New Shopping Cart Designed For Kids With Special Needs
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - For families with children who have special needs, a simple task like grocery shopping can be a complicated, or even impossible, one.
Now, a new shopping cart soon to appear in more Minnesota stores is changing that.
Carly Jamieson is 16 years old and has a rare genetic disorder called Angelman Syndrome.
"It looks a lot like autism and cerebral palsy," her mother, Lisa Jamieson, said. "She has a movement disorder and seizures."
That makes everyday tasks like grocery shopping a challenge.
"It's very difficult to shop alone with Carly," her mother said. "I have to either coordinate care at home or have someone along with me."
But not anymore.
A new pilot program at Cub Foods in Maple Grove is helping special needs families move through stores more conveniently.
"She loves to be moving in anything that goes fast," Lisa Jamieson said. "The faster the better."
It's called Caroline's Cart, and it allows parents and caregivers to maneuver one device, rather than a cart and a wheelchair.
"The flexibility that this cart gives me to be able to get into the store with her is huge," Lisa said. "It's a little thing, but it changes my life."
Cub Foods spokesperson Luke Friedrich said the grocery store is always looking "at how to make the shopping experience as easy and convenient as you possibly can for people."
But, more than convenience, for Carly's mom, Lisa, it's emotionally and socially encouraging.
"When you walk in the store and see that cart there waiting for you, it's like a little hug," she said. "It feels like the store really cares, they understand and they are trying to make it a little easier for us. And they're making it a lot easier."
These carts will soon be in more Cub Foods stores and in four Minnesota Target stores.
A Cub Foods spokesman also encouraged shoppers who are interested in having a Caroline's Cart in their store to notify the manager so they can find out where the need is.