Grocery shopping takes up a significant portion of an average college student’s budget. With tuition, rent, textbooks, and other expenses, food costs must be closely monitored to ensure college students can eat healthily without overspending. The amount college students tend to spend on groceries varies greatly depending on factors such as location, habits, frequency of meal preparation, and meal plans. In this article, we’ll look at college student’s food spending, factors that affect food costs, and strategies for saving on groceries while maintaining a nutritious diet.
Average Monthly Expenses at Grocery Stores for College Students
Of course, most college students try to save money on purchases at grocery stores and spend them on more valuable things. For example, they’d better buy another textbook, pay for rent, or hire a professional essay writer who can help with their assignment.
Grocery costs for college students can range from $150 to $600 per month, depending on a variety of factors. Here’s a general breakdown:
- Low budget ($150–$250 per month). College students who prep their meals ahead of time buy in bulk and stick to basic, cost-effective meal plans.
- Medium budget ($250–$400 per month). College students who cook most of their meals at home but occasionally eat out or buy prepared foods.
- High budget ($400–$600+ per month). College students buy organic food, eat specialty items, or eat out frequently.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average single person in the United States spends about $300 to $400 per month on food, which is about the same as the average college student spends on groceries.
Factors Affecting Grocery Spending
Several factors affect how much college students spend on groceries.
Location
The average amount someone will spend on groceries will vary greatly from city to city and state to state. College students in expensive areas like New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco will need to budget spend on groceries than students in rural cities or less expensive states.
Dietary Preferences and Restrictions
Such restrictions as gluten-free or organic products can increase your grocery bill. Healthier and organic meal plans tend to be more expensive than processed or generic foods.
Cooking vs. Dining Out
College students who eat out or order takeout often spend more on food overall. Cook at home because it is usually much cheaper and allows you to save money.
On-Campus Meal Plans
Many college students purchase meal plans, which can reduce their grocery bills. However, students who opt out of meal plans or have limited food options may need to supplement them with grocery shopping.
Grocery Store Choices
Shopping at discount grocery stores (e.g., Aldi, Walmart, Costco) is often more budget-friendly than shopping at premium grocery stores like Whole Foods or specialty markets that can harm your monthly budget.
Shopping Habits
Buying in bulk, using coupons or loyalty cards, and buying store-brand items can significantly reduce your spending. On the other hand, impulse spending and frequent trips to local stores can increase your monthly budget.
Eating Off-Campus: Costs and Considerations
Food costs can vary significantly depending on the eating habits of students who choose to eat off-campus. Unlike meal plans, dining off-campus requires budgeting to spend on groceries, restaurant meals, and takeout expenses. Here are some key considerations:
- Cost of eating off campus. Visiting restaurants frequently or ordering takeout can quickly add up to a lot of money, with the average meal costing between $10 and $20. If a student eats out five times a week, the monthly cost can be over $200 for eating out alone.
- Spend on Groceries for home. Cooking meals at home remains the most budget-friendly option. Even if students shop at mid-range stores, they can spend, on average, $3 – $6 per serving.
- Convenience vs. cost. While fast food and takeout are convenient, they are not cost-effective in the long run. Investing in simple kitchen supplies and learning how to cook basic meals can save you significant food expenses.
Generally, eating off campus once a month is a good option if you want to maintain your social life while staying on a budget.
How College Students Can Eat Right and Cheap
A student is always hungry. That’s okay: young people should spend their time not on healthy and quality food but on entertainment. After all, this is what youth is given to us for, isn’t it?
However, it’s better to preserve at least a bit of health so that in the near future, you don’t have to run to doctors and heal wounds received as a result of unhealthy eating. That’s why we decided to tell you how to eat cheaply as a student so that food doesn’t cause much harm to your health.
Nutrition Depends on the Type of College Students
Let’s figure out what students eat. Here are three popular categories that students are usually divided into:
- The “junk food” student. This representative eats only burgers, pizzas, sausages, pasta, chips, etc. In general, their food is everything that is filling, cheap, and can be eaten with ketchup. Most often, this is what students eat in the dorm since eating healthy there is not profitable: at any moment, 100500 neighbors will come to you, ready to forcibly share your meal with you.
