NEWTON, N.C. — Caroline's Cart is a shopping cart created for children with special needs and is manufactured by Technibilt, based in Newton.
Parents of those children said the cart is a game-changer for trips to the supermarket. Technibilt has 1,800 Caroline's Carts in production.
Caroline's Cart was named after Caroline Long, who can't walk
Her mother, Drew Ann Long of Alabama, came up with the idea eight years ago.
"The very first time I ever drew it was on a napkin at dinner," Long said.
Long took her invention to Technibilit, the largest shopping cart manufacturer in North America.
"When she came in and said, 'I'm pulling a shopping cart and pulling a wheelchair,' you have no other response but to say 'How do you do that?'" David Orfinik of Technibilt said.
The first cart was made in 2013, and it's not just for children. The seat can fit anyone up to 250 pounds.
"Special-needs children grow up, so I did not want it to be limited just to a 7-, 8-, 9-year-old," Long said.
The first Caroline's Cart went to stores in Newton, including one at Honey's IGA.
They're now at stores in Canada and Australia as well.
Long remembers the first time she saw one at her local supermarket.
"It was just something that I would go and dream about, and talk to the store managers about, and when I finally saw it, it was almost like a double take," Long said.
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