If you've ever filled your basket at a dollar store with chips, cookies and a box of macaroni because it seemed like the best way to stretch your food budget, you're not alone. More than one in five Americans buys groceries at a dollar or convenience store. But are these bargains sabotaging your family's dietary health?

According to new research from Tufts University, the answer is more reassuring than you might expect.

While food from dollar stores is generally less healthy since it does not include fresh fruits and vegetables, people — particularly those in rural or lower income communities — are finding ways to balance it out with smarter purchases elsewhere.

Dollar stores are in over 37,000 locations across the U.S., making them the fastest growing food retailer in the last decade. They're especially common in non-urban areas, where access to full-service grocery stores can be limited.

A new multi-year analysis, led by researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine, the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and the USDA Economic Research service, suggests that while dollar store purchases tend to be less nutritious, they aren't significantly derailing Americans overall diets.

The study analyzed food purchases of 180,000 U.S. households between 2008 and 2020, using a USDA tool called the “Purchase to Plate Crosswalk”. This allowed the research team to estimate the healthfulness of what people were buying, not just at dollar stores, but everywhere they shopped for food outside of restaurants.

“There are a lot of concerns that food on dollar store shelves is less healthy,” the study's lead author, Wenhui Feng, Tufts Health Plan Professor of Health Care Policy Research, said in a media release. “But what's on the shelf does not equal what each household takes home.”

Food purchases at dollar stores have nearly doubled over 12 years, the study found, from 3.4 percent of total household calories to 6.5 percent. This rise is especially pronounced in rural areas, among lower-income households and in people of color households.

But here's the catch: Even for the heaviest dollar store users, over 90 percent of their food calories still come from other sources, like traditional grocery stores (55 percent) or club stores like Costco (22 percent). In rural areas, home gardens often supply fresh produce, too.

So, while it is true that dollar stores mainly offer calorie-dense snacks and packaged goods along with the household items they stock, their lack of fresh produce and protein does not reflect the full picture of shoppers' diets.

“Some people seem to be going to dollar stores strategically to buy sweets and snacks,” explains Sean Cash, Bergstrom Foundation Professor in Global Nutrition at the Friedman School and senior author of the study. “But people who buy more of those items at dollar stores seem to be buying fewer of them elsewhere.”

At least 25 municipalities place restrictions on new dollar stores, citing health, economic and safety issues. But this new data show that those policies may be outpacing evidence.

In other words, dollar store shopping is not necessarily about adding junk to people's diets. It may be more about redistributing where those less-healthy calories are coming from.

Dollar stores have exploded in number with over 37,000 locations across the U.S., making them the fastest growing food retailer in the last decade. They're especially prevalent in the South and non-urban areas, where access to full-service grocery stores can be limited.

Concerns about their expansion have led at least 25 municipalities to place restrictions on new stores, citing health, economic and safety issues. But this new data show that those policies may be outpacing evidence.

“More research is needed to validate the actual impact dollar stores have on health,” Feng cautions.

What the study highlights is not just the availability of certain foods, but how families are making choices, balancing costs, convenience and health. Many dollar store shoppers seem to be compensating for less-healthy purchases at one store by shopping smarter elsewhere.

Bottom line: Shopping at a dollar store doesn't have to harm your health. Strategy and awareness can go a long way in balancing your nutritional needs.

The study is published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.