Publix rolls out new shopping carts for wheelchair-bound customers
TAMPA, Fla. - Tiffani Borders has made it her mission to teach her 9-year-old daughter Amaria that even though she may be wheelchair-bound, nothing can stop her. That's why when she walked into a local Publix in Lutz, it was instant excitement when she saw a shopping cart designed specifically for her daughter.
"As soon as she rolled in the door she said, 'All right mommy, what do you wanna get?' She was ready to go shopping!" Borders exclaimed.
The cart is designed to hook on to the front of a wheelchair, making the shopping experience easier for those who may be wheelchair-bound by allowing them to roll themselves through the store without having to push the cart. The lower sides also allow for easier loading abilities.
"This cart is a new design, and it's a lot easier for our wheelchair customers to navigate with it," said Kedrin Fraum, the store manager at the Publix store on North Nebraska Avenue in Lutz.
Borders took to Facebook to share her find, and the smile on Amaria's face told the whole story as she filled the cart with all the groceries on her mom's list.
"I was excited," said 9-year-old Amaria. "[We got] toilet paper, laundry stuff and I forgot the rest!"
It's a cart that is opening doors and breaking boundaries.
"I want every customer to be able to navigate easily and comfortably through our stores, so if it's something that helps them, I'm all for it," said Fraum.
The cart allowing independence to those might not normally get it, like Amaria.
"For a long time, I wouldn't let her push the buggy, because it was hard. Her wheelchair would always knock it around, so when we saw this buggy, it was like, 'Yes! Something just for her,'" said Borders.
The carts are being rolled out gradually at different Publix locations as they replace the older and harder-to-navigate carts that were already in place to help those in wheelchairs.
Borders hopes that other stores will also take notice and add handicap-accessible carts of their own.