Food Products You Might Really Want To Buy At Dollar Tree

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If you frequent Dollar Tree, you know that the store carries several food items; some of them even offer refrigerated and frozen sections with quick meals and snacks. You may have even done some of your grocery shopping at Dollar Tree, grabbing $1 cans of vegetables, snacks for packed lunches, and drinks to stock your kitchen pantry. Unfortunately, toward the end of 2021, the company shocked its avid customer base by announcing a price increase to $1.25 on several items across its stores by mid-2022. A Dollar Tree news release reported that the price hike would allow the company to offer more products in a wider range of sizes. Unfortunately, many food items at the store now market at $1.25, which may make you wonder: Is it still worth it to shop at Dollar Tree for food? 

As always, there are certain items you can find for a good bargain at the dollar store, while others are better off being saved for your local grocery store or big-box retailer, like Walmart. Also, your savings can depend on where you live, as some areas may have higher grocery prices than others. For example, Consumer Reports found that shoppers in Lisa, Texas, and Janice, New York, found better deals at Dollar Tree than at their local supermarkets. Continue reading to learn what Dollar Tree foods can potentially save you some money.

Some Dollar Tree shoppers have found name-brand breakfast cereals at their local stores, like one Twitter user who posted photos of resealable bags of Apple Jacks, Fruit Loops, and other breakfast cereal favorites. Another Dollar Tree fan found a box of General Mills' Sonic the Hedgehog cereal at their store that coincided with the release of the movie, "Sonic the Hedgehog 2." However, in most cases, the name-brand cereal you'll find at the low-priced store will usually be quite a bit smaller than those you'd buy at the grocery store. For example, those resealable bags listed on Dollar Tree are about 3 to 3.5 ounces. Meanwhile, Walmart sells many cereals with weights between 12 and 25 ounces that are often cheaper if you're considering per-ounce costs.

Off-brand cereals are where you'll find the best savings at Dollar Tree because they're closer to regular-sized cereal boxes but still at the low price of $1.25 in most cases. For instance, a 12-ounce box of Honey Nut Toasted Oats at Dollar Tree costs a little over $0.10 per ounce, but Honey Nut Cheerios at Walmart is over $0.25 per ounce. Even the more affordable Malt-O-Meal version at Walmart costs $0.16 per ounce.

Ask Dollar Store enthusiasts what they believe are must-buys at Dollar Tree, and you might hear one phrase repeated: baking supplies. Often, Dollar Tree shoppers note how affordable it can be to stock up on bakeware, like measuring cups, pans, and utensils. One Redditor says, "My dollar store sells some types of bakeware (pizza pan, 8x8 square pan, 8" cake pan, pie pan, etc.), and if I'm bringing something baked to someone else's house/party, I'd rather buy the $1 dollar store stuff than spend the same $1 on a disposable pan."

However, buying your baking ingredients at Dollar Tree could also help you save money. Although you may not find niche items, like flavored baking chips and fancy extracts, you can most certainly get the essentials, like sugar, flour, food dyes, etc. Dollar Tree also offers convenient baking mixes that are often more affordable than supermarket equivalents. For example, a traditional yellow cake mix at Dollar Tree is just $1.25. The same size and brand mix at Albertsons is regularly priced at $2.49.

While you may not get your money's worth doing all your pet food shopping at the dollar store, it could be a helpful once-in-a-while addition to your shopping routine. If you're running low on food for your dog or cat and need to get some affordably to hold you over until your next grocery store trip, consider making a stop at Dollar Tree. Most stores carry both name-brand and off-brand pet items, including food and treats. They're usually much smaller bags than you'd find in a traditional store, but for only $1 or $1.25, they can be convenient and budget-friendly to stock up on.

For instance, a 13-ounce can of 9 Lives cat food is just $1.25 at Dollar Tree, but a 5.5-ounce can of the same product is $0.70 at Kroger. Dollar Tree also carries 12 to 16-ounce bags and boxes of cat and dog food and packages of dental chews, chewy treats, and dog bones from brands you trust, like Purina.

You may not think to look for items at Dollar Tree that could lend to a healthy diet, but some shoppers have been lucky enough to find protein-packed snacks that they'd usually buy from the supermarket. As you may know, protein is an essential nutrient for your muscle, bone, and overall body health. It's best to get protein from eating a variety of protein-rich foods, like nuts, seafood, and beans (via MyPlate). Still, when you need a quick and simple way to add more protein to your diet, supplementing with bars or protein powders can work, too, per UC Health.

Browse your Dollar Tree food aisles to see what protein-enriched products you can add to your shopping cart. For example, a Twitter user found a plant-based protein bowl at their store. Another person on Twitter posted their find: peanut butter chocolate protein minis. The Dollar Tree website also lists snacks like nuts, trail mixes, protein bars, tuna, and other protein-packed foods. You might even get lucky enough to find Kellogg's Special K Strawberry Flavored Protein Bars for $1.25 for an 8-pack at your Dollar Tree. A 12-count box at Walmart is close to $6.

Tea bags aren't usually very expensive, but there's no reason not to try to save money buying it if the opportunity is available. One way to do that is to compare tea prices at your supermarket with those at Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree sells various 20-packs of Tevive tea bags for $1 to $1.25. Compare that to Twinings 20-pack boxes of tea at Walmart for a little over $3, and you've found a decent way to save on your daily tea-drinking habit.

Dollar Tree also stocks affordable single-serve tea drinks. If you look at the shelves, you probably notice that Arizona teas are widely available at Dollar Tree. That's because Arizona is committed to keeping its costs low to appeal to customers looking for a good deal. Spencer Vultaggio, the Arizona's chief marketing officer and co-owner, tells Reader's Digest that part of the company's low costs is due to its low ad spending. "We feel like it's more important to spend money on something that our customer really cares about instead of buying billboards or putting our cans in the hands of some celebrity for a few minutes," Vultaggio explains. As a result, it's not uncommon to find large, 34-ounce bottles or cans of Arizona tea and drinks for just $1.25 at Dollar Tree.