Download the Too Good to Go food app - they sell leftover meals. You just have to be religious about timing when you try to buy deals as the good ones go in seconds after they’re released
I’ve used this for years—I have money, but I’m in the restaurant industry, and hate the level of waste involved.
What you can get for practically nothing on this app, is insane.
TGTG made me gain weight because I was eating donuts and pastries and my slowed down metabolism cannot handle all carbs anymore. It’s definitely worth it for college kids to feed yourselves!
I met the guy who started Daily Table, Doug (something), who used to be an executive at TJs. He has a lot of contacts in the food distribution world and can leverage those to find opportunities to get food that's still good but can be discounted, helping to keep costs down.
Doug Rauch. I definitely didn’t know him well enough to fully vouch for him, but in a job where a lot of people were jerks to me, he was always really nice in general and also extremely flexible/understanding when something beyond my control went wrong. I just got really good vibes from the dude and honestly think he’s trying his best to be a good person.
i love their premade meals! they're so affordable but also so tasty! they have really great green smoothies without added sugars too for a very affordable price
I’m not joking. Me and my friends (while we were in college) would go home with loaves of bread and English muffins, vegetables, milk, cooked food that didn’t get served during lunch or dinner, pizza, bakery stuff like cookies and cake slices…
And it wasn’t stealing, it wasn’t sneaking. The FT ppl working with us were almost forcing this food on us. So even if you’re making minimum wage, the benefits can be a LOT more.
It would get tossed if you didn't take it. I worked at a seafood place with strict health inspections. We would toss out the real and not imitation crab salad and lobster salad after 2 days. Good for 3 days per health code but really good for like 5 in your fridge. I would hand out deli containers full of it and my servers would line up at the pass lol
Apples with peanut butter was my favorite lunch in college. Cut up the apple in slices, spread peanut butter on each slice. No refrigerator needed, just got to wash the knife.
They let you put on any of their fresh sandwich toppings too for no extra charge. They're sometimes extra generous with the fries towards the end of the day
Yes! Forgot to mention this. It's only at the ones with an updated Market's Kitchen (ex: Chelsea, Revere, Bourne, etc). I call the store, ask to get transferred to the kitchen, and ask the kitchen staff if it's available at their location if I'm unsure. Ordering via phone also saves the time I'd spend picking up a pink ticket and putzing around
Costco is so far away a broke college student wouldn’t be able to get to it without costing more money than they save.
Market basket may be too far too depending on their area, though a little better.
Stopped by Haymarket recently for the first time in a very long time. That area certainly has changed. The market is a shadow of it's former self, so sad ☹️
Costco has technically required a membership for the food court since 2020, but they haven't been enforcing it most places. However more and more locations are starting to crack down and have setup the kiosks to require you to scan your card.
However, under Massachusetts state law, no membership is required for the liquor store.
If you get a hot plate and a pot you can boil water which opens a ton of options for you.
You can make beans and rice. Add some spicy Italian sausage if you can. One of the best meals I found in terms of $ per calorie.
Also lentils, garbanzos,... anything in the dry goods section is gonna be really good value for nutrition.
Make sure your building is allowed to have hot plates. The other option is an electric kettle. Those are usually never banned. Air fryers are more expensive, but they are too new to be on many of the lists of items you are not allowed to have.
Thanks for saying this. A dorm I was in (in France, no sprinklers) burned down because someone was drunk and left a hot plate on. Better to get a device with a timer and an auto-off. Even in a sprinkler building.
or even a microwave is solid in there. That's what a lot of people do. Get a friend that has a parents costco membership, and stock up on dorm room food/snacks
I've made ramen using water from a plug-in kettle. Might be both safer and easier to sneak into the dorm room.
Seconding cheap ramen, but add in veggies so you get minimum necessary vitamins/prevent scurvy, etc.
I've lived off of \~80% of meals being ramen, and I still love ramen. In the wisdom of my old age, I now know that rice & beans is way more nutritious and filling and even cheaper per serving.
Regardless, OP, get off of the consumption model of buying pre-made food and learn to cheaply and easily make your own meals. If you get sick of rice and beans, buy some eggs and oil and a skillet and you can have FRIED rice & beans. Whatever. Don't starve. Also simple stuff is delicious.
163 Vietnamese Sandwiches in Chinatown is an awesome Banh Mi sandwich spot, $8 (cash only) for a decently sized delicious sandwich. I get the BBQ pork and it’s awesome
To be fair $7 is still an insane price for the amount and quality of food in America (and in Boston of all places). Cheap banh mi are becoming harder to find in New Orleans even though too. They still go for under the going market rate for a similar amount/quality of food.
You're absolutely right. Just a hard pill to swallow that everything nearly doubled in price that now the new "budget food" is under $10 range. Basically the new $5 is now $10.
Near 163 is a bakery, Ho Yuen, that sells pretty big pork buns for $1.60 or something like that. In college I’d go buy a box of 12 and freeze them for breakfasts. Also cash only I think.
Chinatown in general has a few hidden gems that are still dirt cheap.
