Vermont Program Encourages Walking for Grocery Trips

Pointing to the fact that 90 percent of Burlington residents live within 1,500 steps from a grocery store, Net Zero Vermont is encouraging people to walk, rather than drive, when making short grocery trips, according to a Burlington Free Press article by Kate O’Farrell.

To promote this concept, a program called Walk to Shop sells rolling trolleys designed to bring groceries home more efficiently. “Walk To Shop is working to show that many people live close to grocery stores and want to raise awareness and make walking to shop a possibility through their grocery trollies.”

O’Farrell describes the program, which started in 2021 with funding from the Vermont Agency of Transportation's 2020 Mobility and Transportation Innovation Grant. “The program sells two versions of trollies, a medium-sized trolley for $40 with a 40 pound capacity, and a larger size for $50 that can handle 50 pounds,” solving a key issue for shoppers. “The trollies encourage people to walk because even if you live close to a grocery store, lugging heavy bags is a roadblock that stops people from walking.”

Considering that “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that 10 billion miles are driven each year in the United States for trips under a mile,” Reducing the number of short trips taken by car can have a significant collective impact on greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and congestion.