Rural America and Food Deserts

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Sad reality of how dollar stores and the like are reshaping rural America...

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/...w-dollar-general-took-over-rural-america

Quote
Buhler's mayor, Daniel Friesen, watched events unfold in Haven and came to see Dollar General not so much as an opportunity as a diagnosis.

Friesen understood why dying towns with no shops beyond the convenience store at the gas station welcomed Dollar General out of desperation for anything at all, like Burton, just up the road, where the last food shop closed 20 years ago. But Buhler had a high street with grocery and hardware stores, a busy cafe and a clothes shop. It had life.

As Friesen saw it, Dollar General was not only a threat to all that but amounted to admission his town was failing. "It was about retaining the soul of the community. It was about, what kind of town do we want?" he said.

Dollar General is opening stores at the rate of three a day across the US. It moves into places not even Walmart will go, targeting rural towns and damaged inner-city neighbourhoods with basic goods at basic prices - a strategy described by a former chief executive of the chain as "we went where they ain't".


Food desert
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Sad reality of how dollar stores and the like are reshaping rural America...

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/...w-dollar-general-took-over-rural-america

Quote
Buhler's mayor, Daniel Friesen, watched events unfold in Haven and came to see Dollar General not so much as an opportunity as a diagnosis.

Friesen understood why dying towns with no shops beyond the convenience store at the gas station welcomed Dollar General out of desperation for anything at all, like Burton, just up the road, where the last food shop closed 20 years ago. But Buhler had a high street with grocery and hardware stores, a busy cafe and a clothes shop. It had life.

As Friesen saw it, Dollar General was not only a threat to all that but amounted to admission his town was failing. "It was about retaining the soul of the community. It was about, what kind of town do we want?" he said.

Dollar General is opening stores at the rate of three a day across the US. It moves into places not even Walmart will go, targeting rural towns and damaged inner-city neighbourhoods with basic goods at basic prices - a strategy described by a former chief executive of the chain as "we went where they ain't".


Food desert

I think Dollar General and Dollar Tree (which literally does price everything at $1.00, unlike DG) are owned by the same company?
 
Looks like the food deserts are mostly in the mid Atlantic mountainous areas, the deep South, and on the border of AZ and NM.
 
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
I think Dollar General and Dollar Tree (which literally does price everything at $1.00, unlike DG) are owned by the same company?

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar have merged. Dollar General is a separate company.
 
I suppose soon enough Amazon will be delivering "fresh" produce, but will they find it economical to do it in rural areas? I guess they already do it via Whole Foods, but I don't know how affordable it is.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
I think Dollar General and Dollar Tree (which literally does price everything at $1.00, unlike DG) are owned by the same company?

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar have merged. Dollar General is a separate company.

I knew there was some arrangement like that. Family Dollar is like DG, it's hard to find anything that is actually priced at $1.00 there. Better than a lot of stores, but still the "Dollar" part is misleading.

The FD and DG stores I've been in here are dark and depressing, with narrow aisles and tall shelves you think are going to fall on you. The DTs are light and open, with lower shelving -- and clean, until they've been open for a while. (Of course that just might be my Third-World area. The DT I visited in the suburbs outside Birmingham, AL, in 2008 was very nice.)
 
I live in a rural area and this is true. But DG is a symptom, not a cause. These communities are experiencing a slow death and DG is the only one willing and able to be present. Otherwise the residents would have to drive quite far to buy basic necessities. The unfortunate factor is becoming a food desert, endemic obesity and other chronic conditions.

A Walmart grocery section is like a healthy heaven compared to what they sell at DG.
 
frown.gif
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
I suppose soon enough Amazon will be delivering "fresh" produce, but will they find it economical to do it in rural areas? I guess they already do it via Whole Foods, but I don't know how affordable it is.

That would be great if Amazon had a low priced grocery store.
 
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
I suppose soon enough Amazon will be delivering "fresh" produce, but will they find it economical to do it in rural areas? I guess they already do it via Whole Foods, but I don't know how affordable it is.

That would be great if Amazon had a low priced grocery store.


Yes, Amazon is changing WF to be that low-priced grocery store.

They used to be a premium grocery store, but now whenever you go into one you are constantly reminded of the cutbacks Amazon is doing with WF.
Amazon is targeting those who shop at places like Safeway etc.

Terribly sad, as that's where we do all our grocery shopping. Only because there are no other options for quality produce.
 
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
I suppose soon enough Amazon will be delivering "fresh" produce, but will they find it economical to do it in rural areas? I guess they already do it via Whole Foods, but I don't know how affordable it is.

That would be great if Amazon had a low priced grocery store.


And will they accept food stamps?

EDIT: It looks like they already do in some states:
https://www.amazon.com/snap-ebt/b?ie=UTF8&node=19097785011
 
Yep I see these in a lot of rural towns but it makes sense as there's literally no other place to shop within a 50 miles radius except a small convenience store that most likely not have what you want stocked.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
I suppose soon enough Amazon will be delivering "fresh" produce, but will they find it economical to do it in rural areas? I guess they already do it via Whole Foods, but I don't know how affordable it is.

That would be great if Amazon had a low priced grocery store.


And will they accept food stamps?

EDIT: It looks like they already do in some states:
https://www.amazon.com/snap-ebt/b?ie=UTF8&node=19097785011


That even better..... ðŸ‘

Jeff has really delivered the very best too all across the USA.
 
From what I see, Whole Foods has kept the prices the same but is replicating staffing and service of Safeway. They just cut the benefits in the Indiana markets. Soon the employees will have to carry empty bottles to go to the bathroom while stocking the shelves like the delivery drivers do at Amazon.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Food desert

That's really deceptive. According to that site, in order to qualify the population must reside more than one single mile from a supermarket.

Quote
To qualify as a "low-access community," at least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract's population must reside more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance is more than 10 miles).


I'd venture to guess that a lot of affluent suburbs and bedroom communities qualify for being more than a mile from a grocery store. And rural areas just 10 miles? Growing up I lived in a rural area and we were 18 miles from town and were most definitely not a "food dessert". Folks in "rural" areas normally just make a weekly trip into town to run errands.

Personally, I prefer being almost three miles from the nearest grocery store and further away from the hustle and bustle. It takes all of 5 minutes to drive to the nearest store, and I could bike it in 15 if I pedaled slowly.
 
The people shopping in the low end stores aren't health conscience to begin with.
 
Funny, we have a game when we travel to count Dollar General (DG) stores we see.

I have read a similar article how DG is partially responsible for the poor health of small towns since all they sell is processed foods.
Thing is, if DG was not in these small towns, the people in them would still be buying the same junk in other stores, just further away and costing more.

I have a DG like 2 miles from my house, never been in it. Too many better options around me.
When we visit the lake house, we run to the DG in that town quite often to top off on supplies (drinks, snacks, charcoal, bread, and such), better selection and better prices that the corner gas stations.
I don't view DG as a primary grocery store, unfortunately, some do.
 
Originally Posted by CT8
The people shopping in the low end stores aren't health conscience to begin with.

I have noticed that in Save a lot stores.....
 
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