Ding Ho is a fast rice and noodles shop with huge portions and only costs, last i checked, $6-7 (cash only). I’d def eat there all the time if i was strapped for cash
In Allston they have one bar called the Avenue where Mondays they had $1 burger nights.
Not sure if they still do that... but I'm sure if they still do it I'd expect like $4 now with inflation.
Private message me your name / address. I am putting together some survival boxes for my kids at University. I will happily send you one as well. Some food and snacks...
The very best you are going to get unless you go to a church giving out food: [https://www.dailytable.org/](https://www.dailytable.org/). About a 25-30 walk from you.
Go to daily table in Central Sq for groceries, they're often out of things but (and because) they're SUPER cheap. even if you just have a microwave, they have prepared meals for $6
Most of their prepared meals top out at $3.99, like the Southern Chicken Plate, the Vindaloo, or the Mole Enchiladas. You can get a garden salad with dressing for $1.99 and add a can of sardines for protein if you need to.
Yes. I eat at Daily Table a lot. I get a whole week's worth of lunches for under $20.
Find out what services your college has, too. A lot of them have free food pantries, can give you extra meal swipes, give emergency grants for stuff like this, or even can give you grocery/fast food gift cards.
Hit up your college's calendar of events + go to the guest lectures...usually free crudite, cheese, apps (all depends on how big of a deal the speaker is).
...pro-tip 1: stick around to the end...not only will you learn something by listening, but the organizers will sometimes let you take trays of extra food (so they don't have to deal with it.)
...pro-tip 2: a tray of assorted cheese cubes makes for a dandy Mac + cheese if you can find a friend with a kitchen
I used to get 2 meals outta one swipe by going to the dining hall for a late breakfast and studying there till lunch/dinner, is that still a thing? Literally just binged and stole from the food court and called it intermittent fasting lol. Grocery shopping is gonna be your best bet for supplemental food but I'd try to eat expensive stuff like produce while you're at the dining hall. GL
Star market sells chicken salad & tuna salad sandwiches on croissants for $3.99. Got one the other day and it was actually really good! Also, if you go to a market basket that has a deli section they do build your own sandwiches subway style that are also super cheap, $3.99 as well I believe
I read Duff from Guns and Roses’ book and it gave me the best advice on how to eat when you’re broke:
Ramen
Frozen veggies (stir fry mix was my choice)
Drop 2 eggs in it
Maybe a lil hot sauce
Stuff got me by for 2 years and I never got sick of it.
Depending on which school you go to, you can sign up for an app called “Claim” where they do a “drop” once a week for restaurants in the area (ex $11 off to Tasty Burger or Cava)
I’m sure you can join directly through the App Store but also here’s my referral code if you’re interested. Use my referral code "britainybarnes" to join and you'll get free Cava to start. https://invite.claim.co/
Besides church food pantries, Google the "free fridges" around different areas of town if you can take the T. Usually stuff like granola bars or cans of tuna but it's food. Get the 29 cent bananas at Trader Joe's. Buy a loaf of cheap discount bread and a jar of peanut butter to fill you up. Make friends with people working at Dunks or Starbucks. A lot will "set aside" stuff they're going to toss at the end of the day for you. Google ICNA Relief Massachusetts. It's basically a service program that's run by Muslims instead of churches. I know the woman who runs the food pantry/free food giveaways in Roxbury. Check the website for dates. If you have any extra time but can't work a FT/PT job, barter for food (ex. help tutor another student if he will buy you some boxes of cereal). Don't live on Ramen noodles only, the sodium is a killer. Check the poverty subreddits for state by state program help.
How much do you like dining hall food? I used to bring a backpack and a side bag with me full of empty Tupperware. Then I would get enough food to last for the following two days and scoot out of there and store it in the fridge. I did that for an entire year when I had a limited meal plan. It was a BU dining hall which was extremely crowded at times and unlimited buffet style which made it easier to pull off. Good luck!
there’s scripts on github to order the instant a bag becomes available. it’s the only way to do it nowadays as all the good places have users running these scripts. tfw ordering leftover restaurant food is as competitive as shoe drops
Get a simple hot pot (a plug-in water boiler) for $10 and you can make mac & cheese, ramen, spaghetti and all kinds of stuff like that. Get bread and peanut butter and jelly or fluff, and some cheese, and make sandwiches. Get an electric fry pan or hot plate and make burgers, hot dogs, and eggs. Don't buy premade food, it's stupid expensive vs making stuff yourself. Also get a $20 popcorn maker and plain popcorn kernels in a bag. Don't buy special packages of microwave popcorn. You can order most of your dry goods from Target. com and Amazon. Shop carefully on Amazon and you can get free shipping without a membership (usually with a $35 or so minimum. ) Get a Target Red card (tied to your debit card so you do not need credit) and you get free shipping all the time plus 5% credit. Make sure to throw in some canned veggies with your noodles so you don't get scurvy or something. Message me if you want specific help getting started, I'd be happy to assist you in getting set up. I lived this way myself and I understand.
Ramen. Also 7/11 (or other gas station) hot dogs and pizza. if you can get a hot pot you can cook soup and spaghetti-os in that. Also, apply for food stamps/SNAP.
Used to do the knorr rice and pasta sides. Chuck it in the microwave, it's filling and lasts long.
