Access to produce in Dollar Stores (in partnership with Center for Science in the Public Interest)
In 2024, Dr. Shannon and Maya Rao (a Master's student working in CML) collaborated with Center for Science in the Public Interest to study the availability of produce in two major dollar store chains: Dollar General and Family Dollar. Both chains are present throughout the continental United States and have initiatives to offer more fresh produce, but little public research has been done to study the extent of this produce availability and the areas in which produce options are most available.
To do this research, we collected data on store locations and produce availability from each store's website. Based on these data, we analyzed census tracts along two categories: store proximity and the concentration of stores with produce. In the maps to the right, proximity is shown on a continuum from light to dark colors and produce concentration is shown on a continuum of purple to green. Thus the darkest purple areas have many stores nearby, but few of them offer produce. The darkest green areas are ones in which many stores are nearby and offer produce. We conducted this analysis for both chains separately and together, as shown on the map to the right. We also separated out Dollar General Markets from other Dollar General stores with produce, though the DG Market model had only 182 locations out of 20,102 total stores. |
As part of this analysis, we also brought in data on tracts classified as low-to-moderate income (LMI) by HUD and those identified as having limited supermarket access (LSA) by the Reinvestment Fund. By combining these two tract types to identify "LMI/LSA" tracts, we can identify areas with low proximity to supermarkets and also a high rate of households living on limited incomes.
In many cases, dollar stores might have the potential to provide more convenient produce options for residents of these areas. Our analysis found that roughly half of the population living in LMI/LSA tracts lives close to a dollar store offering produce. But many do not. We identified two types of census tracts that might be prioritized for future produce availability
These two categories can and often do overlap. That is, a 1/1 tract may also be a 3/3 tract if there is at least 1 store within 1 mile and 3 stores within e miles.
The table below shows the count of populations in rural and urban areas living in each of these two store categories. Within urban LMI/LSA tracts, 5.9 million people live in 1/1 tracts where no dollar stores offer produce, and 4.9 million live in 3/3 tracts where no dollar stores offer produce.
In many cases, dollar stores might have the potential to provide more convenient produce options for residents of these areas. Our analysis found that roughly half of the population living in LMI/LSA tracts lives close to a dollar store offering produce. But many do not. We identified two types of census tracts that might be prioritized for future produce availability
- 1/1 tracts: Tracts where there is at least one dollar store within one mile
- 3/3 tracts: Tracts where there are at least three dollar stores within three miles
These two categories can and often do overlap. That is, a 1/1 tract may also be a 3/3 tract if there is at least 1 store within 1 mile and 3 stores within e miles.
The table below shows the count of populations in rural and urban areas living in each of these two store categories. Within urban LMI/LSA tracts, 5.9 million people live in 1/1 tracts where no dollar stores offer produce, and 4.9 million live in 3/3 tracts where no dollar stores offer produce.
Our online dashboard--linked at the top of this page--provides more detail on the location of these tracts and the national landscape of dollar stores with produce accessibility. Some other notable findings from our research are noted below:
- Dollar General has notably more of its stores offering produce compared to Family Dollar. Of the 20,102 Dollar General locations identified in this analysis, 3,213 of them (16%) offer produce. Of those stores, 182 (1% of all stores) are Dollar General Markets. Of the 7,810 Family Dollar locations we identified, 245 (3%) offer produce.
- Regionally, Dollar General locations offer produce at similar rates in most of the country, aside from the Northeast, where these are only 7% of all stores. Family Dollar locations with produce are almost completely in the West (Arizona/New Mexico) and the Southeast.
- Metropolitan areas vary greatly in their concentration of produce-formatted dollar stores. In New York City and Philadelphia, for example, more than 25% of people live in areas with both high store proximity and a high concentration of locations with produce. In cities such as Detroit and Denver, nearly half the population lives in high-store proximity areas, but none of the closest stores have produce available.
- The vast majority of people (96% of 11.4 million) living in LMI/LSA tracts are in urban areas. Of those, around 7 million live in tracts fitting the one store within one mile or three stores within three miles criteria. However, for the majority of those populations (5-6 million), these nearby stores do not offer produce. In rural areas, roughly 60% of the LMI/LSA tract residents live close to dollar stores but not ones offering produce, and the total population of these tracts (91,325) is much smaller.
- Family Dollar stores are more common than Dollar General stores in urban tracts with high store proximity but low access to produce, but both stores are commonly found in these areas.