I am transferring to a new university next fall. I will be living on campus since I have never lived in the area before. I can’t afford a meal plan (which isn’t required for upperclassmen) even with the loans I’m taking out. What are some foods that I could stock my pantry/shelf with. I will only have a mini-fridge in my unit, so I can’t refrigerate much, but there will be a community kitchen in my dorms, so I can cook what I need to.
Does anyone have any advice on what foods to stock up on?
I live in a house slightly off campus and my roommates and I make most of our own food. Some of my staples include:
-Easy Mac and cheese
-Wheat thins
-Yogurt
-PBJ
-Lunch meat/cheese/condiments/bread for deli sandwiches
-Chips
-Fruit
-Prepackaged salad + dressing
-Cereal
-Milk
-Eggs
-Chicken Patties
-Corn dogs
Try to make friends with some people with meal points so you can eat in the cafeteria towards the end of the semester when you get tired of cooking! My roommates often buy raw chicken and other meat and grill/bake it with spices, but I’m not sure how easy that would be in a community kitchen.
You might find it cheap and easy to eat breakfast/lunch at your dorm, because eggs, fruit, cereal, etc can be very healthy and easy. Then have one huge meal a day at the dining hall. It could end up being less than groceries, depending on how easy it is for you to shop inexpensively and the cost of meal tickets.