Chain Dollar Stores

Dollar General, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree are expanding at a breakneck pace across urban neighborhoods and small towns alike. There’s growing evidence that these stores are not merely a symptom of economic distress. They’re a cause of it.

Our latest reports and resources:

  • Detail the predatory tactics of dollar stores, the devastating impacts of these chains, and the need for both local and federal action.
  • How you can join the growing number of communities that are rejecting the dollar store encroachment and how your communities can encourage the development of full-service grocery stores instead.

Featured Reports & Resources

WATCH: Fixing the Food Gap

WATCH: Fixing the Food Gap

Katy Milani

April 21, 2023

Join us on Tuesday, May 23rd at 1:00–2:15 pm ET for a live virtual event—featuring Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya alongside community leaders, independent grocers, and advocatesREAD MORE


New Report: The Dollar Store Invasion

New Report: The Dollar Store Invasion

Stacy Mitchell

February 28, 2023

In this report, we spotlight communities rising up against dollar chains and how federal policymakers need to address the ways in which misguided policies are fueling the destructive proliferation of dollar stores.READ MORE


Stop Dollar Store Proliferation in Your Community: A Strategy Guide

Stop Dollar Store Proliferation in Your Community: A Strategy Guide

Kennedy Smith

February 28, 2023

More than 75 cities and towns have defeated dollar storer projects in the last four years. Our new strategy guide can help you keep these chains out of your community.READ MORE


17 Problems: How Dollar Store Chains Hurt Communities

17 Problems: How Dollar Store Chains Hurt Communities

Kennedy Smith

February 28, 2023

Community leaders have good reason to be concerned about chain dollar stores.READ MORE


Dollar Store Restrictions

Dollar Store Restrictions

Kennedy Smith

March 23, 2023

As dollar stores multiply rapidly across the U.S., cities are developing dollar store-specific policies to rein in their growth. Such policies include “dispersal restrictions" that set limits on how close new dollar stores can be to existing ones. These ordinances account for the existing concentration of dollar stores within a neighborhood or city and help ensure that these chains cannot amass at such a density that they impede opportunities for grocery stores and other businesses to take root and grow. Our new map shows dollar store defeats and restrictions across the country.READ MORE


Audio & Video

A Food Oasis in North Tulsa

A Food Oasis in North Tulsa

Luke Gannon

March 16, 2023

Aaron Johnson, founder and owner of Oasis Fresh Market in North Tulsa, Oklahoma, tells his journey of opening a grocery store to provide a refuge, safe place, and shelter to a community that had been a food desert for fourteen years. On the second half of the episode, Stacy Mitchell explains the policy decisions that have led to an increasingly consolidated grocery sector and the steps to take to support locally-owned, community-centric grocery models.READ MORE


Toledo Takes Dollar Stores to Church

Toledo Takes Dollar Stores to Church

Luke Gannon

February 28, 2023

Dr. Perryman, a life-long Toledo resident, tells his story of leading a religious, social, and political movement to empower his community and fight against dollar store proliferation. Kennedy Smith weaves Dr. Perryman's story into the national fight against dollar stores. She notes the harms that dollar stores inflict as well as the strategies communities can use to battle them.READ MORE


Featured Media Coverage

On Columbus Radio: Stacy Mitchell Discusses the Problem of Dollar Stores

On Columbus Radio: Stacy Mitchell Discusses the Problem of Dollar Stores

Luke Gannon

March 10, 2023

On the local NPR affiliate, Stacy explains how dollar stores prey on communities. READ MORE