Cornwall grocery store makes shopping more inclusive with new accessible cart
CBC
Jessica Hay says her daughter Charlie loves to be included in everything — and a new accessible shopping cart at her local grocery store in Cornwall makes it possible for Charlie to come along for the ride.
For Charlie, who has a genetic condition that causes global developmental delays, gross motor skills like walking, balancing and coordination are more challenging.
Good's Independent in Cornwall recently added a shopping cart known as "Caroline's Cart." It has a full body seat that can fit people of all ages, and it helps people like Charlie participate in daily activities like grocery shopping.
"She doesn't really fit into a normal shopping cart anymore unless she's in the bunk where I'm putting all the groceries, so to be able to have a place where it's big enough for her to sit and be comfortable is really meaningful for her, even though she can't verbalize that to us," Hay said.
"I think that's part of the whole experience, part of making things normal where a lot of our day isn't normal."
The carts have been also used in grocery stores in Montague and Summerside, but having one available close to home makes a big difference for families like Hay's.
"I think it's a great opportunity for us, along with other members of the community, to be able to have access to this," Hay said.
Making spaces in the community more inclusive is something that's very important, said Jonathan Good, the owner of the Cornwall grocery store.
"It may only help a few people, but for those people, it changes a lot. It really opens up their world to be able to do something that they have to do every week," he said.
"They've got to buy groceries and it's a chore not everybody likes to do, but it's something that they can do with their loved one or someone they're taking care of in a safe way and it kind of makes it a little bit easier for them."
Good has taken other steps to make his store more inclusive, like offering sensory friendly shopping hours on Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m.
He said that's what prompted parent company Loblaws to donate the Caroline's Cart to his store.
Adding more inclusive options for people to use isn't difficult to do, Good said.
"It's not as hard as people think it is," he said.
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