Cheap food options for a college student in pittsburgh/white oak? (McKeesport: home, buying)

[hardindex]

What are the cheap food options available in pittsburgh/white oak/oakland for a college student?

I am specifically looking for lunch and evening light snacks. I am vegetarian. I love sandwiches, salads, pizza, veg. burgers, indian, bake dishes, etc.I am okay if the food items doesn't contain onions as it is not that important.(I heard somewhere that onion prices are roaring!) (although if it is there, well and good!)

I am on a tight budget about $4 for the lunch and $1-2 for evening snacks. Breakfast and dinner will be at host family. so that's not a problem.


Pittsburgh should have a $1 food shop like pops dollar food shop situated in midtown new york city. If such a high cost area in new york can have $1 food shop, why not in pittsburgh?

Here is the link if you want more info about pops 1 dollar food shop (I don't know how they can afford it when food prices are too high!)
Pop’s Dollar Food Shop : The Feisty Foodie

Btw, i will be a student of penn state greater allegheny. If you know any cheap restaurants/food stalls near campus, please provide it.
I am not going for campus meal plan as it is very costly.

[Burghgirl17]

Many fast food places have a dollar menu.
With the cost of fuel, prices of everything have risen. You're not going to find much in your price range. For an evening snack you could get a muffin somewhere or something, but that's about it.
A full lunch out somewhere for $3-4 is really really low. Perhaps you need to look into preparing your lunch and snacks at home and bringing it with you.

[hardindex]

Originally Posted by Burghgirl17

Many fast food places have a dollar menu.
With the cost of fuel, prices of everything have risen. You're not going to find much in your price range. For an evening snack you could get a muffin somewhere or something, but that's about it.
A full lunch out somewhere for $3-4 is really really low. Perhaps you need to look into preparing your lunch and snacks at home and bringing it with you.

Thanks for the response. Can you name few places that have a dollar menu?

Problem is that i will be with a host family and they will provide me breakfast and dinner according to contract. Should i ask them for preparing my lunch for some extra bucks or any service from my side?

[Burghgirl17]

Originally Posted by hardindex

Thanks for the response. Can you name few places that have a dollar menu?

Problem is that i will be with a host family and they will provide me breakfast and dinner according to contract. Should i ask them for preparing my lunch for some extra bucks or any service from my side?

I'm not familiar with the Penn State campus that you will be attending, so I don't know. However, it is not in an urban environment, so your choices will certainly be less.

Oakland has a wide variety of restaurants, but I'm not sure how often you will be there.

Fast food restaurants like Wendy's, McDonalds, Taco Bell and Burger King all have cheap (but terrible for you) eats. Also being a vegetarian will make those places difficult for you to find something you would like.

I am sure that your host family can direct you to a local grocery store where you can purchase items to use for your lunch.

[soniqV]

That Pop's place looks like a good value but doesn't seem very vegetarian friendly to me LOL. You can get cheap hotdogs and pizza and such in a lot of gas stations around here for similar prices.

I'm kind of confused as to why you're looking to Oakland if you're attending school in McKeesport/White Oak. Not that it's incredibly far, but it's not exactly a hop skip and jump to the city either... The commute itself is going to cost you more than what you want to spend on the food. Unless you're a hardcore cyclist, in which case you're going to need more food!

Even the terrible fast food joints are going to typically run you more than $4, and not have much to offer without some kind of meat. If that's really all you can spend I'd say ditch eating out altogether and stock up at Aldi's.

[I_Like_Spam]

Why don't you just consider getting a food contract at the school and eat your lunch in the cafeteria? They do offer different plans not just for resident students, and you'll presumably be on campus when lunch is served.

Its an upfront cost and easy to budget.

[Kippy]

A bagel shop is your best bet for a cheap meal on the go. A bagel with butter is about the cheapest meal around, probably a dollar or less. If you want something more substantial, an egg and cheese bagel sandwich only runs about $2.50. I would follow the suggestion of buying some food at the market and packing it, such as fruit.

[nuwaver88]

Buy some Ramen noodles, instant oatmeal, yogurt cups, cottage cheese cups, fruit, granola bars, etc. You simply are not going to get too many sit down lunches for less than a dollar. Pack your lunch with inexpensive sensible choices like above and snack a little every hour and it is less expensive and healthier. Just because you are poor does not mean that you cannot eat well if you do your homework.

[ctoocheck]

Yeah, you'll be hard-pressed to find vegetarian food made for you for that cheap in McKeesport. Perhaps a food truck in Oakland could get you a cheap vegetarian lunch (Indian, Chinese, Thai, or something like that, and even then it might be over $4), but I don't think they have those in McKeesport.
I'd say your best bet would be to pack something.