Loneliness is an overwhelming emotion, and it often consumes the lives of many elderly people worldwide.
In a measure to help them out of their loneliness, the Dutch have placed special checkout lanes where the elderly can stop and chat with the cashier.
These “slow lanes” were first introduced by Jumbo in the summer of 2019 as a part of the Dutch government’s One Against Loneliness campaign. There are 1.3 million adults over 75 in the Netherlands, and 33% of them say they feel at least moderately lonely, according to Statistics Netherlands. In the North Brabant province’s town of Vlijmen, the first Kletskassa opened for business. The feedback was so encouraging that the business decided to build 200 of these lanes across the nation. Additionally, Jumbo stores added a “chat corner” where locals might congregate for a cup of coffee and some small talk. The best thing about the Kletskassa is that anyone whose day could be made better by taking it easy and chatting for a while is welcome.
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