Charlotte woman wins Family Dollar recipe contest

Janice Elder's "Rockin' Roundup Fish Boats" have won the Charlotte woman a $500 Family Dollar gift card and tips from the host of Food Network's "Ten Dollar Dinners."

Elder entered her recipe in a Family Dollar contest to find low-cost customer recipes. The company is also donating $1,000 to the charity Feeding America.

The Matthews-based chain has been stocking more groceries and more aggressively promoting its food offerings. Family Dollar's partnership with Melissa d'Arabian, the Food Network chef, is part of that effort.

Groceries and other consumable items have been a big focus of many stores lately, as they drive customer traffic and mid-week "fill-in" visits, where shoppers grab a few items they need, such as bread and milk. Target is another chain that added to it's food offerings last year.

Consumables tend to have lower profit margins than other goods, but the hope is that by driving store traffic, including more groceries will help lift a store's bottom line. After all, a customer who stops in to grab a gallon of milk might be tempted to pick up a new desk lamp they walk by, or a toy for their kids that catches their eye.

You can see Elder's recipe, along with the secondary winners, here.