Do you buy Dollar store food/meats? Do you consider them safe, if not why?

[wishesuponastar]

Some people I know buy food there even meats. I do not because I’m not so sure of the safety/freshness of the food. I googled and found this: Reader’s Digest goes so far as to recommend against buying any food at the dollar store. But the publication says that you should be particularly cautious about purchasing perishable foods at your local dollar store. As Reader’s Digest points out, “freshness and quality can be questionable.” So if you need some grocery items that are prone to spoiling, you may want to shop elsewhere.

 

[Disneylover99]

Meats at the dollar store? I hope you mean canned meat, not fresh.

To answer, no. I avoid all dollar store food.

 

[Floridaman999]

I have to say that the Dollar Store is waaaaaaaay down on the list of places I'd choose to purchase food. No, I do not consider them safe, and no, I would not purchase foods there.

 

[OKW8297]

No I wouldn’t get any food there.

 

[NAB]

I have not but I have notice they are carrying brand names now too . Just check the dates you should be fine.

Oops I guess if you count chocolate bars , then yes or those darn marshmallow Santa, pumpkin and now Easter eggs made with real chocolate not chocolate flavour...lol

Our dollar store even has fresh bread . All with good dates.

 

[mombrontrent]

I don’t buy any food at the dollar store. My kids do buy candy there though, usually right before going into the movies since they can get it so much cheaper and they say it’s the exact same thing.

 

[Disneylover99]

Come to think about it, I’ve never seen or noticed anyone actually buying food (other then chocolate bars or candy) from the Dollar store. I have noticed that most of the food items there cost more money then the grocery store. That’s probably why. That’s also probably why the boxes and cans always look so dusty.

 

[Skellingtonj]

No we don’t buy food there.

 

[leebee]

I buy chicken broth and beef broth for soup, spices, condiments, canned beans (not baked beans, regular beans like kidney beans), sweet-n-low, single-serve macaroni and cheese cups, candy. Can't think of what else, but as long as $1 is cheaper than what I'd pay at the grocery store, I'll buy it. I haven't bought meat, but I have a friend who buys the frozen steaks, hot dogs, cheese, frozen single-serve dinners, etc. He's on an extremely tight budget, lives alone, and this works for him. Why is everyone so negative about buying food at the dollar store? They have freezers, refrigerators, appropriate delivery trucks, and the foods have "sell-by" dates on them. What's the difference between Dollar Tree and the local mom-n-pop market (or actually, the grocery store)?

 

[Disneylover99]

I buy chicken broth and beef broth for soup, spices, condiments, canned beans (not baked beans, regular beans like kidney beans), sweet-n-low, single-serve macaroni and cheese cups, candy. Can't think of what else, but as long as $1 is cheaper than what I'd pay at the grocery store, I'll buy it. I haven't bought meat, but I have a friend who buys the frozen steaks, hot dogs, cheese, frozen single-serve dinners, etc. He's on an extremely tight budget, lives alone, and this works for him. Why is everyone so negative about buying food at the dollar store? They have freezers, refrigerators, appropriate delivery trucks, and the foods have "sell-by" dates on them. What's the difference between Dollar Tree and the local mom-n-pop market (or actually, the grocery store)?

I’ve never seen a fridge, freezer or fresh bread at any dollar store around me. It just smells like plastic when I walk in.

 

[kidshop]

Yes, I have purchased name brand food items there...cake mixes, snack foods, cereal and some fresh or frozen. for example, they have Snyder’s frozen pretzel bites. I see no difference if it is a major brand. They also carry frozen blueberries that are stamped ‘product of usa’. I do not buy food from China no matter the store. They sell (name brand) bread that might be the day of date but that doesn’t bother me.

 

[Squirlz]

I don't buy anything there. There was a local story a couple weeks ago about a guy who grabbed a frozen pizza and later found it had a sell by from 2017!

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

I've bought name brand snacks like Goldfish or Boom Chicka Pop popcorn. I would not buy meats, etc. because I question the freshness and quality. But there are thousands of Dollar Tree stores in the US. If people were consistently getting sick from the food, there would be a class-action suit. So it's probably safe, just gross.

 

[low-key]

I do not because its the dollar store

 

[Ben E N]

I buy chicken broth and beef broth for soup, spices, condiments, canned beans (not baked beans, regular beans like kidney beans), sweet-n-low, single-serve macaroni and cheese cups, candy. Can't think of what else, but as long as $1 is cheaper than what I'd pay at the grocery store, I'll buy it. I haven't bought meat, but I have a friend who buys the frozen steaks, hot dogs, cheese, frozen single-serve dinners, etc. He's on an extremely tight budget, lives alone, and this works for him. Why is everyone so negative about buying food at the dollar store? They have freezers, refrigerators, appropriate delivery trucks, and the foods have "sell-by" dates on them. What's the difference between Dollar Tree and the local mom-n-pop market (or actually, the grocery store)?

I say good for him. Nothing I am interested in doing, but if it works for him, it doesn't negatively affect me or others in any way.
I also have never seen a freezer at a dollar store around me, but I'm sure there are ones that found them to be profitable, perhaps because of a lack of low-price food marts in the near area or something along those lines. The one by me is real close to a Walmart, so that probably explains why they don't have much food selection.

 

[tcherjen]

No- we eat organic and grass fed meat.
We are also gluten free so not a lot of choices at the dollar store.

 

[barkley]

some spices, some jarred items like water packed bell pepper strips, breadcrumbs, moon pies and a few other things.

ours have freezers and coolers (though i've never bought anything cold/frozen) and fridges, you never see dust on canned goods or an expired item (unlike some of the big name chain stores where you have to be CAUTIOUS w/the carts they set out or the end cap freezers marked '50% off').

i'm more comfortable buying certain spices there vs. the bulk bins at some of the uber expensive all natural places-i do not need to be dipping spices out of a container that other peoples germ covered hands have been in (and i've seen people routinely put their hands in to take a pinch out to smell for freshness).

 

[Yoshi]

I buy food at the dollar store, usually Dollar Tree. I wouldn't buy meat but mostly get snack foods and always check the expiration date. I like the overstock items they get from buyouts like full size bags of Snyder's pretzels, full size boxes of seasonal name brand cereal and similar items. I rarely see anything expired or even that close dated. I find more expired items at KMart where it's not uncommon to find food that expired 2+ months ago and a while ago I found chips that were 6 months past the expiration date.

 

[AllyReggie]

I have purchased food/meats from the dollar store frozen food section.

Things like Ice Creams, Frozen Eclair bites, Pretzel Bites, Burritos, Lunchables knock offs, and other frozen meals.

Often times I am actually paying more than I would at a big box store, but I am paying for the dollar store convenience. When it is a deal or at least on par with what you might purchase elsewhere, it is because they have contracted with the brand to have a slightly smaller or single serve packaging made, so if you buy those pretzel bites at your big grocery you get enough for 4 people, at Dollar Tree you get enough for 1 person.

I understand people's aversion to the dollar store deals on food stuffs, but I have yet to find anything not at least of quality. Not always the most flavorful, sometimes a little stale in the non-brand name items (those little frozen eclair bites tasted more cardboardy than others I have had) but you do get what you pay for.

 

[Elle23]

While I love the Dollar Tree for certain things, I can’t say I have ever purchased food there. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a familiar brand non-perishable item there, but that’s probably it.

I am trying to stick with organic/ grass fed meat and away from processed stuff, so I doubt I’d find anything close to that there.