Carts bring comfort, accessibility to St. John's supermarkets
A grocery cart designed with mobility in mind will soon make shopping easier for some St. John's families.
Four major retailers in the metro area are introducing a grocery cart with a built-in seat for children and adults with mobility issues.
The Canadian Progress Club and the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities are helping to pay for the 20 or so carts.
Each cart costs about $1,000 and will be shared between Colemans, Dominion, Sobeys and Walmart stores in the city.
For families like Jeanie McDonald's, a built-in seat for her five-year-old wheelchair-bound daughter, Claire, makes a world of difference.
McDonald said she and her husband use the cart whenever shopping at a store near Kelsey Drive.
Staff, she said, have even brought a cart to her car whenever she gives them advanced notice.
"People don't understand having to haul a wheelchair out, having to get it assembled and going in and you're pushing a cart, pushing a wheelchair — it's stressful," she said.
"It's stressful for [Claire] and this way she has more independence."
For Kelly White, the head of the province's Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, the carts are also a step towards inclusion.
"Persons with disabilities don't want to be any different than anyone else," White said.
"They just want to be able to access the same services, do the same shopping and attend the same functions as everyone else. So to see an accessible shopping cart is just incredible."