Inflation-Driven Shift From Grocery Store to Dollar Chains Could Have Negative Impact on Health: Expert

A clerk brings in a shopping basket at a Dollar Tree store in Richland, Miss., on Nov. 26, 2019. Dollar Tree and Dollar General both reported sales increases for the fiscal second quarter, on Aug. 25, 2022, as inflationary pressures draw low income shoppers to their stores for groceries and other necessities. Just like the last recession in 2008, dollar stores are again benefiting from shoppers focusing on low priced items and higher income shoppers trading down. Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo

The soaring food prices that have led increasing numbers of cash-strapped Americans to opt-out of their neighborhood grocery store in favor of discount and dollar chains may end up costing consumers an even greater price in health, according to health experts.

As the rising price of food continues to outpace real growth in wages, dollar stores have become the fastest-growing food retailers in the United States. The trend that could have a detrimental effect on nutrition as budget-tightening has forced many Americans to substitute healthier, more expensive whole foods for the less expensive processed foods available at discount chain stores.

Sally Fallon Morell, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to nutrition, called the dietary shift “a complete indictment of what’s happened in America.”

“It’s more important now than ever that people avoid processed foods,” Ms. Fallon Morell told The Epoch Times. “Our health is the last thing that we can afford to compromise. A healthy diet needs good meat, eggs, and chicken and a lot of these items can only be found at the grocery store.”

Inflation has been rising steadily since 1970, with the skyrocketing cost of food accelerating in 2021, largely attributable to an unprecedented increase in the money supply during COVID. As a result, many Americans have been forced to reprioritize their budgets in searching for ways to pay their monthly bills.

For many families, healthy whole foods became the first budgetary casualty as consumers began turning away from nutrient-dense options, such as red meat and eggs, which were among the foods that experienced the highest rise in prices, in favor of the less healthy but more affordable processed foods and sugar beverages stocked by the discount dollar chains.

The prices of many traditional food staples have experienced unprecedented increases.  Since February 2022, the price of eggs has increased by more than 70 percent while beef and veal continue to sell at record highs, according to the USDA. Meanwhile, the processed, shelf-stable foods that are more readily available at discount dollar stores experienced only mild price increases by comparison.

Emerging Genre

Consumer appetite for affordable meals has become a booming industry on social media, where self-described “CookTok Influencers,” have gained notoriety for promoting cheap discount store recipes and shopping lists.

Rebecca Chobat, whose TikTok channel Dollar Tree Dinners has over 1 million followers, has tapped into this growing market by providing cost effective shopping tips.

In one video titled “Eating for Five Dollars a Day,”which has over 87,000 views, Ms. Chobat explains how a single person could live off a $35 weekly budget by shopping at Dollar General. The plan includes pork and beans on white bread toast along with adaptations of boxed macaroni and cheese.

At the end of the video, Ms. Chopat happily concluded, “It doesn’t feel much like budget meals most of the time.” In another video titled “5 Breakfasts and 5 Lunches for $15,” which has over a million views, Ms. Chobat shows how by shopping at the Dollar Tree, cash-strapped consumers can make ten10meals through a combination of white bread, peanut butter, premade sandwiches, a pound of cookies, and cherry soda.

Ms. Chobat explained in a video focused on budgeting that the lifestyle is often not one of choice, but of necessity. “A lot of times the amount of money that an individual has to spend on groceries is typically whatever is left over after accounting for their bills and expenses and I’m no stranger to this.”

Local Impact

The increase in dollars moving away from local grocery stores to discount dollar chains has had a negative effect in some locations.

A report published by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance claimed that in some rural areas the economic downturn has forced grocery stores to go out of business or relocate, leaving the three main discount dollar retailers–Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar–as the only ones left to serve the population.

“In rural towns, they typically locate near the only grocery store, and often succeed in wiping it out,” the report said.

The discount industry is booming. Dollar Tree, which is also owner of Family Dollar, opened 464 new stores while reporting a 9 percent net sales increase of $7.72 billion in 2022.

However, Ms. Fallon Morell insists that despite the economic strife caused by rising prices, options still exist that are both nutritious and affordable.

“People need to understand that they still have choices,” said Ms. Fallon Morell. “A whole chicken can cost around the same price as one chicken thigh. It might be a little more work but a lot of nutrients can be found from saving the bones and making broth. Calves liver is a great food too, very inexpensive and full of healthy B6 and B12.”

“I know people are struggling and trying to stretch their dollar, but people need to remember that an investment in healthy, whole foods will always pay off in the long run.”