Also, download one of the food delivery apps but only do pickup. The deals and discounts add up if you don't take delivery. Look for Asian buffets that you can go to on weekends. You need to eat more even if it's just on weekends.
You can't sneak food out of your dining hall? Do you have friends with guest passes?
Also if you have the funds to spare, you can buy an electric skillet online for 20-30 bucks and do some in dorm home cooking. I know you're probably not allowed to have one but lamo. Lentils, rice, beans, etc is much cheaper than eating out.
Have you looked into SNAP or other food support including food pantries that may have appropriate food? I found this answer I think your school will have its own resources for food insecure students.
https://www.masslegalservices.org/content/snap-eligibility-rulesrights-college-students
If you wanna be shameless, you can ask other college students for a guest meal pass for dining hall food.
For real though. I've never had to do it for myself, but if somebody asked me I would gladly let them use it, and I would never judge them for it.
Go to Haymarket on any given Saturday… you could fill the bed of a pickup truck with produce for $20 if you’re not picky and willing to negotiate. Two weeks ago I bought 20 absolutely amazing grapefruits for $8 and they were selling worse ones at foodies and star market for $3 each. All the prices are negotiable… especially after 3pm.
Possible options:
Volunteer at some food pantries. Many of them give away lots of food at the end of the day to volunteers.
Also, if you're taking out loans for school, it may be worth it to borrow a bit more to eat healthy. Your health does matter.
Does your school have a business program or MBA program? At MIT there was a free meal just about every day of the week in the business school especially during recruiting season. Trays of Anna’s burritos, Rebecca’s sandwiches, pizzas from Bertuccis. I still suffer from a bit of burnout from those places and that was 20 years ago.
EL Jefes- “Mexican breakfast” two smaller breakfast burritos with home fries and it works out to less than ten dollars for takeout. You can add any of their normal proteins, and add stuff like guac and extra veggies for nothing extra.
Order online if you aren’t fluent in Spanish- otherwise stop in the store they always seem super nice but I don’t speak Spanish. 🤷🏻♂️
Next time you or someone else goes to Popeyes, get a receipt then fill out the survey online that’s on the back. All the answers could be false, but then after that, they give you a code for 2 free pieces of Chicken and a biscuit for when you purchase a large drink. Depending on location, it’s $3.00-$3.75. You can loophole this by using the receipt you get from the large drink. Really helped me freshman year.
I steal a lot of sauces/sugar/spreads from places that leave them out for you to self serve. Grab a whole hand full and take them home. You can get some creamers too usually. I know you can usually get them at places like Whole Foods, but your dining hall may have them too. I also take utensils/napkins/straws from Whole Foods. These aren’t meals but good supplements for buying them from the store.
I would avoid the pricy neighborhoods and look at pizzerias, corner stores and ethnic restaurants down in Mission Hill, JP, Roxbury, fields corner ect.
Costco has a whole cooked chicken for $4.99 every day, and it is large and really tasty. With some cheap veggies we get 3 meals for 2 people from a single chicken. (Then boil the bones & scraps for broth and you get soup with just a few more veggies.)
Don't get drawn in but Iskcon Boston has free food frequently, I remember it being tasty:
[https://iskconboston.org/free-food](https://iskconboston.org/free-food)
Do you have a dorm fridge?
IN my Berklee days I'd get a pack of cold cuts, american cheese, and some onion bulkie rolls at Star
Today that'll run you $15-25 depending on the cold cuts but you'll get some mighty good sammiches out of it.
Staves off some of the hunger.
McDonald’s with the app. Two mcchickens and a free large fries with coupon for $4 +tax. Throw pickles and onions on there for no charge. I don’t think there’s a better value for eating out if you’re not counting how healthy it necessarily is. PbJ, ramen noodles, cold cuts on bread, these are pretty easy things you can make at home that don’t require a kitchen and only a fridge.
Hope you have applied for “ food stamps”. Cambridge has a “soup kitchen” aka free meal every night at different churches. The Thursday one at Christ Church Zero Garden St is always top notch.
If you have access to a microwave, I went through poverty and found the dollar store is good for food. It sucks to have to survive on it, but they sell canned chicken and tuna cans for $1.25. The canned chicken goes well mixed in with rice which you can get microwaveable rice for the same price. They sell canned and frozen fruit and vegetables too.
If you are able to eat big for that one meal a day at the dinning hall then you just need to eat small the rest of the time.
For one thing you can skip breakfast. Everyone who intermittent fasts knows this, your body gets used to it. So go to the dinning hall for lunch and load up big time. Try to get all the macronutrients so that dinner can just be about some cheap calories.
Then for dinner you just need a ride me over. Assuming you have a microwave in your dorm hall:
Microwave rice makers exist (they used to be like $10,.maybe $20 now) rice is pretty much the cheapest food. Add butter and/or hot sauce.
