One local grocery store is trying to make shopping a good experience for everyone. Starting on September 30th, the Southview Safeway in Grande Prairie will dim the lights and silence the store noise once a week for its new Sensory-Friendly Shopping program.
“We sometimes can take for granted that grocery shopping is an easy task to do and we recognize that experience may not be simple for individuals that may have sensory sensitivities to undertake,” says Florence Chapman with Sobeys’ External Communications.
Sensory-Friendly Shopping is a relatively new program that has just been put into place at Sobeys and Safeway stores across Canada in the last year. During an event, Chapman says store staff will do a number of things to help people who may not be able to handle the noise of shopping carts or the beep of a scanner.
“They’ll reduce lighting by about 50 per cent, they will silence or reduce all the sounds that come from things like PA systems, the music that you hear, telephones that ring, scanners that may make sounds. In addition, they will lower the department noise and turn off noise from things like deli machines and bread slicers.”
Sensory-Friendly Shopping will be held at the Southview Safeway every Monday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.