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Woolworths Opens Mini-Store To Help People With Disabilities

Woolworths Opens Mini-Store To Help People With Disabilities

​The mini store opened at Black Mountain School in Canberra last month.

Jessica Lynch

Jessica Lynch

Woolworths has been praised for launching a new miniature supermarket to help children with disabilities.

The mini-store opened at Black Mountain School in Canberra last month and sees students with disabilities from Year 7 to 12 get involved in the immersive, hands-on learning experiences.

The mini supermarket mimics an actual Woolworths and includes baskets for fresh food, shelving for groceries, ticketing, signage and Woolworths-branded uniforms the students wear.

They get to use fully operational checkout registers, which allow children to learn money handling skills.

Supplied

Parents and friends of the Black Mountain School, which caters to children with intellectual disabilities, sensory disabilities and autism, said they are majorly impressed by the 'amazing' initiative.

"This is brilliant. What an amazing achievement and asset for the school and students," said one.

Added another: "Well done to everyone involved. I can't wait to be a customer."

BMS Fresh Food was up and running just a couple of months with the help of Inten Constructions and Fujitsu.

"We're really proud of our new mini supermarket at Black Mountain School and the opportunities it will create for students," said Patrick Misciagna, Woolworths Group's General Manager of IT, Service, Operations and Infrastructure.

"The students can experience how to shop, what to buy, how to handle money and how to work with weights and measures in a controlled environment.

"Even the registers are identical to those in our stores today with the same hardware and software."

Clare Burden, VP of Portfolio & Alliances at Fujitsu Australia Limited, said they were keen to get involved in the project.

"As an organisation that promotes diversity and inclusion, it's inspiring to be able to empower these students to maximise their potential," she said.

"We're looking forward to seeing Mini Woolworths Black Mountain flourish as it plays a vital role in the Black Mountain School community."

BMS Fresh Food at Black Mountain School is the third store of its kind to open, with mini supermarkets previously being opened at St Edmund's College in Wahroonga NSW and St Gabriel's in Castle Hill NSW.

Featured Image Credit: Supplied

Topics: Australia