Dollar Store Food Purchases on teh Rise, But Dietary Impact is Nuanced
Using dollar stores for food purchases may be a common practice for Americans looking to free up funds for the rest of their grocery list, researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine, the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, and the USDA-Economic Research Service report in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
their multi-year analysis of where households buy their non-restaurant calories found that dollar store food purchases are rising. although the food purchased is less healthy compared with other food outlets, families are balancing this with more nutritious items elsewhere.
To measure the impact of the accelerating expansion of dollar stores and the convenient, calorie-rich snacks that line their shelves on the American diet, the researchers examined food purchases made by 180,000 nationally representative households in the United states between 2008 and 2020.
They then combined this data with the USDA’s Economic Research service’s Purchase to Plate Crosswalk tool, wich allowed them to estimate the dietary quality of these households’ food purchases.The analysis found that calories obtained from dollar store items have nearly doubled, growing from 3.4% to 6.5% of a household’s total purchases, especially in households with lower incomes or those headed by people of color.But the study also reflected more nuanced shopper behaviors, particularly for those in rural areas-where the ne
Dollar Stores Not Necessarily Driving Unhealthier Food Choices, Study Finds
A new study from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University suggests that dollar stores may not be significantly impacting overall dietary habits. Researchers analyzed household scanner data from 2008 to 2020 and found that foods purchased at dollar stores weren’t necessarily less healthy than those bought at other retailers.
The study revealed that, on average, households obtain 13% of their non-restaurant calories from dollar stores, 65% from grocery stores and 22% from club stores.
“some people seem to be going to dollar stores strategically to buy sweets and snacks, along with other packaged foods,” said senior author Sean Cash, Bergstrom Foundation Professor in Global Nutrition and Chair of the Division of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the Friedman School, but he notes that people who buy more of those at dollar stores seem to be buying less elsewhere.
“We need more data on the real effects of dollar stores on healthy eating as some communities may be putting the policy cart before the horse.”
More data:
The Healthfulness of Foods Purchased at Dollar stores: Insights from Household Scanner Data from 2008 to 2020, journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2025).DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2025.07.001Dollar stores’ food options are not significantly impacting American diets according to a recent analysis. The study, published August 11, 2025, challenges the notion that the increasing availability of food at dollar stores contributes to widespread poor nutrition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-dollar-food-options-american-diets.html
The analysis suggests that while dollar stores do offer food, the overall impact on dietary habits is limited. Researchers found that consumers who shop at dollar stores for food frequently enough supplement those purchases with groceries from traditional supermarkets, mitigating the potential for a solely low-nutrient diet.
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