Marion Nestle

That's its purpose.

Well, they started out by selling the most popular ultra-processed foods.

If you want to buy an ultra-processed food, you go to a dollar store because there it is.

They're going to have chips.

They're going to have sugar-sweetened cereals.

They're going to have every junk food you could possibly think of.

That's what they make their money off of.

They will have a few fruits and vegetables, a few sad bananas, a few sad fruits.

apples, maybe some pears, maybe some green vegetables, but not very many.

And they'll be in a case off somewhere because they have to offer those.

Because they're taking SNAP benefits, they're required to meet the stocking requirements of the SNAP program, which requires them to have a certain number of fruits and vegetables.

It's just been raised to seven varieties in order to

be allowed to accept electronic benefit transfer, the benefits for SNAP recipients, and they're just everywhere.

And during the pandemic particularly, they just proliferated like mad, and they undercut local stores.

They're cheaper.

They have poorer quality food, but the prices are lower.

Price is an enormous issue.

Well, yes, because large grocery chains don't want to be in those neighborhoods.

But, you know, if you want a Trader Joe's or a Whole Foods...

or a Wegmans in your neighborhood, you've got to have hundreds of thousands of people within walking distance or quick driving distance who make very, very good incomes or the stores aren't going to go there.