A major national deep-discount retailer is offering fresh fruits and vegetables at one of its stores in Augusta, reducing the size of the city's food deserts.
Dollar General's remodeled store at 2549 Deans Bridge Road now includes a produce selection offering "the top 20 items typically sold in traditional grocery stores, which includes a curated assortment of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, apples, bananas, strawberries, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lemons, limes, salad mixes and more," the company said in a statement.
"At Dollar General, we strive to be a positive business partner and good community neighbor in Augusta," said Zak Brining, Dollar General’s senior vice president
of real estate and store development. "Although we are not a grocery store, we believe the addition of produce in our Augusta store highlights our commitment to deliver a pleasant shopping experience that includes affordable prices on quality products in a convenient location."
The store is at the corner of Deans Bridge and Murphey roads, near the now-closed Murphey Middle School.
Dollar General has landed on both sides of the ongoing national debate on food insecurity since introducing fresh produce at select locations in 2018.
Dollar General's rapid expansion in recent years has brought fresh produce to more than 1,300 stores in food deserts as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to FMI, the Food Industry Association, an advocacy group for U.S. food retailers.
But that expansion could come at a cost. Research by the UCLA Anderson School of Management suggests that dollar-store expansion discourages the establishment of nearby independent grocery stores.
Low food security describes areas with "reduced quality, variety or desirability of diet," according to the USDA. Very low food security identifies hunger caused by "disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake."
The USDA's Economic Research Service estimates that as much as half of Richmond County qualifies as a food desert. Food deserts are defined as low-income census tracts where significant numbers of people live more than a mile drive in urban areas, or 10 miles in rural areas, from the nearest SNAP-authorized food retailer.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta Dollar General adds produce in a city with food deserts
