Question for college students

Options
mamato4kids
mamato4kids Posts: 217 Member
in Food and Nutrition
my husband and I are looking into a business that would cater to students. Wondering....if you had a healthy choice of food sitting next to a not so healthy food choice, but the healthy choice might be a few cents more, which would you choose?

Hopefully I know the answer, but just doing some research.

Also, about how much do you spend on a daily/weekly basis on food that isn't prepared at home and is quick..( think vending machine) if you do at all.


See additional post beloew....
Thanks
«1

Replies

  • skierxjes
    skierxjes Posts: 938 Member
    Options
    I'm in college and I eat 99% of things at home. Never buy from a vending machine. Might eat out once a week, if that. With my new lifestyle, I would pay a little extra for the healthier choice. Hope I helped!
  • sc1572
    sc1572 Posts: 2,309 Member
    Options
    A few cents, yes! But sometimes my university makes the healthy options sooo much more and I hate it! :( Every week I spend an avg. of 40-60 on groceries to make for the week. I get a variety of fruits, yogurt, cereal, carrots, soy milk, almonds, healthy desserts, some frozen meals, and ingredients to make certain recipes. Plus, I have to buy cat food and supplies as well.
  • orangecrayon
    orangecrayon Posts: 293 Member
    Options
    Oh I'm all for the healthy food choices. And I would choose it even if it was a few cents more (as long as around 10 cents is the limit). We're in college, so the majority of us are essentially broke. Also, it's the taste. It has to look and taste good for people to want to come back for more. (And in college if you try to eat healthy it usually tastes horrible, so good luck.) So if it has good taste and isn't too expensive, sure.
    I'm honestly not much of a vending machine person, but they're all around campus and are used pretty frequently. Hope this helps!
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
    Options
    If we're REALLY talking pennies or dimes I'd MOST of the time choose the better option but if it's a buck more unfortunately I'll probably choose the cheaper option. Which is why I take my lunch to class.
  • annika27
    annika27 Posts: 56
    Options
    I try to not eat at school, and if I do its just vending machine. They have some items labled at "Fit Picks" but that is definitely not true. I would choose the healthy option for a few cents more, but it usually ends up way more expensive. I try my best to bring snacks from home though
  • bridgettegarzonie
    bridgettegarzonie Posts: 54 Member
    Options
    I persoally would go for the healthier food even if it was a little bit more expensive. But like everyone else is saying a few cents, not a few dollars more. I'm a junior in college and even getting married in a month, so I would really appreciate if there were healthier choices on campus for students! However some students are just trying to save money and thats why they put unhealthy cheap food/snacks out.

    I personally don't buy from vending machines unless its water or I'm crazy desperate (I don't drink sodas and trying to get away from sweets and salty stuff) so I don't spend more than probably $5 a semester on vending machine stuff.

    But, I think your research here on MFP will be a little bias. :wink:
  • mamato4kids
    mamato4kids Posts: 217 Member
    Options
    We aren't sure how much it will cost yet. Just knowing the price of healthy and organic tends to be more. I'm hoping it will be competitive with the junk, so you can have healthy at the same price.

    Oh, and it's name brand stuff, not homemade or off brands.
  • JJeMitchell
    JJeMitchell Posts: 160 Member
    Options
    Honestly, I had such a tight budget in college, I had to eat things like: pasta sides and cereal...I couldn't afford much fresh produce :(

    A bag of generic cereal for $5 gave me breakfast for a month!
  • MarynEve
    MarynEve Posts: 46 Member
    Options
    If its not too much more, I'd go for the healthier option. I'm a junior in college and only have so much money saved from my summer job, so I try to limit eating out or anything to maybe one day on the weekend- my coworkers like to go out to Applebees after our shift ends at 1AM (We work at a theme park, I promise). I avoid vending machines too, but, if the healthy option was nearby and reasonably priced, I don't see why not.
  • lausa22
    lausa22 Posts: 467 Member
    Options
    I don't eat college food because they never have any vegetarian meals. The only vegetarian things are cheese sandwiches, which obviously aren't so healthy. Also the cheese and tomato pasta is around 600 calories too.

    Even if my College sold apples I'd buy one!
  • BlooQKazoo
    BlooQKazoo Posts: 56
    Options
    I would definitely pay more for healthy food! My college tries to offer healthy items, but they pay no attention to sodium or carbs or anything, and if it's low in calories to them, it must be fine. I must say I'm getting sick of salad every day, though, so I've stopped going to the cafeteria and am buying my own healthy food. It's hurting my wallet a little, but by body is so much happier. Healthy food is definitely worth the cost.
  • fitsaxon
    fitsaxon Posts: 57
    Options
    It depends on the perceived heath difference. If it is small – I’ll go ahead and save a few cents – I am very familiar with the price/oz labels at the store.
    (After a few years on student assistant salary, it a few cents adds up.)

