A new study suggests households that regularly shop at dollar stores don’t necessarily have poorer diets. While dollar store offerings score lower on nutritional quality, many families appear to balance those purchases with healthier items from other retailers. The research analyzed over 183,000 U.S. households’ grocery data from 2008-2020, finding dollar stores’ share of household calories nearly doubled to 6.5%. However, when examining overall purchases, households with moderate (0-10%) or substantial (>10%) dollar store use had Healthy Eating Index scores of 48.2 and 46.3, compared to 50.5 for those with no dollar store purchases. (StudyFinds)
PHONE TOPIC: What unusual food item have you seen in a dollar store?