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Most Americans buy their food at the grocery store, and there's nothing in them that wouldn't be found in any other country. Most Americans make their own meals

Most Americans buy their food at the grocery store, and there's nothing in them that wouldn't be found in any other country. Most Americans make their own meals with their families, which usually consist of meat, pasta, potatoes, and/or vegetables.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
You're right - there are 40,000 grocery stores in America, and only 30,000 Dollar Stores and their like. So less than half of Americans buy from Dollar Stores, if patronage equals frequency of the store. Buts Dollar stores are growing fast. That won't be true for long. I wonder at the "make their own meals". Maybe from packets or reheating frozen stuff. But the meat counter sure isn't the largest section in the grocery store, not by a large margin.
- metrokoi 6y ago
  That's assuming people go to the Dollar store specifically to buy food instead of going to the grocery store, which is certainly not the norm. People go to the Dollar store to buy food containers, snacks for a road trip, batteries, toothbrushes, etc. That's like assuming people buy groceries at the hardware store; the intended purpose isn't the same. At all of the American grocery stores I've been to, the unfrozen meat section is as large as the entire refrigerated section, which are all very typical grocery stores.
  - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
    Sorry, should have been more clear. The Dollar Stores are taking over grocery business across America. Its their most popular item (grocery) and many, many people's sole source of groceries. There are many articles about this, and it was even discussed here on HN some months ago. I think its maybe a 'first world' view, that every body goes to Dollar Stores for the same things the upper class go there for. One source noted there are many times more Dollar Stores in Texas alone, than WalMarts across the entire USA. Gotta be a reason, and it isn't batteries. The 'unfrozen meat section' is a prestige-item display case with really a trivial amount of product on display compared to the square footage dedicated to it. Vs every other section of the grocery, with racks 5-10 shelves high crowded with products. I honestly buy meat at the butcher counter maybe once a month, for a special occasion. Not a lot to do with 'what I usually eat'. Maybe its different for others.
    - myu701 6y ago
      Anecdote: We had Dollar G stores open near me. I do get groceries there as my most common item there, but it is in the form of 'grab some sour cream and a block of cheese' just before dinner is done. Dollar G is ~2 minutes down the road from my house, vs. Kroger or Wally World which are ~20 minute drives. If I am going to go get groceries, I'm going to go to Kroger by default, Walmart if it's a particularly big run, Publix if I'm feeling like burning money, and Dollar G as a last resort, since the latter combines the expensive prices of Publix with the saddest store brand version of a product you can find, if they even have it in stock.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago

You're right - there are 40,000 grocery stores in America, and only 30,000 Dollar Stores and their like. So less than half of Americans buy from Dollar Stores, if patronage equals frequency of the store. Buts Dollar stores are growing fast. That won't be true for long. I wonder at the "make their own meals". Maybe from packets or reheating frozen stuff. But the meat counter sure isn't the largest section in the grocery store, not by a large margin.

metrokoi 6y ago
That's assuming people go to the Dollar store specifically to buy food instead of going to the grocery store, which is certainly not the norm. People go to the Dollar store to buy food containers, snacks for a road trip, batteries, toothbrushes, etc. That's like assuming people buy groceries at the hardware store; the intended purpose isn't the same. At all of the American grocery stores I've been to, the unfrozen meat section is as large as the entire refrigerated section, which are all very typical grocery stores.
- JoeAltmaier 6y ago
  Sorry, should have been more clear. The Dollar Stores are taking over grocery business across America. Its their most popular item (grocery) and many, many people's sole source of groceries. There are many articles about this, and it was even discussed here on HN some months ago. I think its maybe a 'first world' view, that every body goes to Dollar Stores for the same things the upper class go there for. One source noted there are many times more Dollar Stores in Texas alone, than WalMarts across the entire USA. Gotta be a reason, and it isn't batteries. The 'unfrozen meat section' is a prestige-item display case with really a trivial amount of product on display compared to the square footage dedicated to it. Vs every other section of the grocery, with racks 5-10 shelves high crowded with products. I honestly buy meat at the butcher counter maybe once a month, for a special occasion. Not a lot to do with 'what I usually eat'. Maybe its different for others.
  - myu701 6y ago
    Anecdote: We had Dollar G stores open near me. I do get groceries there as my most common item there, but it is in the form of 'grab some sour cream and a block of cheese' just before dinner is done. Dollar G is ~2 minutes down the road from my house, vs. Kroger or Wally World which are ~20 minute drives. If I am going to go get groceries, I'm going to go to Kroger by default, Walmart if it's a particularly big run, Publix if I'm feeling like burning money, and Dollar G as a last resort, since the latter combines the expensive prices of Publix with the saddest store brand version of a product you can find, if they even have it in stock.