Arriving at university can be one of the most exciting days of your life. The events that take place and your first-day to-do list often preoccupy the whole day but little do you know, you have your whole life ahead of you.
Those of us whose parents/ carers so kindly help with the first food shop are extremely lucky. It can be easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of Fresher’s Week and forgetting to grab some healthy grub could be your first mistake of living parent free. Filling your cupboards with stock items will come in handy throughout your time at Trent but kitting out your kitchen with some food to complement Fresher’s Week activities will forever be in your favour, trust me. But how do you know where to go?
We have compiled a handy guide for filling out your fridge. We discuss where to go for larger shops, where works for forgotten items, and who will deliver to you. What more could you need?
Supermarkets
If you live close to NTU’s city campus then you will find that corner shops and convenience stores largely outweigh the supermarkets. However, you can easily access Tesco Express in the Victoria Centre. It is the only real option for finding a store with lots to offer and one in which you can actually tick everything off your list. In addition, being so close to the tramline means that you also have the ability to hop on at campus and ride the tram to Hyson Green where you will be met with an Asda Superstore. Remember to take enough strong bags if this is where you are headed!
For city campus students who live further out (e.g. Norton Court and Simpsons accommodations), you will find that accessing supermarkets is slightly more in your favour. Amongst homeware shops and The Gym, Castle Retail Park has a large Aldi which is perfect for getting all the bits you need. Likewise, Castle Marina is home to a huge Sainsbury’s, and a sizeable Lidl, making it the perfect destination for those weekly food shops!
For Clifton students, your residential proximity is definitely in your favour. Clifton students benefit from not only the NTSU Shop on site, but they also have access to Morrisons, Lidl and Heron Foods which makes for a nice selection.
Convenience Stores
As previously mentioned, there is a variety of smaller shops in the city wherein you can find some goodies. It is worth remembering that these smaller stores mark up the prices on a lot of their items because they know that shoppers are looking for fewer items and will not mind spending that extra 25p in a rush – consider this if you are going out for quite a big shop. For those living near City Campus, your options are: NTSU City Shop, Tesco Express on Shakespeare Street, and Little Waitrose on Milton Street. These smaller stores are best for last-minute, forgotten and cupboard/freezer items.
If you prefer to get your food shops alongside a trip into the city centre, then you are spoilt for choice. You may have a bit further to carry your items but the variety of convenience stores available to you hopefully outweighs this! We recommend Tesco Express on Maid Marian Way, Marks & Spencer off St Peters Square, Sainburys Local down Wheeler’s Gate, Sainsburys Local Carlton Street, Tesco Express Angel Row, and Tesco Express on Upper Parliament Street.
Deliveries
Whilst city living gives you the luxury of leaving your accommodation just five minutes before a lecture, and being but a stones throw away from the bustling nature of Nottingham city, food shopping can often be made easier when it is brought to you. Luckily deliveries are really common around Nottingham, with Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Ocado, Asda, Co-Op, Waitrose, and Iceland all willing to deliver.
Likewise, Uber Eats will collect and deliver your grocery shop for you. Their main suppliers are Asda, Sainsburys and Iceland but you will also find smaller stores on there too. The only downside to this form of delivery is that you will not always have access to their full stock so you may find yourself having to pop out to the shops again unnecessarily.
Nottingham is also extremely lucky to have the Gorillas service. Gorillas is an on-demand delivery company who pride themselves on stocking great-quality items and delivering in under 10 minutes. They often have student deals on, especially at the beginning of academic terms, so be sure to keep an eye out for some money-saving shops.
Food Shopping Tips
You will have heard this timeless nag from your parents, but the number one tip for a successful food shop is planning ahead! There is nothing worse than trying to remember your shopping list and then realising you have forgotten one item for your fajitas by the time you are half way home. Correspondingly, bags are just as important. Not only are reusable bags better for the environment but you will never reuse those plastic bags you are getting with each shop (even if you tell yourself you will!).
Finally, very few supermarkets offer any sort of discount to students, but there is a way to save some pennies – loyalty schemes. The best piece of financial advice any student could give you is to get a clubcard. They will, quite literally, save your life.