Young people become vegetarians for a variety of reasons. They may have been raised that way at home or become disenchanted with eating meat for any number of reasons. When away from home in college, eating vegetarian can be a difficult habit to maintain. There are many temptations and some students may think that their options are limited; however, there are different ways that a student can not only find vegetarian food, but save money buying it.
Grocery Stores
The produce section is often the least expensive section of many grocery stores. The canned goods aisle is usually second in that competition. Finding fresh fruits and vegetables is easy. Items like bean sprouts, green beans, carrots, kiwifruit, bananas and peaches are affordable in season and can be combined with other foods to create a filling meal. Canned goods and dried pasta are also affordable options. Using grocery store coupons will help to lower the cost further. While fresh produce and canned goods are practical choices for students in apartments, houses or suites with refrigerators and stoves, they are less practical for those living in dorms.
Vegetarian Restaurants
Vegetarian restaurants are hard to find in small towns and sometimes even in big cities. Vegan establishments are becoming more popular, but are still less common. Instead, most restaurants now offer meatless choices for their vegetarian customers and those with other dietary restrictions. An incentive to eat out, restaurant coupons are easy to come by in college towns, especially ecoupons. They may offer a buy-one-get-one deal or a discount coupon.
Cafeteria Plan
Most university cafeterias offer a wide variety of foods for every taste in town. Vegetarians are not new to school chefs, and many offer a selection of meatless meals daily. Salad bars and pasta bars are popular choices, as is the infamous sandwich station. For a change of pace form the three meals a day in the dining hall, students living on campus may also find other eateries in the student union or just a few blocks away on foot.
Home Grown
For students lucky enough to find a room to rent in a house off-campus, a small garden plot in the backyard is ideal. A vegetable garden is difficult to maintain between classes and study time, but doable with a group of gardeners. Another option is container gardening. Seeds can be grown in pots indoors or outdoors and later yield an abundance of food that rewards the effort.