Do dollar stores help meet dietary needs? Episode 132

Would consumers be healthier with fewer dollar stores?  While the plethora of expanding bargain chains across the country offer fewer nutrient-dense choices than other food retailers, Dr. Sean Cash, an economist on faculty at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, where he chairs the Division of Agriculture, Food and Environment, says that some consumers benefit from having a dollar store nearby.  

“It's not necessarily the case that all consumers would be better off, or have healthier diets, if they had fewer dollar stores near them. The reality is more complicated: Dollar stores may make it harder for grocery stores to stay open in some areas, but in other places they are providing services where other retailers would not be operating regardless. And the people who rely most on dollar stores are generally very satisfied with them -- and as our research shows, may even be using the foods offered at dollar stores to free up funds that help them buy healthier items elsewhere,” says Cash.

Dr. Cash advises dietitians to clarify WHERE their patients are shopping before making purchase recommendations and warms against hypervigilance in nutritionism, or focusing excessively on the nutritional value of foods. With this tendency toward hypervigilance, Dr. Cash explains, online shopping for grocery items presents a unique decision-making process that may result in making less nutritious choices.

For more information on Dr. Cash and his work, visit him on LinkedIn and X.