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September 2005 Vol. 24. No. 9
Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.
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Humboldt Senior Resource Center Back issues Table of Contents
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Think About It Is shopping more difficult for you? by Roberta Cherney Do you have any problems doing your grocery shopping? I do, and I thought I would share my concerns with you. I am unable to lift heavy items off the floor such as the five-pound packages of flour and sugar or jugs of bleach and water. On the higher shelves I also have a problem with really heavy items like cat litter. I have the problem of having to bend down to see the prices on the bottom shelves or trying to identify which variety I want when canned goods are pushed back so far that the only way I could reach them would be to get down on my hands and knees - which I really don't want to do in the store. I would probably need help to get back up. Then there are those items that are on the top shelves that I can't reach, especially when the front one has been removed. Sometimes it is a problem to get around all of the product displays piled up in the aisles. I know these companies pay the grocers to put up these displays, but I don't think they should be allowed to block the aisles. I get tired enough walking the distances through these large stores to do a simple shopping without having to go up and down an extra aisle because one is blocked. Speaking of extra walking, when I am looking for an unusual item and don't know where it is, I try to find a clerk who would know - but I can go up and down aisles trying to find a clerk to no avail. Stores have tried to make accommodations for the physically handicapped, but when our infirmities are invisible it leaves us in the uncomfortable position of having to swallow our pride and ask for help. People younger than 65 are oblivious to the limitations that come naturally with aging and therefore haven't a clue as to why we need help. The Humboldt Senior Resource Center's Advisory Council has discussed this problem and decided that it would be good to do a survey and see which problems are most prevalent. If we find a consensus about some of these problems, we will bring them to the attention of the stores. Together we could find some solutions to make it easier for us to do our shopping, Questionnaires will be distributed at the senior lunch sites, and we would appreciate it very much if you would take a few moments to share your concerns with us. Roberta Cherney is a member of the Humboldt Senior Resource Center Advisory Council. |
Senior News