Abandoned shopping carts appear on Napa street corners and are sometimes dumped in the Napa River. Are they expensive? Do stores try to reclaim them?

Luckily, there are plenty of concerned citizens and do-gooders in our lovely town, right, Napans? If you were to see an abandoned cart, you’d call up the store, right? Yes, that’s what I thought. Well done. Don’t make me nag you. I already have two men in my life who half-jokingly call me “Mom.” Ugh. Thanks a lot, JCM and JMC.

Vice President of Vallerga’s Market, Chris Burns, said Vallerga’s staff makes every effort to reclaim abandoned shopping carts. She said people call the store to tell them about the carts “though not so often now since we only have one store. We purposely make the carts recognizable for this reason.” The same type of reasoning was used when it was time for me to upgrade from my jalopy to my now nearly new car. In a sea of white, black, gray and blue vehicles, a cranberry-colored one is that much easier to spot. Plus, I love neutrals.

Shopping carts are indeed expensive and are purchased dozens at a time since they all tend to wear out around the same time, according to Burns. She said carts last about eight years and they are maintained to varying degrees before being replaced. Maintenance includes cleaning, keeping wheels from squeaking (thank you for that, Vallerga’s), replacement of wheels, etc.

Burns estimated that about a handful or so of carts are lost yearly. Carts are locked up at night to prevent theft.

Some grocery stores, drugstores and other retail stores have grocery carts with anti-theft mechanisms built into them. I remember one Safeway store in particular that had a sign letting possible offenders know about this. Thanks to Google, one of my best friends, I found some information on these mechanisms. A “perimeter antenna” that carries a locking signal is buried beneath the store’s parking lot. If a “cart thief” tries to walk beyond this perimeter of a store’s parking lot, the signal is activated. Then, the wheels on the cart go lock, lock, lock. Hmm, maybe I should take “Mom” as a compliment.

If you can’t haul all your groceries or purchases home, you can invest in those personal folding carts. Or, just give your grocery store a call and they may (emphasize may) be able to deliver your goods.

What is Glad You Asked?

Glad You Asked attempts to answer readers’ questions. Send them to dmontanez@napanews.com or call me at 256-2224 and I’ll shop around for a savory solution.