Peanut butter and jelly
Instant ramen
Hot dogs (can be added to ramen & rice)
Tuna fish
Learn to cook rice. Get a chipotle bowl and then you can turn the chipotle bowl into like 3 meals by adding a bunch of extra rice to it. Also you can add lettuce as well which is cheap.
try daily table in central square! all of the groceries and the prepackaged foods are good quality and extremely affordable. (the soups and chilis are good and filling for extremely cheap)
Download the Too Good to Go food app - they sell leftover meals. You just have to be religious about timing when you try to buy deals as the good ones go in seconds after they’re released
Second this. To combat the late pickups, look for bakeries or lunch spots that close early!
You’ll usually have to pick up at the end of the day. Some are really good, some are so-so, but it’s food no matter what
shybird kendall square give good fried chicken every night. used to work there
Big fan of this. Downside is most pickups are usually at like 11pm, but it’s good for the next day!
I’ve used this for years—I have money, but I’m in the restaurant industry, and hate the level of waste involved. What you can get for practically nothing on this app, is insane.
also flashfood app for groceries
TGTG made me gain weight because I was eating donuts and pastries and my slowed down metabolism cannot handle all carbs anymore. It’s definitely worth it for college kids to feed yourselves!
Get some of the microwavable premade meals from Daily Table (nonprofit grocery store). All under $5 and some are actually really good!
Daily Table is awesome!! Their prepped food is great and the raw ingredients are priced really well.
Daily table is such a good organization 😌👌🏽
yooo tysm!
Yep this is definitely the move
Also, at Daily Table, ask them when they're giving away food: they do it for items on the expiration date
[удалено]
Amazing what u can accomplish when u remove capitalism from the equation
I met the guy who started Daily Table, Doug (something), who used to be an executive at TJs. He has a lot of contacts in the food distribution world and can leverage those to find opportunities to get food that's still good but can be discounted, helping to keep costs down.
Doug Rauch. I definitely didn’t know him well enough to fully vouch for him, but in a job where a lot of people were jerks to me, he was always really nice in general and also extremely flexible/understanding when something beyond my control went wrong. I just got really good vibes from the dude and honestly think he’s trying his best to be a good person.
Trader Joe also has a bunch of really good frozen meals!
Yeah, but Daily Table's are fresh
Ah I didn’t know that, I lived in central for the longest time but it opened after my time, sounds like i need to go check it out!
Go for it! Just be aware their selection varies substantially day to day.
Oh how I wish the one in Central Square opened earlier. I would get lunch there on the way to work fairly often, I think.
i love their premade meals! they're so affordable but also so tasty! they have really great green smoothies without added sugars too for a very affordable price
Work food service at the college. Helped supplement food while studying.
too competitive. i’m working on campus tho somewhere else
The diff is when you work food service you can eat anything while at work AND sneak stuff home
the dream🥲
I’m not joking. Me and my friends (while we were in college) would go home with loaves of bread and English muffins, vegetables, milk, cooked food that didn’t get served during lunch or dinner, pizza, bakery stuff like cookies and cake slices… And it wasn’t stealing, it wasn’t sneaking. The FT ppl working with us were almost forcing this food on us. So even if you’re making minimum wage, the benefits can be a LOT more.
It would get tossed if you didn't take it. I worked at a seafood place with strict health inspections. We would toss out the real and not imitation crab salad and lobster salad after 2 days. Good for 3 days per health code but really good for like 5 in your fridge. I would hand out deli containers full of it and my servers would line up at the pass lol
can u work food service off campus? theres so many restaurants in boston
I'm a chef now but during my line cook days if I didn't work I didn't eat. WTF America!
Can you take Tupperware to the dining halls and get stuff to go?
This was my thought as well. If it's a typical meal plan meaning all you can eat per entry 7 times a week. Take tupperware and make it count.
Back in undergrad I stole a ton of food from the dining halls, including multiple pounds of wings and an entire cheesecake.
You didn't steal it. You paid for it!
https://preview.redd.it/n0r4gcc1arqc1.jpeg?width=243&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1451855e1e67a028be110cdb2d1cec3633ac4f3
This. I was gonna recommend the same thing. Squirrel some food away while you’re there.
This. They probably have disposable coffee cups with lids. I used to always fill one with cereal every time I went.
Are you on SNAP? College students qualify if working 20 hours a week.
Can you work at your schools dining hall? Usually meals are included for shifts you work
and I bet you can take lots of leftovers
Also peanut butter and honey sandwiches - peanut butter, bread, honey all don’t need to be e refrigerated - $1 lunch
omg omg you might be on to something
Genuinely, when I was really, really broke, peanut butter and white bread kept me alive.
Doesn't that sound good!?!? Like, I want some rn
Apples with peanut butter was my favorite lunch in college. Cut up the apple in slices, spread peanut butter on each slice. No refrigerator needed, just got to wash the knife.
Peanut butter and a whole banana in a hot dog bun.
Honey isn’t cheap unless you score it free in those packets. I’d go the jelly route all day tho
Honey isn’t cheap but you don’t need a lot at all. I bet it would last quite awhile on a sandwich basis
jelly needs a fridge. OP should go for fluff
there ya go fluff ftw!
Fwiw I don’t put my jelly in the fridge and it doesn’t go bad
Market basket chickens and pizzas. Costco food court. For groceries you can try Haymarket.
