Alps, cultural enrichment is taking precedent within the community.

Short Édition is the brainchild of Christophe Sibieude and Grenoble’s mayor, Éric Piolle. Together, the pair have conceived a way to entice commuters and bystanders to enrich their minds, rather than passing their time in the vacuous realm of social media.

Situated in the most popular public places, Short Édition is a dispenser with a difference. Instead of putting money into a regular vending machine and receiving junk food, or the like, members of the public are given the opportunity to print out a short story – for free!

The receipt style stories are printed out in one, three or five minute options.

“The idea came to us in front of a vending machine containing chocolate bars and drinks,” Sibieude told AFP. “We said to ourselves that we could do the same thing with good quality popular literature to occupy these little unproductive moments.”

“We are trying to re-imagine the city center as a place of shared experiences…”

“We are trying to launch a revolution, and the objective is to build a wider and calmer downtown area.”

Would you like to see this initiative in your city?

Image: JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP/Getty Images)
Image: JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP/Getty Images)

 

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Print Recipe

BECOME A MiNDFOOD SUBSCRIBER TODAY

Let us keep you up to date with our weekly MiNDFOOD e-newsletters which include the weekly menu plan, health and news updates or tempt your taste buds with the MiNDFOOD Daily Recipe. 

Member Login