- Student-vegetable eater. This includes the majority of females. Under the guise of taking care of their bodies, they make up their diet mainly from vegetables: greens, cabbage, carrots, etc. However, they don’t disdain porridge either. On their table, you can always find something that you wouldn’t tempt guests with: oatmeal, rice, and unsalted quinoa.
- Student-breadwinner. These are the smartest of all: they don’t spend any money on food. Their tactics are as follows: make as many friends as possible and visit them whenever you want to eat. The money you save can always be spent on something!
Food Supplies for College Students
Every student should have the following products in their warehouses:
- Cereals. Quinoa, rice, oatmeal – all of these are good for preparing the first and second courses, as well as independent dishes.
- Pasta – get as much as possible and in any form. This is the alpha and omega of every student’s diet.
- Tomato paste (it is best to replace the beloved ketchup with it). Without this product, it will be hard to cook pasta properly.
- Spinach, peppers, tomatoes, onions, and carrots—these budget-friendly products can be used in numerous recipes.
- Potatoes. This product is generally a substitute for everything. It can be eaten instead of cereals, other vegetables, and even meat. Fried, boiled, steamed, stewed – respect to potatoes.
- Any type of fruit. They can be a healthy replacement for sweets.
- Meat. It is a great source of protein.
Top Tips for Saving as a Vegetarian Student
A vegan diet cooked exclusively at home is what each student needs if they want to save money and don’t contradict their principles. You just need to follow some of our tips:
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Eat a variety of foods, but plan
Vegetarian and even vegan diets do not imply giving up tasty food; you can’t just exclude part of the diet, and over time, this will affect your health. It is important to eat well and regularly treat yourself to different tastes. To prevent food from becoming the main source of expenses, plan your grocery shopping a couple of weeks in advance. Create a stock of long-term storage products at home and things that can be prepared quickly. This will protect you from unplanned deliveries of ready-made food and impulsive purchases.
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Cook yourself
Semi-finished products, ready-made food, and pre-packaged mixes are more expensive than dishes cooked from scratch. Yes, soaking chickpeas and beans, making lentil cutlets, or making hummus takes time, but some tricks allow you to save money – soak, chop, and cut the ingredients on the weekend so that you can quickly cook something healthy, tasty, and inexpensive after study. This requires planning and preparation, but it saves money. Even pre-cut vegetables, laid out in portioned containers, will save time and, ultimately, money – knowing that at home, there is a salad that just needs to be drizzled with oil, you will not buy an expensive vegan snack.
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Buy in bulk
Every city has wholesale markets where you can buy cereals in big packages at a lower price than in stores. In the summer season, vegetables and fruits can be bought at local fruit and vegetable bases for several people (your classmates and dorm neighbors).
You can buy canned goods in bulk. For vegans, canned beans are always a good option; you can quickly cook something or have a snack. Vegetarians know that buying vegan marshmallows (without gelatin), dairy-free bars, and other little joys will cost more, so either learn to make sweets yourself or reduce their consumption.
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Buy seasonal and regional food
It may seem boring – onions, carrots, and potatoes, and at the end of summer – tomatoes. However, if you have given up meat and dairy for ethical reasons, then buying chia and mango seeds should be no less exciting for you – after all, their transportation harms the environment along with methane emissions from livestock. Your local producers do not need to spend big money on storing and transporting products; there are no markups from stores and other intermediaries.
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Grow your own garden
Another option for obtaining local, organic, and lovingly grown products is to take up gardening. Plant growing requires material and time costs but allows you to harvest year after year with a small saving of seeds. It also brings all the benefits of a seasonal market and an eco-shop and also allows you to slow down, switch from studies, and feel the value of food in a new way.
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Make preserves
Even if you don’t have a garden or a caring mother, freeze a few trays of vegetables and fruits picked or bought in the summer season, make homemade tomato sauce, and puree berries with sugar. This will save some money, and your preserves’ taste and health benefits are many times better than store-bought ones.
The amount college students spend on groceries depends on their location, dietary habits, and shopping choices. However, with our tips, anyone can greatly save on food.
Image Credit: Photo by Grace O’Driscoll; Unsplash
