DETROIT, Mich. — A Michigan mom is on a crusade to make the checkout process at Meijer more healthy and kid-friendly.
Jane Kramer created an online petition hoping the store will get rid of candy and some trashy magazines in checkout aisles.
“Inappropriate reading material with nothing for kids to look at and just junk food,” she said.
Jane says she never realized these items are not kid-friendly until she adopted her son a few years ago.
She avoids the junk food aisle, but she can’t avoid the checkout lane.
Jane also says some of the magazine covers can contribute to body issues or are just plain tabloids with inappropriate topics.
She recalls one moment where she was left speechless.
“My son asked me about the word ‘cocaine’ and, while I was going to introduce the topic of drugs to him at some point, I wasn’t ready to talk about that at that age to him in the checkout aisle.”
She created a petition on Change.org and it already has more than 400 signatures.
“Some people would argue that I’m taking away their choice, but I would argue that those things can still be in other areas of the store, but we should work harder at eating junk food.”
Other stores, like Target, are trying out healthier checkout aisles.
Jane says she contacted Meijer numerous times but hasn’t gotten a response.
“They are a good company, I just want them to take this extra step.”
Now she is asking other shoppers to step up and sign the petition.
She added, “It’s not just about parents and kids. It’s about the health of everybody.”
We reached out to Meijer and they offered this statement saying:
Millions of customers come to Meijer each week and our goal is to ensure our offerings appeal to the needs of a very broad and diverse customer base. We are proud of the healthy choices we offer throughout our stores as well as the fact that our customers can count on us for all of their shopping needs, whatever their buying preference.
Company officials would not say if they would look into changing their checkout aisles.
