HALETHORPE, Md. — There's usually nothing "mini" about a Wegmans supermarket, but now, there's a mini Wegmans storefront in Junior Achievement of Central Maryland's Finance Park in the Halethorpe area.
The Finance Park, off of Twin Springs Road, has a variety of storefronts available specifically for middle-schoolers, and visiting students must manage a personal budget during their trip.
The small Wegmans aims to teach students about "budget-friendly groceries and the significance of meal planning," according to a press release.
Wegmans has partnered with Junior Achievement since its Owings Mills store opened in 2016. Last year, some Wegmans leaders toured the Finance Park facility and decided it would make sense to work with Junior Achievement to build a mini Wegmans storefront.
Junior Achievement of Central Maryland CEO Paul Kappel Jr., said the storefront "clearly illustrates the intersection of healthy food choices and financial wellness, offering students a practical and immersive learning experience. This collaboration allows nearly 10,000 students annually to explore and understand the vital connection between nutrition and financial health..."
Tina Meyers, Wegmans community relations manager for Maryland, observed:
Some of the things that I got from it was, watching the kids start off and say, "Whoa, this is the Wegmans! That's great, I'm gonna eat pizza all day and then I'm gonna have chicken wings,' and all the things you expect kids to want, but then as they go through the activities and start to understand their budget, really starting to understand that hey, they have kids; they have to make sure the kids have healthy and nutritious food, and that sometimes that food also costs a little bit.
This was Junior Achievement's first full school year of providing Finance Park to students in person.
Wegmans has eight locations in Maryland.
