Ottawa grocery store steps in to provide accessible shopping cart for father, son

An Ottawa father is hoping to see more accessible shopping carts in stores after the local Whole Foods went above and beyond. CTV's Katelyn Wilson reports.

An Ottawa father is hoping to see more accessible shopping carts in stores after he says a manager at his local grocery store went above and beyond for him and his son.

When it comes to shopping carts, Noah Firestone knows one size doesn’t fit all.

“I love grocery shopping. I’m at this store a couple times a week, but if I want to do any significant grocery shopping [my son] would stay at home basically,” Firestone said.

His son Zev was born with a rare neuro-genetic disorder called Angelman Syndrome. For Zev, it causes mobility issues along with other challenges, making running errands as a family difficult.

“He loves coming to things like grocery shopping and seeing people and it was always just a little bit difficult for me to bring him here without having something to move him around on,” Firestone said.

He decided to reach out to the store manager at Whole Foods Market in Lansdowne for help.

“I thought if there is anything I can do to help, I will. So, I reached out to my supervisor, the procurement team to look at the request, found a supplier and ordered it for us,” said manager Mamadou Kane.

Six months later, a shopping cart designed for those with special needs, showed up.

“I was ready to be persistent,” Firestone said. “I didn’t have to push very hard. They were on board, and they understood right away.”

Firestone says it’s made a world of difference for him and his son who now spend every Saturday morning at Whole Foods.

“We sit and we have a little meal together in the cafe area so it’s kind of like a little outing,” he said.

Now, he’s hoping to see accessible shopping carts in other stores across the city.

“I haven’t seen them in Ottawa,” he said. “Every large store should have one. In the states, Target and Walmart have them at every store.”

For Kane, he says it’s the least he could do.

“It’s the little things that we can do to give back to the community. We wouldn’t be here without the customers and the community,” he said.