Last week I wrote a little bit about where I like to shop for clothes and the style of New York City. This time I want to write about grocery shopping, which to me is almost as important as clothes shopping. Like I wrote earlier, I had no idea about any stores in NYC when I moved here. It was a process of trial and error for the first few weeks. After being here for a year though I have found some pretty awesome places to buy food that work on my student budget.
First and foremost, take advantage of the seasons. My favorite times in New York City are spring and summer. These are when the sidewalk fruit stands come back and are stacked with the freshest fruit and vegetables. I love buying from these places not only because the produce is delicious, but also because it is much cheaper than most stores. Luckily for me we usually have two stands very close to the dorm so I almost always have access to fruit!
The next thing I would suggest is don’t buy everything you need at one store. Although this may be easier, you are probably paying more than you need to. I have select stores for select items when I am grocery shopping. I buy my bread, cold cuts and pasta from Pioneer on 92nd Street, my frozen foods, milk, orange juice and yogurt from Associated on 96th Street and most of my snack foods, cereal, and miscellaneous goods at Target in Brooklyn. It took me a while to know about these places, but I am much happier now that I know where to shop and how the prices are going to be before I go. Of course there are other places in NYC, such as Trader Joe’s, but these are just some that are close to me that I have got the most use out of.