Student food "staples" parcel - suggestions?

kraftykat

My son starts this month at Uni. DH suggested we put money on a Tesco card and give him that, but I refused as I know he'll probably spend it on alcohol

We've bought DS teabags, coffee, cereal, dried pasta, pesto to mix with pasta, tins of tuna, tins of tomato soup (his fav), tin of ravioli, easy cook rice, jar of curry sauce, toilet roll, biscuits, supernoodles.

He also has practical things, small frying pan, saucepan set (cheap), our old mugs, cutlery, plates & bowls, utensils. Towels, facecloths, a few toiletries, bedding and a mattress protector as you don't know who's been sleeping in the bed before him, a radiator airer to dry his towel, small lamp.

I hadn't thought of teatowels and washing up liquid, must add those to my list

ditsykitchen

kittycat204 wrote: »

Herbs/spices, olive oil, no way. I cook and did at uni but there was no time in life for those kind of things.
Rice, pasta, sauces, dry mixes, sugar, recipe book, tinned ravioli/beans, soup.
First few months at uni are not the time you need help. When you first go you eat the wrong things, do the wrong things, all the time. Everybody has plenty of money.
November, when money is short and stress is setting in, that's the time a food hamper will mean the world.

It depends if you enjoy cooking. I find time to cook every meal from scratch whilst being a full time student.

vodkawitch1

I`d just go for a supermarket voucher so they can get whatever they like x

Mini_Bear

Also pass on the knowledge about supermarket end of day reductions. i saved hundreds of pounds knowing i should go to the supermarket at 8pm in the evening. Many of my housemates recoiled in horror as i immediately froze my 10p loaves of bread and 50p meat. A few months later when i still had money for clothes they begged me to take them!!

savingpennies

I bought DD1 a small slow cooker and she used it a lot. She has now returned home after graduating and given it to her sister who is off to uni at the end of the month.

mandco

a bar or 2 of her fav choc and some nice biscuits

if she drinks it the single serve packets of hot choc/coffee with milk
these are expensive for what they are so not something most students can afford to buy all the time but very handy, easy to store and don't require milk

tubes of soup you make in a mug so much tastier than cup a soup but take up very little room to store

will she have access to a microwave? microwaveable rice/pasta & maybe some cheese sauce mix expensive again compared to loose but so much quicker, less mess to clean up

VJsmum

Thanks so much everyone, some really great suggestions.

I will set to work on it at the weekend,

lindab15

DD1 is due to start her second year at Uni, this time in a rented house with two other girls after a year in a catered hall. Very exciting for her, but she'll definitely need a p/t job to make ends meet as the maintenance loan barely covers the rent even before the bills are added in ! Some good suggestions in this thread.

We give her a very small monthly allowance - pocket money, really, but all we can afford to commit to regularly after DH was made redundant and had to go s/e - so it's all bit more unpredictable for us nowadays ! It would probably keep her in baked beans .......

The plan is to supplement her living costs when we can. I plan to put her address into Tesco as a 'holiday' address, and occasionally arrange a food delivery to get some basics back in her cupboards - perhaps November as someone suggested earlier, when things are getting a bit lean. That way I know she's got the essentials and maybe a few treats too. If she wants, Vodka, that's her incentive to get a job !! :rotfl:


A few tips from her experience of the first year at Uni - definitely take a box of biscuits / sweets for sharing in the first few days when you're getting to know people on your floor and on your course. DD1 also took a doorstop / wedge so she could prop her door open at times - much more welcoming. Lots of people will smile and stop to chat as they walk past, but wouldn't dream of knocking on the closed door. Make the effort in the first few days and it'll pay off with a good circle of friends in your first year.

I also found my Tesco Clubcard points a godsend. Every now and again I would exchange £5 worth for £20 in Pizza Express or Papa Johns and send it to her, which let her have a treat with some friends. That went down very well !

Also used £14 of vouchers to get her a 16-24 Railcard, which has saved her loads. Think she saved the full price of the card in the first few trips.

Clubcard points were so useful last year, I've now taken out a Tesco clubcard and ditched my old card, so I can build up more points to use ! Started using it instead of my debit card, then clearing the balance at the end of the month so won't be paying interest if I can possibly help it. Early days, but already accrued more points in a month than I did in the previous three !

