Empty fridges haunt SU students

Grocery shopping is every student’s most daunting Sunday scary. 

We all know the horror of waking up, opening the fridge, and seeing absolutely nothing. We struggle through the weekend eating uncomfortable concoctions of non-sandwich foods on a sandwich wrap. 

“It makes me feel like I am so lazy and I probably should go to the grocery store,” said senior Zamir Visram, who lives off-campus at Syracuse University. 

So, we at Orange Pulse decided to survey 50 SU students on their satisfaction with grocery options here in Syracuse, compared with their grocery experiences back home. 

Of the 50 students surveyed, 39 were off-campus, and 11 were on-campus. 97.4% of surveyed off-campus students responded that they cook in their apartment. In the on-campus group, percentages of students who cook in their dorms were lower, with 6 students indicating they cook, and 5 responding they do not. 

Wegman’s and Trader Joe’s on top

With 39 off-campus SU students surveyed, 32% chose Wegmans as a store they shop at, and 28% selected Trader Joe’s. On-campus students had the same top two stores for groceries, with Trader Joe’s on top. 

This isn’t surprising, given Trader Joe’s TikTok trends showing seasonal items and prices, which heavily appeal to student audiences for fun fall snacks. 

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Target was the third most popular grocery store for both on-campus and off-campus SU students. The least commonly used stores were Aldi, on-campus convenience stores, and the Syracuse Co-op. Some grocery stores are only visited by off-campus students, such as Walmart (2% of off-campus students) and Tops (11% of off-campus students). 

Trader Joe’s is a national chain with locations in 43 states, and Target has a location (or more) in all 50 states. So, are students shopping in stores they already know and love? The answer seems to be yes. 

SU senior Lindsey Lu lives off-campus, and chose Trader Joe’s as her favorite grocery store without hesitation. 

She loves the prices and the amount of frozen ready-to-go meals. But most of all, she appreciates the comfort and convenience of having the ability to shop at the same store she goes to at home while in Syracuse. 

“Trader Joe’s has the easy freezer meals that for me, feel healthier because they’re a private label brand rather than a mainstream brand that you’d find at Target,” said Lu. 

Visram chose Wegmans as his favorite grocery store because he grew up going there and enjoyed the produce and prices. Visram made sure to clarify that he believes Wegmans is better than Trader Joe’s.  

Grocery shopping at home is far easier

The majority of respondents– 90.9% of on-campus and 79.5% of off-campus students –  responded that grocery shopping in their hometowns is easier than in Syracuse. A small percentage of the off-campus SU students responded that they find their experience to be the same. 

Access to transportation seems to be a major reason for the preference to grocery shop at home rather than at Syracuse. A higher percentage of on-campus students—who are less likely to have a vehicle—responded, “I find it easier to shop at home.” 

“More off-campus students have cars, I would assume,” Visram said. “Most on-campus students live in dorms and can’t really walk to any grocery stores in the area. There are few small convenience stores on campus but none with things like produce.” 

Access to produce is already a pressing issue in Syracuse, which is regarded as a food desert. This means residents do not have secure access to affordable and healthy food due to a lack of full-service grocery stores. This issue surely impacts grocery experiences for students, who are temporary residents of the city of Syracuse during their enrollment. 

94.9% of off-campus students noted that they have a vehicle or can use a vehicle for their grocery shopping. This is compared with 81.8% of on-campus students who have access to a vehicle. 

None of the SU students surveyed responded that they utilize the Student Association’s trolleys to nearby grocery stores. 

Lu believes that not enough students know about the trolleys, but that those who do don’t take advantage of it. 

“I think the school does try to support students with the trolly but no one wants to do it because it’s such an ordeal, and people might feel awkward,” Lu said. 

But are SU students satisfied with their options?

Off-campus students are far more satisfied with grocery options in Syracuse than on-campus students. Nearly 50% of off-campus students reported being “satisfied”, and 28% responded they were “very satisfied.”

The primary sentiment among on-campus students was neutrality, but some expressed feeling unsatisfied. No off-campus students reported feeling anything below “neutral” about grocery shopping. 

This consistent satisfaction demonstrated by off-campus SU students may be attributed to the fact that they are usually juniors or seniors, meaning they have been grocery shopping in Syracuse for longer than their on-campus counterparts. This may lead to a far more positive grocery shopping experience. 

A separate survey question asked SU students if they felt financially satisfied with their grocery options. The results showed similar sentiments among on-campus and off-campus students. Of those who live off-campus, 20.5% reported that they were either “unsatisfied” or “very unsatisfied,” and 18.5% of on-campus respondents felt the same. 

So, although off-campus students are more consistently happy with their options, both groups have some financial complaints about their grocery options here. 

Given that the majority of the 50 SU students surveyed heavily prefer shopping at home, we at Orange Pulse wonder if students will ever feel entirely satisfied with their grocery shopping experience. 

College is a lot of students’ first-time grocery shopping, cooking, and taking care of themselves independently, so some may never be completely satisfied with grocery shopping here. But we do know this – college students love Wegmans and Trader Joe’s!