Caroline's Cart, a specialized shopping cart designed for people with disabilities, has now launched in Italy. The first supermarket to use it is ExtraCoop Esp in Ravenna, owned by Coop Alleanza 3.0, which obtained two carts with support from the nonprofit organization "Il Sorriso di Giada." The association provides both psychological and physical support services to children and young people with disabilities in the Ravenna area.
Caroline's Cart began in 2012, when Drew Ann Long, mother of a seven-year-old daughter with severe disabilities, realized that the standard seat of a shopping cart was no longer adequate for her child. Caroline, for whom the product is named, inspired her mother to develop and propose a cart with a larger seat—one that could accommodate not only children with disabilities but anyone who has difficulty walking. This eliminates the need to use both a shopping cart and a wheelchair simultaneously, making it far easier to move through supermarket aisles.
The new cart includes additional safety features such as locking straps and a brake. Since 2015, when Target stores across America adopted Caroline's Cart in more than 1,700 locations, the number of participating retailers has continued to grow—a trend that can be tracked on the project's official Facebook page. On Saturday, March 10, the ExtraCoop supermarket in Ravenna became the latest addition, bringing together Ouidad Bakkali, the municipal assessor for public education; Paolo Gabrielli, director of Coop Alleanza 3.0's Ravenna territory; and Pamela Zingale, president of the "Il Sorriso di Giada" association.
Matteo Cinti - 2018