Grocers Agree to Join Program to Donate Food in Exchange for Shopping Cart Return

The Southern California Grocers Assn. agreed this week to donate food to the needy of Glendale in exchange for the return of about 800 shopping carts that city crews picked up on Glendale streets.

The Glendale City Council, in another attempt to solve the problem of abandoned shopping carts, on Tuesday approved an ordinance to return the carts free to stores that agree to test a cart-control system for 90 days. The ordinance waives the $15-per-cart impound fee that grocers previously were required to pay to get them back from the public works yard at 541 W. Chevy Chase Drive.

Steven Koff, president of the grocers association, said at the council meeting that he appreciated the city’s willingness to pass the ordinance and that the association will help the needy through the city as a good-will gesture.

Koff said he and city officials have not discussed details of the donation plan. Once the food is donated, administrators will designate which social services will receive it.

Ray Cruz, an administrative analyst, said he will send a letter to stores that have not agreed to participate, setting a deadline for them to sign up.

“We hope the test does work,” he said. “I’m very happy with how the stores have worked with the city, and the donated food is the bonus to the whole thing.”

The markets will test an electronic system, called Kart Kontrol, designed to automatically lock the wheels of shopping carts that are taken off a market’s property, Cruz said. For 90 days, city crews will stop picking up carts belonging to the three participating grocers while the test is being conducted at the Vons grocery store at 311 Los Feliz Blvd.

Vons was the first to send a truck to Glendale’s yard to pick up about 320 of its carts, said Albert Lee, the yard’s senior street supervisor. The company’s truck arrived at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Vons, Lucky Stores Inc. and Ralphs Groceries Co. have signed up to monitor and evaluate the test results.

The yard had about 316 shopping carts from Ralphs and about 10 from Lucky’s, Lee said. He estimated that after those two companies pick up their carts, 300 will remain.

About a year ago, the council passed an ordinance allowing city crews to impound shopping carts left on the city’s streets, sidewalks, parks and other rights-of-way. Cruz said the carts are worth $75 to $100 each.

Councilman Larry Zarian, at a previous council meeting, had suggested that the stores donate food to Glendale’s charitable organizations in exchange for an exemption from the accrued impound fees, which amount to about $4,000 each for Ralphs and Vons.

“As long as we are giving them back their carts, they need to do something for this community,” Zarian said in an interview. “It’s appropriate during this holiday season to give to the poor and needy.”

Koff said he will work with Cruz to determine how much food to donate.

“We want to give what’s really needed,” Koff said. “I have not approached the stores who signed up for the test, saying each of them is supposed to give a certain amount. But they know they are supposed to contribute. The association is making the donation, not the stores.”

Since May, the city has been keeping all confiscated carts while the city’s staff and the grocers association discussed ways to prevent them from being removed from store grounds. About 800 carts were being held at one point, hindering the yard’s daily operation.