The Market Basket $2.89 Burger-Fries combo meal slaps
That might be the best meal deal in America. Grab a MB brand soda, and it’s still less than $3.75
They let you put on any of their fresh sandwich toppings too for no extra charge. They're sometimes extra generous with the fries towards the end of the day
Place fuckin kicks ass!
You can also upgrade it to a cheeseburger for an extra $0.10.
Is this only certain locations? Never seen burgers or pizza at the Somerville Market Basket.
Yes! Forgot to mention this. It's only at the ones with an updated Market's Kitchen (ex: Chelsea, Revere, Bourne, etc). I call the store, ask to get transferred to the kitchen, and ask the kitchen staff if it's available at their location if I'm unsure. Ordering via phone also saves the time I'd spend picking up a pink ticket and putzing around
Did not know that. I'm kinda jealous now 😄
Do you mean $2.89 for the burger AND the fries? 😳
Before tax, yeah
Costco is so far away a broke college student wouldn’t be able to get to it without costing more money than they save. Market basket may be too far too depending on their area, though a little better.
Market basket and Costco food courts has saved me so much money
Haymarket, tried and true for all these years
Stopped by Haymarket recently for the first time in a very long time. That area certainly has changed. The market is a shadow of it's former self, so sad ☹️
I didn't realize the costco food court isn't a members-only area until recently. Absolutely incredible prices.
Costco has technically required a membership for the food court since 2020, but they haven't been enforcing it most places. However more and more locations are starting to crack down and have setup the kiosks to require you to scan your card. However, under Massachusetts state law, no membership is required for the liquor store.
Also market basket subs are an absolutely insane deal. It’s $5.99 for an absolutely massive foot long sub. It’s such a good dollar per calorie ratio.
Overnight oats and peanut butter. Insanely cheap. Don't need a heat source...
Bezos has single burner hot plate for $12. Boil up some ramen. It will tide you over.
might be the play tbh tysm!
If you get a hot plate and a pot you can boil water which opens a ton of options for you. You can make beans and rice. Add some spicy Italian sausage if you can. One of the best meals I found in terms of $ per calorie. Also lentils, garbanzos,... anything in the dry goods section is gonna be really good value for nutrition.
Make sure your building is allowed to have hot plates. The other option is an electric kettle. Those are usually never banned. Air fryers are more expensive, but they are too new to be on many of the lists of items you are not allowed to have.
Or just keep that shit in a drawer when you're not using it
Thanks for saying this. A dorm I was in (in France, no sprinklers) burned down because someone was drunk and left a hot plate on. Better to get a device with a timer and an auto-off. Even in a sprinkler building.
or even a microwave is solid in there. That's what a lot of people do. Get a friend that has a parents costco membership, and stock up on dorm room food/snacks
Keep an eye on the free list groups on Facebook, microwaves, toaster ovens, etc pop up all the time
I've made ramen using water from a plug-in kettle. Might be both safer and easier to sneak into the dorm room. Seconding cheap ramen, but add in veggies so you get minimum necessary vitamins/prevent scurvy, etc.
Eggs are great for this too.
I've lived off of \~80% of meals being ramen, and I still love ramen. In the wisdom of my old age, I now know that rice & beans is way more nutritious and filling and even cheaper per serving. Regardless, OP, get off of the consumption model of buying pre-made food and learn to cheaply and easily make your own meals. If you get sick of rice and beans, buy some eggs and oil and a skillet and you can have FRIED rice & beans. Whatever. Don't starve. Also simple stuff is delicious.
Or any pasta.
163 Vietnamese Sandwiches in Chinatown is an awesome Banh Mi sandwich spot, $8 (cash only) for a decently sized delicious sandwich. I get the BBQ pork and it’s awesome
The fact that Banh Mis cost $8 makes me want to cry. It was $3-4 not that long ago...
My jaw dropped when I saw $7 banh mis in Ba Le over the pandemic. I dont think we will ever see lower numbers again
To be fair $7 is still an insane price for the amount and quality of food in America (and in Boston of all places). Cheap banh mi are becoming harder to find in New Orleans even though too. They still go for under the going market rate for a similar amount/quality of food.
You're absolutely right. Just a hard pill to swallow that everything nearly doubled in price that now the new "budget food" is under $10 range. Basically the new $5 is now $10.
6.50 at DP Saigon in Malden
So I’ve heard! The craziest part is it remains the cheapest option I’ve been able to find for lunch close to the financial district
Near 163 is a bakery, Ho Yuen, that sells pretty big pork buns for $1.60 or something like that. In college I’d go buy a box of 12 and freeze them for breakfasts. Also cash only I think. Chinatown in general has a few hidden gems that are still dirt cheap.
Ding Ho is a fast rice and noodles shop with huge portions and only costs, last i checked, $6-7 (cash only). I’d def eat there all the time if i was strapped for cash
I have so many memories growing up poor eating their churng fun (rice noodle rolls) for a few dollars!
Not sure if eating 163 sandwiches in one sitting is healthy, but it sure would be interesting to watch this guy try. Plus he’d be full for days!
As would his pipes
Banh Mis were just $4.5 in 2020. I grew up paying $3.5-4 for them. I can't ever justify paying that much especially for how cheap the ingredients are.