She's a sensible lassie and I'm very proud of how she's handling it all. She works hard and has got the right attitude to money, so I'm not too worried about her spending on the wrong things. It's just that it'll be hard to put the effort she always puts into her studies as well as do a job and have enough social time to enjoy her time at Uni - which, when all's said and done, is a fantastic time in someone's life. Just want her to get the balance; enjoy it, don't starve :rotfl: get a good degree and hopefully a decent job.

Good luck everyone seeing their DDs and DS's off to Uni this year.:beer:

Valli

Morrisons have Ye Olde Oak Hot Dogs on offer atm - I know they're not high quality but can easily be heated through and served with rice or pasta so I have bought DS a tin of them; also their Buitoni pasta packs are half price.

My mum has bought DS a load of stuff (it's his birthday the week he goes *sobs dramatically* and my birthday too *wails*) for his birthday. We chose a frying pan and spatula and she thought of buying a couple of food container - to save/store food safely in.

Pink.

We took our middle child off to uni this weekend. There are five of them sharing a communal living area and kitchen with their own rooms off it.

My advice would be....

-Find out what size of bed (we assumed single and it was a double)
-Try to find out who your flat mates will be and get in touch with them via social networking before you arrive (their flat now has five toasters, five kettles, five sets of pots and pans, five fish slices, five potato peelers...you get my drift. All of the parents could have saved a small fortune if the kids had organised this amongst themselves. Yes unlikely I know!
-Take biscuits, tea, coffee and beer if they are that way inclined. It will help them to socialise and invite others in.
-My son likes to cook so he made a meal for all of them last night...more socialising and getting to know one another before they all headed out to the student union.

This is going to be long but we took with us:
Bedding, towels, toaster, kettle, mini George foreman, saucepan set, frying pan, four mugs, six glasses, two dinner plates, two side plates, two bowls, two sets of cutlery, pyrex bowl, pyrex dish, measuring jug, chopping board, stick blender, fish slice, slotted spoon, serving spoon, potato peeler, tin opener, bottle opener, pizza cutter, potato masher, scissors, sharp knives, wooden spoon, lock and lock containers, flask, colander, cheese grater, large plastic storage boxes and clothes horse....buy the cheapest of everything because the chances are it will never come home or if it does it will only be fit for the bin!

For the food we waited until we got there and a lot will depend on the facilities and whether or not she is in catered halls.

For the freezer
Mince...large pack divided into portion sizes
Chicken legs and thighs divided as above
Kidneys...one of his favourites
Bacon
Bagels
Bread...they will never eat a loaf in a week so best frozen
Frozen veg +++
pancakes, can be whipped out and toasted when he needs to eat in a hurry.
Frozen veg which can be thrown into anything
Chillies...he's an addict!

For the fridge
Milk
Cheese
Bacon
pure juice
eggs
butter and spread
tomatoes, mushrooms and salad stuff

Storecupboard
salt and pepper (lidl are quite reasonable and do grindy ones so no need to buy salt and pepper set)
Mixed herbs
Garlic
Chilli
Curry powder
soy sauce & sesame oil
vegetable oil
Corn flour
mustard
ketchup
mayo
stock cubes
pasta, spaghetti, noodles and rice
tea/coffee/instant drinking chocolate
tinned soups, tuna, beans, tomatoes etc and some instant pasta thingies for when he needs to eat in a hurry.
cereals, biscuits, nuts nibbles, fruit and chocolate

Incidentals
Stationary, hole punch, stapler, files, polypockets etc, coat hangers, tea towels, washing up cloths and sponges, washing up liquid, bleach, all purpose cleaner, dishwasher tablets, washing powder, cling film, tin foil, freezer bags,soap, loo rolls, first aid kit and personal care stuff.

I'm sure that there was more and I'll add to this list if I remember it.

Her parents will probably do as we have done and provide everything for the first while so I would give her more of a missing home/comfort pack full of biscuits, chocolate a nice mug and perhaps a photograph in a frame, then as others have said, send her a shop later in the term when she's more likely to be struggling.

Girls tend to like to pretty up their room, matching towels, cushions etc...well at least my daughter did. My son doesn't give a stuff if nothing matches!

I hope that your God daughter has a great time.

Pink