About The Project
The Community Noise Lab is conducting research on dollar stores in Mississippi. Our research is supported by a childhood obesity grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This project centers around asking and answering these questions:
What is the prevalence of dollar stores in Mississippi? How has this changed over time?
How do communities and residents in Mississippi perceive dollar stores?
What food is available at dollar stores in Mississippi?
How might dollar stores be correlated with health outcomes like childhood obesity?
Project Plan
This research project will span a few years and is just getting started. We are beginning with understanding historical trends of chain dollar stores in the state of Mississippi. This will include conducting spatial analysis to understand how dollar stores are spread across the state. Next, we plan to incorporate the lived experiences of residents in select communities across the state through surveys, focus groups and interviews. We will also be partnering with local students across the state to conduct nutritional surveys of the food products sold in dollar stores.
Check this website page for updates and how you can get involved in our research!
How can you help?
We are trying to get a better understanding of what these local, historical dollar store chains were like. We are specifically interested in learning if any of the stores would have sold food. If you lived in Mississippi between 1990 and 2000 or between 2020 and 2025, we would appreciate it if you could share your experience with any of these local chain stores.
Click here to complete a brief survey and help inform our research!