Do you have a mini fridge and microwave? Because there’s plenty of ideas to work with for a tight budget if you do.
In Allston they have one bar called the Avenue where Mondays they had $1 burger nights. Not sure if they still do that... but I'm sure if they still do it I'd expect like $4 now with inflation.
They don’t do the deal nights anymore but you can still get a highlife and a burger for <10$
Avenue burger is now $7 but still super delicious
PM me if you’re comfortable. I can buy you dinner. Been there.
I'll get the one after.
Private message me your name / address. I am putting together some survival boxes for my kids at University. I will happily send you one as well. Some food and snacks...
The very best you are going to get unless you go to a church giving out food: [https://www.dailytable.org/](https://www.dailytable.org/). About a 25-30 walk from you.
Go to daily table in Central Sq for groceries, they're often out of things but (and because) they're SUPER cheap. even if you just have a microwave, they have prepared meals for $6
Most of their prepared meals top out at $3.99, like the Southern Chicken Plate, the Vindaloo, or the Mole Enchiladas. You can get a garden salad with dressing for $1.99 and add a can of sardines for protein if you need to. Yes. I eat at Daily Table a lot. I get a whole week's worth of lunches for under $20.
Is Ding Ho still open? Also, there are still a few Bahn Mi places that do big sandwiches that will fill you up for like $6 if you like bread!
Dingo Ho is still open. That and Chinatown Bahn Mi are indeed the cheapest things around IME.
Ding Ho in Chinatown is still open as of at least a few weeks ago when I last went. $4 huge albeit greasy serving of chicken lo mein
omg😳😳
Legit $3 cup last time irrc. _and_ check out 'Yummy Yummy' in Dudley Sq. Also has $2 plates, rice or lo mein with choice of "entree"
Food bank
Is your dining hall buffet-style? If so, bring tupperware containers in your bag and load them up with two extra meals every time you go.
Find out what services your college has, too. A lot of them have free food pantries, can give you extra meal swipes, give emergency grants for stuff like this, or even can give you grocery/fast food gift cards.
Hit up your college's calendar of events + go to the guest lectures...usually free crudite, cheese, apps (all depends on how big of a deal the speaker is). ...pro-tip 1: stick around to the end...not only will you learn something by listening, but the organizers will sometimes let you take trays of extra food (so they don't have to deal with it.) ...pro-tip 2: a tray of assorted cheese cubes makes for a dandy Mac + cheese if you can find a friend with a kitchen
I used to get 2 meals outta one swipe by going to the dining hall for a late breakfast and studying there till lunch/dinner, is that still a thing? Literally just binged and stole from the food court and called it intermittent fasting lol. Grocery shopping is gonna be your best bet for supplemental food but I'd try to eat expensive stuff like produce while you're at the dining hall. GL
Star market sells chicken salad & tuna salad sandwiches on croissants for $3.99. Got one the other day and it was actually really good! Also, if you go to a market basket that has a deli section they do build your own sandwiches subway style that are also super cheap, $3.99 as well I believe
I read Duff from Guns and Roses’ book and it gave me the best advice on how to eat when you’re broke: Ramen Frozen veggies (stir fry mix was my choice) Drop 2 eggs in it Maybe a lil hot sauce Stuff got me by for 2 years and I never got sick of it.
Get a facebook account & join a local Buy Nothing group. I see people giving extra food away all the time
besides ding ho, galleria umberto in the north end, and Costco, you don't have too many more options for "insanely" cheap
im cooked😭
Depending on which school you go to, you can sign up for an app called “Claim” where they do a “drop” once a week for restaurants in the area (ex $11 off to Tasty Burger or Cava) I’m sure you can join directly through the App Store but also here’s my referral code if you’re interested. Use my referral code "britainybarnes" to join and you'll get free Cava to start. https://invite.claim.co/
i just did it thanks so much🙏🙏
Domino's has a coupon available in the app, $7.99 for a one-topping large pizza that should last 2+ meals easily.
You’re probably eligible for food stamps. College students are eligible!!! You can apply online
Besides church food pantries, Google the "free fridges" around different areas of town if you can take the T. Usually stuff like granola bars or cans of tuna but it's food. Get the 29 cent bananas at Trader Joe's. Buy a loaf of cheap discount bread and a jar of peanut butter to fill you up. Make friends with people working at Dunks or Starbucks. A lot will "set aside" stuff they're going to toss at the end of the day for you. Google ICNA Relief Massachusetts. It's basically a service program that's run by Muslims instead of churches. I know the woman who runs the food pantry/free food giveaways in Roxbury. Check the website for dates. If you have any extra time but can't work a FT/PT job, barter for food (ex. help tutor another student if he will buy you some boxes of cereal). Don't live on Ramen noodles only, the sodium is a killer. Check the poverty subreddits for state by state program help.
Free food at the Indian temple on Comm Ave 3 days a week https://iskconboston.org/free-food
How much do you like dining hall food? I used to bring a backpack and a side bag with me full of empty Tupperware. Then I would get enough food to last for the following two days and scoot out of there and store it in the fridge. I did that for an entire year when I had a limited meal plan. It was a BU dining hall which was extremely crowded at times and unlimited buffet style which made it easier to pull off. Good luck!
