Personal shopping carts roll onto campus

By PAIGE WALTON

Staff Writer

Being a residential student with limited, and at times inconvenient, access to parking can be a challenge when it comes to grocery shopping. One way to combat the difficulty of transporting groceries from the store or car to your room is by investing in a portable grocery cart of your own.

Available in a range of sizes and prices, finding the right cart for you is as easy as a simple Google search. Most carts are compact and fold up for easy storage to fit into a closet or trunk with room to spare.

Last year my mom suggested I look into buying a cart to help minimize the burden of carrying bags of groceries from my car to my apartment. At first I was hesitant because I thought it would make me look dorky, but I soon found out many people were impressed and interested in the cart. It actually became a source of compliments and envy among my friends and now people always ask to borrow my cart.

The smaller of my two carts was purchased from Walmart for about $20, but there are many more options available on Amazon. The larger of my carts is actually a beach cart that my family bought this summer and my mom let me bring to school to get some use out of rather than having it sit untouched in storage.

At first glance, it may seem lazy or superfluous to spend the money on a shopping cart just for groceries and it’s definitely not for everyone. For me, having the ability to load all of my things in and be done in one trip is well worth the cost.

Sophomore Hannah Treichler said, “These carts are a great idea, as a student living on campus without a car, having a cart like this would make grocery shopping and transportation much more convenient.”

While the benefits far outweigh the cons for many, a cart may not make sense for everyone.

Sophomore psychology major Amy Ha said, “Usually when I go shopping I only get a few things at a time, and living on the first floor, it isn’t too hard for me to just take all of my shopping bags directly to my apartment.”

Sammi Van Heest, a sophomore studio art major, was inspired by the idea even though she also has a car. “Since I do have my car on campus, I am able to go to places farther away like Target and Wegmans, however, parking in the garage by Eagle Landing makes it so inconvenient to lug multiple loads to my room,” she said. “Having a cart would be very beneficial to me by allowing me to save time and energy only having to make one trip from the garage to my room… It’s something I definitely want to look into now and try for myself.”