A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
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A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
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Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
#2Every year for Christmas my wife continues a small family tradition: every year we go there and buy stocking stuffers for our small family.
It's definitely a different experience than going to a grocery store for sure. It's almost like you have a department store or modern pharmacies like CVS with the food capabilities of a gas station or 7-Eleven.
I can see why it would appeal to lower-income families. If you assume they are short on time you can probably get all your shopping done in one place. It's definitely smaller than a grocery store and there are fewer options. I think this helps because if you're short on time and trying to get in and out of there you have to spend less time in the store and there's less cognitive overload trying to figure out what to get.
Most grocery stores I've been to have unit prices somewhere on the shelf. They're noticeably absent and I have to do the math sometimes.
I can understand residents being upset about these stores being subsidized by local government. It makes me wonder what the alternate solutions are. I assume they're getting subsidized since stores are fleeing or they don't want to open up shop. If that's true I don't think those stores are coming back unless they're even more heavily subsidized.
Is the solution more Aldi's or Lidl's? I've found that there's a "feel bad" for me going in those stores compared to a normal grocery store.
Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
#3You really have to differentiate between the food that's offered at a dollar store and everything else. I shop at the dollar store for things like shampoo, deodrant, toothpaste and it's superb deal, not in any way making me poorer. on the contrary it saves me money. for groceries, you should shop somewhere else, unless your looking for dog food.
the reason there aren't more grocery stores selling good food is because no one wants that. Consumers are in charge and they've spoken loud and clear: consumers prefer processed foods, sodas, chips, things placed in boxes and plastic. I've even seen parent who boycott schools trying to remove cookies from the lunch menu. At a certain point, people need to start making good decisions about what they buy. and yes, you can buy healthy AND cheap. Rolled oats (aka oatmeal is available for 50c to 1$ per lb, even here in the CA!) . and that's 22 times cheaper than a meal at McDonalds. Compare => 3 meals at mcDonalds => 22$ vs Oatmeal 1 lb = 1600 calories which makes it about 1$ per day. And oatmeal is high in fiber, protein and countless minerals, super low in saturated fat, extremely low in sodium and sugar. Sure, you'd want to add a couple of fruits to your basket: there's bananas for 55c per pound!, etc.
I ate oatmeal almost everyday for lunch for a year and it lowered my LDL cholesterol by 60 points! it's a real cholesterol fighter. And, if you do the math on everything, you can find great deals in veggies to: potatoes, onions, Beans, Corn (super highly subsidized), and the occassional costco spinach.
Once we start choosing good foods, stores will have no choice but to start selling more of that. Let the backlash begin!
Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
#4You really have to differentiate between the food that's offered at a dollar store and everything else. I shop at the dollar store for things like shampoo, deodrant, toothpaste and it's superb deal, not in any way making me poorer. on the contrary it saves me money. for groceries, you should shop somewhere else, unless your looking for dog food. the reason there aren't more grocery stores selling good food is because…
"consumers prefer processed foods, sodas, chips, things placed in boxes and plastic"
These things also last on the shelves for a very long time. Grains can store well, but other products like meat, fruits, vegetables, quality baked goods, etc. don't.
Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
#5You really have to differentiate between the food that's offered at a dollar store and everything else. I shop at the dollar store for things like shampoo, deodrant, toothpaste and it's superb deal, not in any way making me poorer. on the contrary it saves me money. for groceries, you should shop somewhere else, unless your looking for dog food. the reason there aren't more grocery stores selling good food is because…
"consumers prefer processed foods, sodas, chips, things placed in boxes and plastic" These things also last on the shelves for a very long time. Grains can store well, but other products like meat, fruits, vegetables, quality baked goods, etc. don't.
meat is carcinogenic. as for fruits and vegetables, i'm hoping that someday the local food production revolution will start picking up steam and help make these more cost effective, perhaps with some automation or vertical farming. for now, focus on things you can get for less than 1$/lb like bananas, apples, bell peppers, onions, cauliflower/broccoli (when it's on sale). Cabbage 50c/lb even here in CA.
Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
"consumers prefer processed foods, sodas, chips, things placed in boxes and plastic" These things also last on the shelves for a very long time. Grains can store well, but other products like meat, fruits, vegetables, quality baked goods, etc. don't.
meat is carcinogenic. as for fruits and vegetables, i'm hoping that someday the local food production revolution will start picking up steam and help make these more cost effective, perhaps with some automation or vertical farming. for now, focus on things you can get for less than 1$/lb like bananas, apples, bell peppers, onions, cauliflower/broccoli (when it's on sale). Cabbage 50c/lb even here in CA.
meat is not carcinogenic
Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
meat is carcinogenic. as for fruits and vegetables, i'm hoping that someday the local food production revolution will start picking up steam and help make these more cost effective, perhaps with some automation or vertical farming. for now, focus on things you can get for less than 1$/lb like bananas, apples, bell peppers, onions, cauliflower/broccoli (when it's on sale). Cabbage 50c/lb even here in CA.
meat is not carcinogenic
Perhaps OP was referring to bacon?
Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
#8Dollar General and Family Dollar are not dollar stores. They are variety stores - their stuff is not $1.
Dollar Tree is a dollar store.
Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
#9I don't know about other areas, but here in the middle of Oklahoma the Dollar Generals have been a real positive. There's a lot of rural areas where a Walmart came in, then folded later. It left a 1-2 hour drive to get buy any kind of "real" food. The DG stores here have been expanding to include an actual grocery section, including fresh produce and (limited) fresh meat. More is available frozen. They have excellent prices on canned goods. Are they as good as a full grocery store? No, but they're a _lot_ better than the gas station/convenience store and its endless supply of deep-fried burritos...and also the only alternative.
Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun
#10It's fairly obvious that grocery stores would not want to be in poor neighborhoods. This article paints it all as segregation / race issue which is inaccurate where it is really an issue of purchasing power of the community. While many poor neighborhoods are communities of color - dollar stores have their origin and largest footprint in rural America which is predominantly white.