    Examples:
    white vs. wheat pasta: I’d like to buy wheat – but I’ll buy white if I’m feeling price sensitive that day.
    Lean vs. fattier meats: Sometimes the lean is outrageously priced! Whole foods has some great cuts of bison, but I reserve those purchases for special occasions.
    And sometimes, when you only have a few bucks in your pocket and a college education, justifying the health benefits on the Wendy’s menus becomes pretty easy . . . .

    :) Just be aware of consumer perception. If you can bring the heathy options within the range that students are not price-sensitive to (when in the consideration set of the unhealthy competitors). . .you should be all right.
    Best of luck!
  • HeatherShrinking
    HeatherShrinking Posts: 805 Member
    Options
    Honestly, I had such a tight budget in college, I had to eat things like: pasta sides and cereal...I couldn't afford much fresh produce :(

    A bag of generic cereal for $5 gave me breakfast for a month!

    I was the same when I was an undergrad. It was pasta, pizza, ramen anything cheap I could make last

    Now almost 10 years later, I'm a grad student and I absolutely would spend more for healthier foods. But I am also in a much better place financially.

    One thing I've been looking for, that maybe would work in your business, is a place that can deliver healthy food. I can order pizza, Chinese and sometimes sandwiches. But a place that delivered healthier quick dinners would be awesome. Like healthy sandwiches or salads, with side options like pita chips/hummus or already cut up fruit or green beans or yogurt parfaits. That would be awesome! (Can you tell I'm hungry?)
  • VeganGal84
    VeganGal84 Posts: 938 Member
    Options
    Are we talking a healthy cookie vs an unhealthy cookie, or an apple vs a cookie? That makes a difference for me...
  • bprague
    bprague Posts: 564 Member
    Options
    I eat once a day in the cafeteria. Otherwise I've prepared something at home. I can say that isn't really the norm. I would strongly prefer healthy options over unhealthy. Granted, on a budget, I weigh the fullness of the food vs the cost. If it won't fill me... I don't want to pay a dollar more than something unhealthy that will.
  • ewong02
    ewong02 Posts: 22
    Options
    I would absolutely take the healthy choice!!! Only a few cents more? That's no problem for me! I find it quite difficult to find 'healthy' choices that are truly healthy in my university's eateries. Sometimes it's just really tempting to get the worst thing on the menu when there aren't any calorie wise solutions.
  • kyylieeeeee
    kyylieeeeee Posts: 197 Member
    Options
    I just graduated from college and my food purchases HAD to be healthy-- yes I was on a budget like every other kid in college. But healthy food (like organic milk, tons of fresh fruit, Greek yogurt, or buying organic meat in bulk when it was on sale) was never something I compromised on. That was when I lived off campus.

    When I lived on campus, the most important things for me were a well-stocked and FRESH salad bar, grilled (rather than fried) meat options, and veggies that didn't have some sauce on them.

    I'm always willing to pay more for a better option. Even when I have no income (like all through college). It's just one of those things that's necessity for me.

    I also got super lucky because most of the study body at my school were hippies or vegetarians, so the food choices were actually quite decent :D
  • sonnyjay
    sonnyjay Posts: 6
    Options
    I stopped eating food on campus because of all the fat. I cook a lot more now but EVERYTHING at my university that is healthy is expensive. The same at grocery stores too. They way I see it is that I am spending a little extra for my health and that is okay as long as it's not too expensive I can live with a healthy choice. My suggestion would be to make more healthy choices available! At my school there's like only one salad bar between a burger place and a pizza place talk about hard choices!! Hahaha
  • mamato4kids
    mamato4kids Posts: 217 Member
    Options
    I just graduated from college and my food purchases HAD to be healthy-- yes I was on a budget like every other kid in college. But healthy food (like organic milk, tons of fresh fruit, Greek yogurt,)

    I also got super lucky because most of the study body at my school were hippies or vegetarians, so the food choices were actually quite decent :D

    We are thinking yogurts, milk, pop chips, coconut milk etc..stuff you would buy at Whole foods.

    We live in a very organic area, support local farmers, etc...
  • jchester71
    jchester71 Posts: 124 Member
    Options
    I am not a college student, but I am a seminary student, and I'd love to see legitimately healthier vending options. But my question is this what does a few cents mean. Because to me it means no more that 5-10 cents. If you are talking about a 25%-50% price difference I'll pass. And the wholesale costs on pop chips and "natural" soda do not bear any retail price difference considering the huge mark up in vending machines and a lot of us are savvy enough to know that.

Categories