I decided to visit my closest Dollar Tree to see what shelf stable foods they had available for food storage. Then I went to my HEB across the street to compare prices. Here’s what I found:
Name brand items are often less at Dollar Tree but not usually less than the HEB or Hill Country Fare brands which are dependable HEB house brands.
Most of the prices that beat HEB are on items with a Dollar Tree label. Make sure you like them before you stock up.
Dollar Tree can be used as a food storage source but if you have a store like HEB close by, the total amount you will spend shopping only at Dollar Tree will be more. If you shop at both stores, comparing prices, you will save money.
Next, I went to the Dollar Tree closest to my mother’s house in Utah and the Associated Foods grocer down the street. Here’s what I found there:
Dollar Tree is consistent with their prices. Items were the same price both in Utah and in Texas.
The variety of food was pretty much the same in both stores but the AMOUNT of shelf stable food in the Utah store was 3 to 4 times greater than my Texas store. One notable difference was the Margaret Holmes vegetables at the Utah store which were not at my Texas store. It was surprising because Margaret Holmes is a Southern vegetable brand.
When comparing prices between Dollar Tree and the Associated Foods grocery store, Dollar Tree was often less. Dollar Tree was significantly higher on brown sugar, powdered sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda but was the same or less (sometimes much less) than the grocery store on almost everything else I priced, including toilet paper. Some exceptions were the house brand (Food Club) vegetables and beans which were less than the name brand (Del Monte and Goya) of the same items at Dollar Tree.
If I had only Dollar Tree and an Associated Foods grocery store to shop in, I would buy almost everything at Dollar Tree with the exception of most baking staples and Food Club canned vegetables, beans, and tuna.
When deciding whether to use Dollar Tree as a food storage source, keep these things in mind:
• Canned fruit is less at Dollar Tree no matter the brand.
• Compare brand to brand or to similar brands because the quality of the Dollar Tree brand may be different than you are used to. Dollar Tree may be less but may not be as good or better.
• Try one of an unknown brand before stocking up.
• Check “use by” dates. You want the freshest in your food storage, so you don’t need to rotate as quickly. I found items past date, a few months away, 1 year away, and 3 to 4 years away all in the same store.
• Check Dollar Tree often. Stock changes often and is not always consistent.
• Be careful with basic baking staples. You can really overpay at Dollar Tree.
• Canned meats and fish are expensive at Dollar Tree.
• Campbell’s soups are a great price but there isn’t much variety.
• Make sure the vinegar is 5% acidity. Less expensive brands are often below 5%.
Should you shop Dollar Tree for food storage? It depends on where you live and what other grocers are available but for quite a few items, like canned fruit and Campbell’s soup, it’s a good option for everyone.
Click here for a chart of prices. It’s not as organized as it could be but it still works to show the results.
