The cost of living is up, and my will to live is down. For students, chances are that food insecurity in particular is hitting you hard. 53 per cent of students faced food insecurity in 2024, rising from 42 per cent in 2022. Limited finances and time increase food insecurity, but other factors are at play: younger, on-campus, and international students are more likely to face food insecurity than the average student, whilst non-binary students are almost four times more likely to deal with food insecurity. Impacts on dietary quality persist even for students at catered colleges!
Since starting an intensive degree while living alone, I’ve had to realise firsthand the importance of eating healthy, fast, and cheap — particularly for your mental and academic wellbeing. Here’s my personal guide to beating food stress.
Grocery Hacks
I’ve kept my grocery bill under $25 a week this year, and no, I’m not living on air. The secret is in prioritising vegetables, which are generally cheaper, and meal prepping, which saves your time and mental health. I pick two to three meals I’ll eat on repeat for the week, and shop for those ingredients only.
Try to prioritise Aldi for cheap goods, but remember Coles and Woolworths have more options for groceries. Avoid Woolies Metro — they inflate prices! Asian markets are better-priced for greens. I go for cheap superfoods like tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, and capsicum. Try to avoid pre-packaged vegetables — they’re more expensive. Seasonal fruit and vegetables are cheaper for their abundance, and fresher, too. Right now, spinach, capsicum, citrus fruits, and pumpkins are in season.
I also shop for grains in bulk (brown rice, quinoa, rice noodles) and cheap lean proteins like chicken and fish. Shopping for meat from the deli instead of Coles can save a couple bucks and is generally better quality. Long-life milk is more cost-effective ($1.5 a litre) and buying tubs of yogurt instead of small serving sizes is easier on the pocket. Skipping overpriced packaged snacks and replacing them with portable fruits like bananas, apples, and mandarins can save a lot, too – that’s only 80 cents a snack!
If you don’t have time to meal prep
I’ve had particularly busy academic weeks where I lived off KitKats and Red Bulls – but please don’t do that. Your academics will suffer along with your mental health if you don’t regularly eat healthy carbs and fresh produce. There are ways to get around a busy schedule! Prioritise meals that don’t require cooking time, like salads, vegetable wraps, and sandwiches, and get yummy sauces so you actually feel like eating them. Ready-to-go veggies from Aldi can help you throw these together, but I mostly use some cheap combination of tomato, capsicum, spinach, and chicken.
If you don’t know what to cook
Food literacy can help you when you’re too tired to think. Here are my go-to recipes that are fast and healthy.
– Pesto chicken brown rice salad – so wholesome.
– Spiced chicken veggie wraps – fast lunches for busy mornings.
– Rice noodle stir fry – easy, yummy, and filling.
– Homemade pizza – use your leftover vegetables!
– Rice bowls – dump it in one plate and call it a meal.
It’s worth creating a recipe bank, particularly if you’re busy. Websites like NoMoneyNoTime and RecipeTinEats can help you create a rotation of recipes.
University Initiatives
If you haven’t yet used FoodHub: go. It’s the university’s food security initiative located in the Wentworth Building on Level Four, open five days a week. You get a ticket online, and you can grab up to five free items a day. They’ve got a lot of good long-life items: bread, cereal, pasta, sauces, and frozen foods.
The university also offers free breakfasts, dinners, and lunches on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, respectively. Check out the USU website to learn more.
When You Forget Your Lunch (Again)
We all have those days. You rush out of the door, totally forget your food, and suddenly you’re ready to drop $12 on a sad sandwich. But you can try this instead:
- Check if FoodHub tickets are still open — grab a free snack, like granola bars or cookies.
- Hit Broadway or a USU outlet for some fruit.
- If you’re lucky enough to have a locker, stash some long-life snacks for an emergency.
Cheap Eats
For something light, just walk to Broadway and find something cheap. Breadtop, GYG, any sushi place, and even Coles for a microwave meal can be an acceptable lunch.
If you want an actual sit-down meal, but still want to keep it cheap, there are a few gems around campus. Ozturk on Abercrombie Street gives you two big pizza slices for five dollars. And they’ll let you split it with a friend! Otogo in Ultimo sells a ten-dollar onigiri and karaage chicken combo meal with a drink — but go early, it sells out fast!
On Eating Well
With the limited time and finances of student life, it’s easy to believe that eating well is a luxury only the rich can afford. Particularly for students who live alone, it’s difficult to maintain a routine and manage the mental load of finances, cooking, and cleaning. But with a few tricks, surviving in the cost-of-living crisis can become more achievable.
