- cross-posted to:
- worldnews@lemmy.ml
- cross-posted to:
- worldnews@lemmy.ml
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said cinnamon sold by stores including the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar contains lead at levels that could be unsafe for people, particularly children, with prolonged exposure to the spice. The agency urged suppliers to recall the products voluntarily.
Cinnamon products included in the agency’s safety alert include the La Fiesta brand sold by La Superior and SuperMercados; Marcum brand sold by Save A Lot stores; MK brands sold by SF Supermarket; Swad brand sold by Patel Brothers; El Chilar brand sold by La Joya Morelense; and Supreme Tradition brand sold by Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores.
It’s not just this, due to the way they make money and the places they target they edge out competitors and exasperate food deserts while providing nothing to the community.
Wendover Predictions did an excellent video on it: https://youtu.be/vQpUV--2Jao?si=rQIBw2-XZRCWSzy6
The dollar store I shop at has great food deals.
That’s not the point. The point is that of the sections in a regular grocery store, dried stuff is the most profitable while fresh produce is less profitable. Dollar stores usually don’t offer any or offer a very limited selection of fresh produce. They only offer dried stuff which is more profitable.
What this means is that a regular grocery store can’t compete in areas where dollar stores already dominate, and when dollar stores move into an area, it can have the effect of stealing the grocery store’s most profitable business. Dried food sales subsidise fresh food. As a result, it doesn’t make sense for the grocery store to also be there and many choose to close up shop and leave.
This leaves residents in the area without a place to buy fresh produce. That’s called a food desert.
Nobody should go to a grocery store thinking “I’m going to buy 10 boxes of macaroni and cheese, three cans of refried beans, and some instant rice”. People go because they want to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, bread, and other “actual food” products. But if they have no choice, they’ll subside on dried or instant junk. That has many long-term negative health effects that will end up costing us as a community.
It’s not about access to cheap food. It’s about access to good food.
“More profitable” in this case also means “cheaper”. As a poor person, I appreciate the cheaper part.
Gnocchi is $1.25 at the dollar store and $3 at King Soopers. If I want produce and all the other goods at higher prices to subsidize that produce, I can walk over to King Soopers instead.
Your model of “contributing to food deserts” assumes that the dollar store is pushing out a regular grocery store. It’s not, because they don’t even use the same kind of real estate. The dollar store exists in a strip mall, and stores large enough to carry produce use standalone big box spaces.
As a result, these stores are not mutually exclusive and as you can see in my neighborhood, they coexist.
Every dollar store could just be an Aldi
Just a PSA to any one of his confused by the non sequitural reply it got ninja edited. It originally read that the poster could get certain grocery items cheaper at dollar stores.
Unfortunately, there are scientific studies that show a strong correlation between the presence of dollar stores and food deserts. Your anecdotal experiences cannot overturn that. It might not be true yet where you are, but it is true in general across the country.
Dollar stores which are located in food deserts make it less likely for traditional grocery stores to move in
The presence of dollar stores is strongly correlated with the presence of food deserts (PDF)
When dollar stores enter an area, they “cause an exit of independent grocers and adversely affect retail employment”
Yeah no idk why this is a hard concept. Say I live 5 mins away from a DG but 15 mins away from the grocery store. Where do you think I’m gonna go if I just got home from work and wanna make some dinner.
Your behaviour is rational, and it explain exactly why dollar stores popping up everywhere isn’t good.
Well if the only food I can get at said DG is unhealthy processed garbage that creates a food desert.
Correct, because there really isn’t anything healthy to get at Dollar General. Okay, maybe a few things, but you’d have to work for it. Whereas if you walk into a grocery store, you’re immediately confronted with piles of fresh fruits and vegetables.