Roughly 100 Dollar Generals are expected to close by the end of 2025, the company announced in a press release on March 13. There are currently 17 Dollar Generals located in Murfreesboro.

This comes as poorer communities struggle to keep up with rising grocery costs, and the threat of stores closing in Murfreesboro exacerbates fears of food deserts popping up around the city. A food desert is an area where residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly fresh produce, according to the University of Michigan’s definition.

“Food deserts, overall, are a major challenge facing particularly low-income communities and rural communities,” said Sekou Franklin, a professor in MTSU’s political science department.

They especially affect those who cannot drive or those who don’t have access to public transportation, Franklin said. 

Dollar Generals help bridge the gap for those unable to drive to large grocery stores.

“Dollar General’s closing concerns me greatly because on my way to and from school, the only thing I pass is a Dollar General,” MTSU sophomore Katie Hall said. “I can walk there easily without needing a car.”

Many students are dependent on a single store or aid for their food. Sarah Harris, a Human Sciences lecturer at MTSU, researched food insecurity in students last year.

“College students enrolled at MTSU are 4.6 times, or 360%, more likely to experience food insecurity than the general population of Tennessee,” Harris said.

Out of 402 participants, 27.9% of students at MTSU are considered to have very low food security, Harris said. 

Several food banks in the Murfreesboro area can assist those students, including some on MTSU’s campus, like the Student Food Pantry. 

Resources outside of campus have qualification requirements, such as income restrictions and documentation. 

MTSU students have access to the Student Food Pantry in the Student Union, which has no requirements for entry other than a need for food. It is not open during breaks or when the university closes.

Non-student residents are also being affected by food insecurity in Murfreesboro. Marie Smith is one of those people. 

“It concerns me that 100 Dollar Generals are closing because that’s where I can get my kids’ milk and groceries at an affordable price,” Smith said.

The United States Department of Agriculture is expected to cut over $500 million in funding to food banks nationwide, which could further exacerbate the issue of food deserts. 

“Dollar Generals closing is concerning because, when I grew up, the only thing available was a Dollar General, and if Dollar Generals close where people depend on them, what will happen?” MTSU junior Ty Stephens said. 

Many Dollar Generals are in Murfreesboro, so it may not directly change the food insecurity rate. Until more information about which stores are closing is made public, it is difficult for residents to plan for alternate food sources, especially if they already face food insecurity. 

“Dollar General was easier for my parents to get to than a Walmart, so I sympathize with people who have that problem in Murfreesboro,” said Liz Taylor, a Murfreesboro resident.

There are solutions to the food desert crisis. Incorporating healthy food in gas stations and starting community gardens are ways to ease food insecurity, Franklin said. 

“People who are in low-income communities, whether that be rural or urban communities, are experiencing a drain in resources and a collapse in the economy [and are] also experiencing a departure of healthy foods,” Franklin said.

There has been an economic shift in the last few decades to big box stores and less financial capital for local stores and farmers’ markets, Franklin said.

“There can be many factors,” Franklin said. “There’s not as much of a commitment to leverage financial capital to support. For example, healthy food options in communities depend on the area, but you have increasingly more big-box stores like Walmart that are used widely but often more accessible to people who can drive there.”

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