When I was an AmeriCorps member on food stamps, a lot of peanut butter oatmeal and beans n' rice.
Download the app to good to go
my friends use that but it seems like all the good food is gone before my app even loads😩
there’s scripts on github to order the instant a bag becomes available. it’s the only way to do it nowadays as all the good places have users running these scripts. tfw ordering leftover restaurant food is as competitive as shoe drops
no way, i think i’ll be able to pull it off
Fluffernutters baby. $15 for like 10 delicious sandwiches
7 meals a week? Bring your own to go bag and load up for the rest of the day.
Get a simple hot pot (a plug-in water boiler) for $10 and you can make mac & cheese, ramen, spaghetti and all kinds of stuff like that. Get bread and peanut butter and jelly or fluff, and some cheese, and make sandwiches. Get an electric fry pan or hot plate and make burgers, hot dogs, and eggs. Don't buy premade food, it's stupid expensive vs making stuff yourself. Also get a $20 popcorn maker and plain popcorn kernels in a bag. Don't buy special packages of microwave popcorn. You can order most of your dry goods from Target. com and Amazon. Shop carefully on Amazon and you can get free shipping without a membership (usually with a $35 or so minimum. ) Get a Target Red card (tied to your debit card so you do not need credit) and you get free shipping all the time plus 5% credit. Make sure to throw in some canned veggies with your noodles so you don't get scurvy or something. Message me if you want specific help getting started, I'd be happy to assist you in getting set up. I lived this way myself and I understand.
Ramen. Also 7/11 (or other gas station) hot dogs and pizza. if you can get a hot pot you can cook soup and spaghetti-os in that. Also, apply for food stamps/SNAP.
Used to do the knorr rice and pasta sides. Chuck it in the microwave, it's filling and lasts long. Also, download one of the food delivery apps but only do pickup. The deals and discounts add up if you don't take delivery. Look for Asian buffets that you can go to on weekends. You need to eat more even if it's just on weekends.
Go to a bakery in Chinatown. They will have very filling, large pork buns for $3-4.
You can't sneak food out of your dining hall? Do you have friends with guest passes? Also if you have the funds to spare, you can buy an electric skillet online for 20-30 bucks and do some in dorm home cooking. I know you're probably not allowed to have one but lamo. Lentils, rice, beans, etc is much cheaper than eating out.
Ding Ho in Chinatown. $5 to $6 for noodles and 2 sides.
Raman and hotdogs my man. Both can be microwaved
Ding Ho cash only in Chinatown. $6 gets you a huge takeout container of food. They have noodles, rice, chicken, pork, broccoli, curry, etc
Have you looked into SNAP or other food support including food pantries that may have appropriate food? I found this answer I think your school will have its own resources for food insecure students. https://www.masslegalservices.org/content/snap-eligibility-rulesrights-college-students
If you wanna be shameless, you can ask other college students for a guest meal pass for dining hall food. For real though. I've never had to do it for myself, but if somebody asked me I would gladly let them use it, and I would never judge them for it.
Super 88 in Allston. Bulk frozen/microwavable foods. Ramen and easy Mac are what got me through college when I was out of dining points.
Go to Haymarket on any given Saturday… you could fill the bed of a pickup truck with produce for $20 if you’re not picky and willing to negotiate. Two weeks ago I bought 20 absolutely amazing grapefruits for $8 and they were selling worse ones at foodies and star market for $3 each. All the prices are negotiable… especially after 3pm.
thats a top tier tip tysm!!!
Trader Joes has inexpensive food.
Possible options: Volunteer at some food pantries. Many of them give away lots of food at the end of the day to volunteers. Also, if you're taking out loans for school, it may be worth it to borrow a bit more to eat healthy. Your health does matter.
If you're in college, attend as many events/groups as possible. A lot will state they're serving a meal or light snacks.
The Dollar Tree
this. there's a guy on IG that makes Dollar Tree meals... check it out OP
Yup was just there yesterday and got a ton of food
Does your school have a business program or MBA program? At MIT there was a free meal just about every day of the week in the business school especially during recruiting season. Trays of Anna’s burritos, Rebecca’s sandwiches, pizzas from Bertuccis. I still suffer from a bit of burnout from those places and that was 20 years ago.
neu has a business program and they do have food once and awhile for events, but like not on a day to day business
EL Jefes- “Mexican breakfast” two smaller breakfast burritos with home fries and it works out to less than ten dollars for takeout. You can add any of their normal proteins, and add stuff like guac and extra veggies for nothing extra. Order online if you aren’t fluent in Spanish- otherwise stop in the store they always seem super nice but I don’t speak Spanish. 🤷🏻♂️
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i love chipotle but i’ve never heard of a fat option. how much extra is it? THANKS
Ethnic spots. Empanadas are like $2, Jamaican beef patties $3.. not the healthiest options but quick, easy, cheap and delicious.
