Grocery Carts for Senior
Shoppers
Grocery stores heartily
frown on people who abscond with pricey store carts and for good reason. They are expensive and they are hardly ever
returned. However, it isn’t easy for the
car-less to get their wares home whether they travel on foot, by bicycle or use
public transportation. As a senior, whether you are uncomfortable driving or
have been forbidden this form of independence it becomes more problematic than
for most. It does become tiresome to
always rely on others for trips to the store and after all, walking is good
exercise.
Karen Gaudette wrote an
article on “Car-Free shopping options,” for The Seattle Times (September 24,
2008) and explored some alternative ideas.
To begin with you are going to have to return to the past, and start
shopping several times a week rather than loading up your car on a weekly basis.
Retailers are responding to this trend by
producing variations of the standard tote bag as well as test driving gadgets
like the “Hook & Go” (www.surlatable.com).
The Hook & Go is a folding tripod
type gadget on wheels with an extendable arm.
You can hang several sacks of groceries (in your reusable bags) on this
arm and carry quite an assortment of groceries.
Another option mentioned was expandable pushcarts found at Ace Hardware
that has become very popular.
Bike riders want to be able
use their bikes for something besides exercise or biking to work too, but how
can you shop by bike? Bike companies are
answering this question by stocking more commuter style bicycles and accessories
that will accommodate carry-on’s. A
variety of bags and baskets and racks can be found at places like REI (www.rei.com), Gregg’s Cycle (www.gregscycles.com) or Topeak (www.topeak.com) to make this a reality. There are also bike trailers, extenders and
saddlebags. The key is to not buying too many bulky items at once.
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