Same with those dollar stores. They come into poor areas and drive out the small local grocers, then you get a worse product and it's your only choice.

I'm in Canada. I'd love to be able to say I can totally ditch Maxi or Super C and stop supporting Loblaws and the Weston family, or Metro or Sobeys, but that would mean choosing either buying shittier produce from one of the large discount alternatives (Walmart, Super C, or similar) meaning I'd be encouraging another of those large super vertically integrated grocery chains that are driving up cost regardless, or accepting to pay 1.5x the price for all of my groceries.

Fresh produce I can get for not too expensive from farmer's markets while in season, but for the rest, I have to choose between expensive local grocery, expensive grocery chain, or budget grocery chains that are owned by one of the expensive chains anyway.

It's past Thanksgiving and I don't even celebrate it, but I'm so fucking thankful to live in a European suburb. There is a small general store just down the street, two bakeries, a butcher, a car mechanic, a tire service shop, a bike service shop, two schools, two playgrounds, and too many smaller businesses to count. All within ten minutes on foot. Also three stops for six bus lines, safe sidewalks, and safe bicycle paths, so basically /c/fuckcars's wet dream.

My local grocery chain is a lot better quality than Walmart in some respects. But, the price tag is usually much steeper. Thank God for Aldi's.
I like to support the little guy when possible but when it makes your monthly grocery bill $1,200 instead of $900, that's a tough pill to swallow. That $300 wouldn't necessarily break the bank for me but it's a lot of money to a lot of people.

This is also a big reason that many Americans have poor nutrition. Processed junk food is cheaper than healthy food. Presenting better lifestyle or diet "choices" is an illusion when you have to have money to make those choices.

Even they are pricy, once the competition is quashed.