When you’re a college student, just making the time to feed yourself is hard enough. What’s even worse, is when the cost of food gets in the way as well. More than half (51.8 percent) of college students living off-campus receive income below the poverty level, according to a 2011 study by the Census Bureau. Therefore, many students need all the help they can get in order to eat well.
Fortunately, help is out there. Below are three of the simplest ways to make food more affordable for struggling students.
The first is right near campus. Every Thursday from 4-6 p.m., the Student Food Pantry is open to all college students in the Eugene area with a valid student ID. It’s located at 1329 E. 19th St. and provides totally free food for students and their families.
This weekly event is a part of Episcopal Campus Ministries and is run mainly by student volunteers. There are no requirements or standards for which students can receive food at the pantry, they are only asked to answer a few demographical questions.
“There’s quite a variation of need-level in the students who come,” said Reverend Doug Hale, who oversees the Student Food Pantry. “Some students really need it and some use it as a way to moderate their expenses.”
Another option is SNAP Benefits, formerly called food stamps, which are offered by the state and federal government through Eugene’s local Department of Human Services. If you’re eligible to receive benefits, the DHS will determine a monthly amount of extra money you need to buy groceries. You’re given an Oregon Trail Card, which acts as a debit card, onto which the monthly amount is allotted to your account.
The process of applying is fairly simple and the application is available online at its website. However, to receive SNAP Benefits, you do have to meet certain eligibility requirements and more so as a student. To be an eligible student, your monthly income must be below $1,772 and you must also meet one of a long list of criteria, which include: working as a paid employee for at least 20 hours per week, being awarded work-study, having a child, receiving unemployment compensation or being physically or mentally unfit for employment. Refer to the “Am I an eligible student?” link on the SNAP Benefits website for more details.
Finally, some of the easiest ways to save money while grocery shopping are possible while in the store. One of these is choosing the generic brand of an item, when available. Usually, grocery stores like Safeway or Target will have their own brand of food products available. It’s often significantly cheaper and, unless you’re extremely partial to a particular brand, suffices just as well.
Another helpful thing to look for while at the grocery store is the price-per-unit. It’s usually listed on the price ticket, to the left of the full price. This tells you how much you’re paying for each unit of volume of the product, so you can better compare bigger packages with smaller packages. This is important because we intuitively think that the larger package is a better value when, in reality, you might end up paying more for the packaging than the food itself. Look for the brand and size that has the lowest price-per-unit compared to other brands and sizes of the same product. This ensures that you get the most food with the least amount of money.
Learning to eat well on a college budget is stressful. These simple tips can help to relieve some of the burden that comes with providing food for yourself while paying for college.