The nation is hungry and the government has got to feed it. The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) – better known as food stamps – has been on the rise since 2007, recently peaking at a 30-year high of 15%. We estimate that based on the current rate of deceleration, SNAP participation growth will turn negative in the beginning of 2013.
What does this mean for dollar stores like DG, FDO and DLTR? It means that people with limited income aren’t hitting up these stores like they used to. Instead they are going to supermarkets and other participating vendors that deal with the SNAP program and accept food stamps. This does not bode well for dollar stores, who are currently sitting at peak margins. This only adds to our increasingly bearish stance on names like DG and FDO.