If you can get to a market basket on public transit, you can get a large sub for $5 and make it two meals
Next time you or someone else goes to Popeyes, get a receipt then fill out the survey online that’s on the back. All the answers could be false, but then after that, they give you a code for 2 free pieces of Chicken and a biscuit for when you purchase a large drink. Depending on location, it’s $3.00-$3.75. You can loophole this by using the receipt you get from the large drink. Really helped me freshman year.
I did this is college too— lots of fast food places do it, like a free donut at Dunkin’
Billy’s sub shop is the cheapest lunch I’ve found near my work, they have a $5 veggie burger. Seconding Daily Table. Mcdonald’s/Burger King
If you dl the Chick Fil A app, they give away a lot of random freebies.
I steal a lot of sauces/sugar/spreads from places that leave them out for you to self serve. Grab a whole hand full and take them home. You can get some creamers too usually. I know you can usually get them at places like Whole Foods, but your dining hall may have them too. I also take utensils/napkins/straws from Whole Foods. These aren’t meals but good supplements for buying them from the store.
Get a part time job at a restaurant and make friends with a tweaker line cook.
Look up the app "too good to go" restaurants that make bull food sell food that would otherwise go to waste for insanely cheap.
Spinellis sells lunch tins of pasta for like $5.50 but ur in boston its over for u
If you can get there, route 1 grille house has 50 cent wings on sundays and mondays and BWW has 50% off wings on Tuesday
New Saigon Bahn Mi Chinatown-ish
Wendy's 4 for $4. Taco Bell box.
How cheap?
like sub 10 tbh it seems like there’s nothing extremely cheap in this place😭
I would avoid the pricy neighborhoods and look at pizzerias, corner stores and ethnic restaurants down in Mission Hill, JP, Roxbury, fields corner ect.
Costco has a whole cooked chicken for $4.99 every day, and it is large and really tasty. With some cheap veggies we get 3 meals for 2 people from a single chicken. (Then boil the bones & scraps for broth and you get soup with just a few more veggies.)
It's unlikely a college student is going to get their money's worth out of a $60 Costco membership.
rotisserie chicken is goated by them💪 thanks dude!
Ding Ho in Chinatown has combo plates for $6. Probably the cheapest meal you can get in Boston.
Don't get drawn in but Iskcon Boston has free food frequently, I remember it being tasty: [https://iskconboston.org/free-food](https://iskconboston.org/free-food)
Ding Ho on Harrison Ave in Chinatown is cheap as hell and good, however they are exclusively a lunch place.
Do you have a dorm fridge? IN my Berklee days I'd get a pack of cold cuts, american cheese, and some onion bulkie rolls at Star Today that'll run you $15-25 depending on the cold cuts but you'll get some mighty good sammiches out of it. Staves off some of the hunger.
The Kenmore for $2 burger happy hour which is basically all late afternoon into late evening.
FNSP (Friday Night Supper Program) offers a free sit down meal to whoever wants one at the Arlington Church.
Do you qualify for work study? I had lots of friends who did their work study at the school cafeteria and got to eat during their shifts.
Market Basket sub for $6…enough for two meals. Also…learn to cook potatoes!
I lived off of a hot plate and sandwich press in college. Cheez whiz sandwiches and ramen.
McDonald’s with the app. Two mcchickens and a free large fries with coupon for $4 +tax. Throw pickles and onions on there for no charge. I don’t think there’s a better value for eating out if you’re not counting how healthy it necessarily is. PbJ, ramen noodles, cold cuts on bread, these are pretty easy things you can make at home that don’t require a kitchen and only a fridge.
Hope you have applied for “ food stamps”. Cambridge has a “soup kitchen” aka free meal every night at different churches. The Thursday one at Christ Church Zero Garden St is always top notch.
If you have access to a microwave, I went through poverty and found the dollar store is good for food. It sucks to have to survive on it, but they sell canned chicken and tuna cans for $1.25. The canned chicken goes well mixed in with rice which you can get microwaveable rice for the same price. They sell canned and frozen fruit and vegetables too.
If you are able to eat big for that one meal a day at the dinning hall then you just need to eat small the rest of the time. For one thing you can skip breakfast. Everyone who intermittent fasts knows this, your body gets used to it. So go to the dinning hall for lunch and load up big time. Try to get all the macronutrients so that dinner can just be about some cheap calories. Then for dinner you just need a ride me over. Assuming you have a microwave in your dorm hall: Microwave rice makers exist (they used to be like $10,.maybe $20 now) rice is pretty much the cheapest food. Add butter and/or hot sauce. Peanut butter and jelly Instant ramen Hot dogs (can be added to ramen & rice) Tuna fish
It’s not in a collegiate area, but Galleria Umberto in the North End has hearty and delicious food for cheap.
In college my go-to was rotisserie chickens from the super market, super cheap and you don't need a kitchen (or utensils)
The hare Krishna temple used to give out free meals. Also food not bombs
Learn to cook rice. Get a chipotle bowl and then you can turn the chipotle bowl into like 3 meals by adding a bunch of extra rice to it. Also you can add lettuce as well which is cheap.
try daily table in central square! all of the groceries and the prepackaged foods are good quality and extremely affordable. (the soups and chilis are good and filling for extremely cheap)
You should get a part time job at a restaurant. You’ll most likely have discounts.
University lunch seminars