All MN Cub Foods stores will get cart designed for children with special needs

All Cub Foods grocery stores in Minnesota will offer customized shopping carts designed to help parents who have children with special needs navigate the grocery aisles.

Caroline's Cart was specifically designed for older children with special needs who have grown out of the standard shopping cart. The carts allow the child to face the shopper as they browse the aisle, helping parents who face the "impossible task of having to maneuver a wheelchair and a traditional grocery cart at the same time," Caroline's Cart says.

Cub Foods became the first grocery store in the Twin Cities to offer Caroline's Carts, and on Wednesday it announced the special shopping carts will be available at all of its 76 Cub Foods stores in the state by the end of April.

The grocery chain began testing the carts at its Maple Grove location in 2014 and got very positive feedback, the store says, which prompted Cub to expand the program to all of its stores.

Cub will also be seeking feedback from customers to monitor usage patterns, establish best practices in-store, and make the process as convenient as possible for customers.

The Caroline's Cart movement began in Alabama when Drew Ann and David Long realized their daughter Caroline, who has special needs, would outgrow the cart. And now, after just a few years, Caroline's Cart is available at certain retailers in 47 states and Canada.

More MN stores it's available

Earlier this year, Target launched a Caroline's Cart pilot program at 21 stores nationwide, including four Twin Cities stores.

And Caroline's Cart is available at several other retailers around Minnesota, including Hy-Vee stores in Marshall and Winona, Marketplace Food and Drug in Bemidji and Moose Lake, Kenwood Super One Foods in Duluth, and Jerry's Foods in Woodbury, Caroline's Cart notes.