CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : PALO ALTO : Market Introduces Carts for Pint-Sized

A grocery store has introduced pint-sized shopping carts for children, causing a sensation among the toddler-and-older set who tag along while their parents shop. Miniature speedways may not be exactly what the owners of the Whole Foods Market had in mind when they bought a dozen of the sturdy, 2 1/2-foot-high wire replicas of full-sized shopping carts, but so far the carts are drawing in customers. “Now I can’t get her to another store,” said Barbara Perkins as her 2-year-old daughter, Vanessa, zipped toward the blue-corn tortilla chips. “As long as I can steer her away from the ice cream, we’ll be fine.” The Whole Foods chain has had the carts in its Texas stores for two years, and East Coast preschoolers have been enjoying life in the fast lane for several years. “They were such a hit, we decided to bring them here,” said Renee Weller, Whole Food’s marketing manager. Five-year-old Aaron Zonka sees the produce aisle of the local market as his own personal speedway. “It’s little, just like me,” Aaron said of the mini-cart. “Vrrrooooom.” A store clerk reported a slightly higher rate of breakage where bottles are within reach of groping hands, and some parents said they have gotten home with items they don’t remember pulling from the shelves.