College food budgets in 2025: What’s eating your money?

By Carolyn Morris | Published on October 21, 2025

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College life often revolves around food and going with friends. Not all students pay for meal plans and even those who do occasionally splurge on a night out with friends. With so much social pressure to go out, it’s hard to decide what percent of your income should be spent on food when you’re in college.

Food costs—for grocery shopping, takeout, meal kits, and dining out—are frequently flagged by financial planners as discretionary spending that can be reduced in a household budget. Especially if you’re in college and a household of one.

How much does the average college student spend on food?

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In 2023, Americans spent 58.5 percent of their food budgets on restaurants or takeout meals – significantly more than food made at home. The average college student spends $410 eating off campus according to the Education Data Initiative.

The average on-campus meal plan costs $450 per month, but the price can vary from state to state. When it comes to spending on groceries, the average college student spends anywhere from $272 – $429 a month.

If you add that up, it means you could be spending over a thousand dollars every month on food and groceries alone!

Those who opt for a daily latte at a hip coffee shop can expect to spend $63 a month. And, binge drinkers are likely to spend almost a third of their monthly grocery budget on alcohol alone.

For college-aged students, food is about personal values

For Gen Z, buying food is about more than cost alone. One-third of Gen Z said sustainability played a role in their food-buying habits. College-aged people want to know where their food comes from and if it aligns with their values. However, many organic and sustainable food options are more expensive than their conventional counterparts which doesn’t bode well for students on a budget.

One bright spot is that vegan or vegetarian diets tend to be more budget-friendly than a meat-heavy diet. Knowing all of this, you might be asking yourself, “What should my food budget be in college?”

What is a good food budget for a college student?

There’s no hard and fast rule because the cost of living is different across the country. It also depends on what’s most important to you when it comes to your diet.

The USDA offers food plans that show how much you can expect to spend on groceries depending on your budget and household. These plans are based on current food prices and don’t include how much people actually spend when they’re buying groceries.

Here’s a breakdown of approximately how much you can expect to spend a month under each plan:

• Thrifty food plan: $242 – $303
• Moderate cost: $378 – $319
• Liberal cost: $461 – $407

You can use these plans as a guide to understand how much your average food spend compares to others in your category.

Do a grocery audit to see where you can make cuts

Many budgeting bloggers recommend doing a grocery audit to understand how you’re spending before cutting down on expenses.

Here’s how you can do an audit in a few minutes:

1. Write down what you like to eat
2. Write your target budget for groceries, restaurants, and takeout
3. Write how much money is already going toward these expenses (if you’re already spending on these things)
4. Peek inside your freezer, fridge, and pantry. What do you have? Can you use it to stretch future meals, like pasta, rice, or canned food? Do you have a bunch of veggies that went bad because you didn’t use them? Be honest with yourself about your eating habits VS. the habits you want to have, like eating healthier.
5. See where you can reduce spending without depriving yourself. Can you substitute some of your foods for cheaper versions without sacrificing what you most enjoy?

By doing a grocery audit you’ll learn more about how you eat, which will make it easier to identify where you need to save. If your vegetables always go bad, you might want to consider getting frozen ones, which in many cases are just as nutritious. Love to go out for pasta dinners? Host a potluck instead with your friends and ask each person to bring their own pasta dish.

Often, small behavior changes can help curb costs or reduce the need for impulse buys. If you’re a new college student, make time to create a budget and use the time to do your grocery audit.

Organic vs. non-organic: Is it worth the price?

Nutritionists, as well as modern home economists, frequently point out that, while organic foods are “feel-good” foods for many shoppers (it’s nice to support the local organic farm or certain growing practices), they’re also more expensive on average.

To keep costs low, consider picking and choosing which items to buy organic. The Environmental Working Group compiles a list of the so-called Dirty Dozen produce items that are best purchased organic since non-organic growing practices for these items may expose you to more pesticides.

EWG also publishes a list of the Clean 15 items that are the least likely to contain pesticide residues and thus can be bought non-organic.

Convenience isn’t great for your bank account

The rise of online delivery (for groceries or takeout) and meal kits, which sell a complete meal’s worth of pre-measured raw ingredients for make-at-home recipes, create more ways to spend.

On the one hand, having groceries delivered saves valuable time you might use to study. On the other hand, online grocery shopping may cost more than the IRL version. Grocery deliveries often come with hefty fees and tips for delivery people. The same can be said for takeout delivery. It’s great to get that pizza delivered to your dorm, but you also have to pay for delivery and tip the driver. If you choose the pickup option, you’ll often save a significant amount over time.

Pre-assembled meal kits like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron offer convenience and if you don’t know how to cook, easy-to-follow recipes. Factor or other pre-cooked meal kits are a great option for students who don’t want to cook. Many even come with a free or low-cost trial of the service.

The average middle-of-the-road or low-cost meal kit costs 50 percent less than the average takeout order. Of course, this depends on where you are, the kind of meal kit you get, and what kind of takeout you typically order.

Signing up for a kit could be cost-effective if you use it as a substitute for takeout and delivery, but you’ll always have more chances to save when buying your own groceries.

Can I use financial aid or student loans to pay for food in college?

Yes, you can use the money from your FAFSA financial aid to pay for all school-certified expenses, including the cost of food. This applies to all federal student aid, including grants, scholarships, and federal student loans. However, financial aid that’s not federal, like private or school-specific scholarships and grants may have different rules for how they’re used.

If you need to take out private student loans, some private lenders will allow you to use the loan to cover your school-certified costs, which should include food. If you have an Earnest private student loan, you can use the funds to pay for your meals, textbooks, study abroad, tuition, electronics, and other expenses (as long as they’re certified by your school).

Feed yourself without starving your wallet

These days college students have their pick of how they’d like to eat compared to previous generations. They can choose organic, get meal kits, or order takeout in seconds, but some options are easier on your wallet than others. By choosing what’s most important to you – whether it’s eating healthy or treating yourself with takeout – you can satisfy your cravings and not break the bank.