Grocery Shopping Around Campus
One major thing students must learn about living on their own in college is how to buy their own groceries! Throughout many people’s lives (including my own) up to college, parents often bought groceries and snacks for us and we never really had to worry about it! Now that we are in college, however, it is up to us to buy our own groceries if we so desire. In this post, I will be discussing places around campus to easily purchase groceries!
My favorite place to purchase groceries is Trader Joes. Although there is not a Trader Joes directly within Rogers Park, there is one just off of the Dempster stop of the purple line! Students can easily access it by taking the red line to Howard, transferring to the purple line, and exiting at Dempster. The Trader Joes is only a few blocks from the stop! There is also a Trader Joes downtown, but it is much farther to carry bags back to campus from downtown. However, it could come in handy if you’re down there already!
Other popular places to buy groceries around campus (as many Chicagoans know) are Jewel-Osco and Mariano’s! There is a Jewel just off of the Berwyn stop of the red line! It’s only a few stops away, so carrying bags back is not a huge hassle. There is also a Mariano’s that is easily accessible by the 147 bus. Students can board the bus on campus, ride it for only a few stops, and get off right across from the Mariano’s! I love shopping there, and travelling to it is not hard at all!
Some other places to buy groceries include Target off of the Wilson stop of the red line (also one downtown), Whole Foods, and smaller places such as CVS or Walgreens. When buying groceries, I would recommend bringing your own bags, as it would be easier for you to transfer back to campus! Also for this reason, try to only buy what you need for the next week, so you don’t have to carry a million bags back on public transportation!
All in all, grocery shopping around Loyola is not difficult and is easily accessible. Since many of the stores are only accessible via public transportation, I recommend not going alone at night, as it could be dangerous and your guard could be let down due to the bags. But, shopping alone during the day or with friends is always a good idea, and can even be a fun activity! I know I love shopping for myself now that I’m in college and not having to rely on my parents for food. So, if you find yourself needing groceries or snacks, don’t worry! There are plenty of options out there and now you know where to find them!