ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Dollar General announced that all of its 18,000+ locations offer healthy food options, including assorted dairy items, frozen vegetables, proteins, canned fruits and vegetables, grains and more as part of an increased investment in its health and wellness offerings, according to the company.
“With approximately 75% of the U.S. population living within five miles of a Dollar General, the Company recognizes the unique access it provides to often-underserved communities,” wrote Dollar General. “While Dollar General is not a grocer, many DG stores serve communities without other retail options, and the variety of foods in DG stores reflect customers’ demand.”
The discount retailer continues to make efforts to offer better-for-you food options, as well as health and wellness products and services through the expansion of fresh produce, commitments to address food insecurity, Better For You merchandise and recipes, the Good & Smart brand and health-care product and services expansions.
In March 2022, Dollar General announced plans to add fresh produce to an additional 1,000 stores during its fiscal 2022 year, bringing the total number of stores offering fresh fruits and vegetables to more than 3,000 by the end of fiscal 2022. The company also recently announced plans to offer fresh food in up to 10,000 total stores during the next several years, with a number of them in current United States Department of Agriculture defined food deserts.
Dollar General’s produce set provides the top 20 items typically sold in traditional grocery stores and covers about 80% of produce categories most grocery stores carry. The curated assortment includes lettuce, tomatoes, onions, apples, strawberries, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lemons, limes and salad mixes.
Dollar General’s Better For You recipes were developed as a series of DG Easy Meals through a partnership with Mary Alice Cain, a registered dietician and nutritionist, with products solely sourced from Dollar General stores.
“With these recipes, customers can cook healthier meals at an affordable price, debunking the myth that healthier eating means spending more,” wrote Dollar General.
In 2018, Dollar General launched its Good & Smart private brand that are include “healthier snacking and beverage choices” such as trail mix, nuts, coconut water and dried fruit.
The complete line of Better For You brands which includes the Good & Smart line are in roughly 8,200 Dollar General locations as of January 2022. Each of Dollar General’s more than 18,000 locations also carries a curated selection of the Good & Smart line.
Dollar General recently announced plans to increase access to health-care offerings through the planned expansion of its health-care product assortment. The company plans to add an increased variety of cough and cold, dental, nutritional, medical, health aids and feminine hygiene products across many of its stores.
The company also announced the appointment of vice president, chief medical officer to Albert Wu, M.D. In this role, Wu helps to develop the company’s health-care services efforts by establishing and strengthening relationships with current and prospective health-care products and service providers to build a comprehensive network of affordable services for customers.
Convenience stores sell immediate consumption, and NACS data show that 83% of the items purchased are consumed within the hour, including fresh fruit, produce and other healthy snacks and beverages. NACS offers resources for c-store operators to gain new ideas for increasing sales and meeting consumer demand for healthy food choices.