Taking a sensory-challenged child to the grocery store can be challenging. Between the whir of floor buffering, elevator music streaming overhead, bright lighting, and staff refilling shelves, grabbing a few essentials can turn into an uncomfortable meltdown—one that’s painful for parents and sometimes torturous for kids. To make it easier, in 2024 PCC launched their Quiet Shopping Hours in
PCC quiet hours
PCC Community Markets launched its “Quiet Shopping Hours” program, a one-hour, sensory-friendly, and low-stimulated environment shopping window, in 2023 to commemorate the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The store designated Sundays from 8 to 9 a.m. as the quiet hour and, in 2024, expanded it into 15 stores in the Puget Sound area, including Bellevue, Bothell, Burien, Edmonds, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond, and Seattle. During that time, all PCC stores dim the lights, mute music, reduce announcements, and put shelf restocking on pause.
Lessening the overwhelm
“Grocery stores can be overwhelming for those with sensory processing issues, such as bright lights or overpowering smells,” says Kate Hudson, PCC’s communications director. “The PCC quiet shopping hours program is intended to support neurodiverse community members. We can do simple things to mitigate some of those uncomfortable experiences for our members and shoppers.”
Hudson stresses that the real work of quiet hour belongs to PCC staff: “There aren’t specific rules for shoppers,” Hudson says. But, “some of the operational changes for the quiet shopping hours include no vacuuming produce displays, no cart returns inside the store or foyer, and a general effort to perform work duties as quietly as possible.”
Need more support while shopping?
The co-ops support neurodiverse shoppers big and small doesn’t stop with quiet ours. If your child needs a little more support to enjoy a store outing, check out PCC’s free sensory kits for use while shopping. Kits include ear plugs, fidget spinners, and, as Hudson describes, “squishy things.” Request a kit at the self-checkout.
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