Learning Landscapes at Brownsville supermarket helps children learn while parents shop

United for Brownsville, SCO Family Services and Community Solutions are partnering up to transform supermarkets and other everyday places into learning spaces for children.

News 12 Staff

Feb 12, 2020, 12:26 PM

Updated 1,779 days ago

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United for Brownsville, SCO Family Services and Community Solutions are partnering up to transform supermarkets and other everyday places into learning spaces for children.

The groups have brought their “Learning Landscapes” initiative to two supermarkets in Brownsville.

United for Brownsville's Learning Landscapes initiative has children exploring, learning and having fun while at the supermarket with their parents.
"What we are really doing here is installing signs that serve as conversational prompts to parents and caregivers so that they can engage with their children while they are grocery shopping in ways that support brain development," says Kassa Belay, co-director of United for Brownsville.

More than 30 signs can be found scattered around Food Bazaar. Five-year-old Chyrstie Cloud tells News 12 she wants to find them all, so she can get her prize.
"It's fun about it because you have to find the characters," says Cloud.

When she does find them, she then answers the questions.

"This is the rabbit, and this is what healthy foods do, you see in the picture it's pepper, broccoli, salad, orange, banana," says Cloud. 

Cloud says she also talks with her mom about the different foods and why it's important to eat fruits and vegetables.
"They make you grow more stronger and they make you more healthy," says Cloud.

Before Learning Landscapes, her mother Maria Solorzano says shopping with her two young girls was stressful.

"But now it's very different. I'm so happy for all the families that are going to enjoy because it's a big big difference. You can turn the supermarket into a fun place to go shopping," says Solorzano.