← The Survival Kit

REACH · The Survival Kit

Eat well on a little.Food is fuel, and taking care of yourself.

Set your number for the week, plan meals you can make in a dorm, and walk into the store with a list. If money runs out, there's free food near you too.

Your number this week

However much you have for food this week, type it here. Then add what you spend as you go, so you always know what’s left.

Stretch it: buy store brands, frozen vegetables and fruit (they keep and cost less), dry beans, rice, oats and eggs. Cook once, eat twice. Check your meal plan and dining dollars before you shop.

Plan your week

Pick a meal for any slot you want to plan. Leave the rest blank. Big-pot meals make several lunches.

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun

Your grocery list

Plan a few meals above and your list builds itself here.

Your number, plan and list are kept only in this browser so they’re here next time. Nothing is sent to EFF. Erase removes them.

Twenty cheap meals

Simple food from any grocery store. Most need only a microwave or one pot.

Food safety: refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat them within 3 to 4 days, or freeze them. Follow your dorm’s rules about hot plates and cooking appliances.

When money runs out

Running short on food is common in college, and it is not a personal failure. Free food is there for exactly this.

  1. Your campus food pantry. Most colleges have one. Ask the dean of students or basic needs office, or search your school’s site for “food pantry”. Ask about meal swipe donations too.
  2. SNAP (food stamps). Many students qualify through work, work-study or other exceptions. Check in two minutes with the Benefits Check.
  3. Swipe Out Hunger. A national nonprofit that helps campuses run pantries and meal swipe drives. See if your campus is part of it.
  4. Food near you. Call or text 211, or search your ZIP code on findhelp.org. The Kit’s My School, Honestly shows food banks and groceries near campus.
  5. Need help today? REACH Emergency builds a private plan around your school.