Good bulk foods to make publicly available in dorm?

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Thisismyrofl

Assistant Cook
Joined
Sep 29, 2014
Messages
3
Location
Dothan
Hey guys, I'm an extremely amateur cook :chef: and I live in a dormitory at Auburn University in Alabama, USA. We have a meal plan - means that we're pretty much forced to eat at various (unhealthy) fast food joints on campus at least some of the time. But I recently reorganized the dorm's little rinkydink do-it-yourself kitchen and have been trying to encourage people to cook for themselves - even if it's just Ramen.

One thing I've done is set aside a cupboard for "FREE FOOD - DON'T HOG". And I have put publicly available items, which I've paid for myself, usually, in the kitchen (usually in this cupboard, marked with Sharpie otherwise). Current fr33 f00d:

  • Ramen
  • Kraft mac and cheese
  • Salt
  • Margarine (in fridge)
  • Tang (orange juice imitation powder)
  • Sugar
  • Mashed potato mix
  • Eggs (experimental - may take back offer if too expensive)

What would be some more good, cheap, useful, basic things to put in the kitchen, that a college kid could use, that I could buy in bulk, and that wouldn't go bad very quickly? Note that we have a fridge but space is VERY limited.
 
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Large containers of peanut butter.;) Don't forget the crackers.
 
Kudos to you but none of that is healthy food so I'm not sure what you are aiming at here. Why not just eat off the meal plan which is already paid for?

Or is this late night munchie stuff?
 
Hi and welcome to Discuss Cooking :) This sounds like an interesting idea, but as jennyema said, those aren't the healthiest choices. How about this? You could put a donation jar in the kitchen use the revenue to provide healthier foods like fruits and vegetables. At some point, it might be worthwhile for you and a couple others to go in on a warehouse club membership, like Costco or BJ's. And maybe you and some others could start cooking and eating together once or twice a week.
 
Oatmeal and/or grits are inexpensive, and good cupboard staples.

I'd also suggest keeping some canned foods, such as beans on hand. My daughter is a senior at college. Her first two years away I think she practically lived on red or black beans with rice (she grew up having it at home often, so it was a comfort food kind of thing for her. Plus she's also a vegetarian.).
 
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Hey guys, I'm an extremely amateur cook :chef: and I live in a dormitory at Auburn University in Alabama, USA. We have a meal plan - means that we're pretty much forced to eat at various (unhealthy) fast food joints on campus at least some of the time. But I recently reorganized the dorm's little rinkydink do-it-yourself kitchen and have been trying to encourage people to cook for themselves - even if it's just Ramen.

One thing I've done is set aside a cupboard for "FREE FOOD - DON'T HOG". And I have put publicly available items, which I've paid for myself, usually, in the kitchen (usually in this cupboard, marked with Sharpie otherwise). Current fr33 f00d:

  • Ramen
  • Kraft mac and cheese
  • Salt
  • Margarine (in fridge)
  • Tang (orange juice imitation powder)
  • Sugar
  • Mashed potato mix
  • Eggs (experimental - may take back offer if too expensive)
What would be some more good, cheap, useful, basic things to put in the kitchen, that a college kid could use, that I could buy in bulk, and that wouldn't go bad very quickly? Note that we have a fridge but space is VERY limited.
Pasta, canned tomatoes, dried onions (if you don't have storage for fresh), dried mixed herbs (or grow them on a window ledge), garlic powder (fresh is best but might smell and/or go bad), salt & pepper. With that you've more or less got a cheap pasta dish that people can add things to.

Also canned pulses (different types of beans, chickpeas, baked beans, etc.,) and rice - uncooked is cheapest and is easy to cook successfully in a microwave,

Canned corned beef and canned potatoes to make "instant" corned beef hash along with some of the aforementioned onions and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. (We aren't talking gourmet cooking here. You need cheap and cheerful food.)

I'd also invest in a bottle each of Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and tomato ketchup. They will perk up anything that's a bit tasteless and they don't need the 'fridge.

Canned fruit if you don't have very good access to fresh.

But if you are one of the students why do you have to spend your money on all this for everyone? Why don't you organise a food "kitty" where everyone puts in a few dollars a week to buy basics. You would, of course, have to police it pretty strictly to avoid free-loaders.
 
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A pound of popcorn and a bushel of apples!

Real popcorn made in a pan with a little oil not those expensive microwave bags. If you make a large pan people will come out of their rooms and find it. Buy a pack of coffee filters for a buck and use them as disposable containers for individual servings.
 
Or nuke the bulk popcorn in a brown paper lunch bag. A lot cheaper and healthier than the microwave popcorn bags.
 
Good for you... I bet if you can get people cooking, they will get creative (and maybe contribute!). Is there a dollar store? Pick up a variety of herbs and seasonings. I used to work for our Extension teaching low income families to eat cheap and healthy. It sounds like you already know to buy bulk and shop sales.

If you are willing to take the time, lentils cook fairly quickly (30-45 min.), are good, cheap protein and don't give you gas (which might be important in a dorm). Moosh them up with a pkg. of taco seasoning or chili powder and make into burritos with salsa, cheese, vegies or rice or whatever you have.

For a surprisingly good five-minute taco soup that will feed several (especially if you top with some cheese and/or crushed taco chips and/or sour cream). A can of chili. a can of corn, a can of olives (sliced), a can of diced tomatoes, a can of water and a pkg. of taco seasoning.

Have some tuna around to mix with that Blue Box.

Sloppy Joe seasoning and a can of tomato paste...just add burger and buns.

Grab evaporated milk when it's on sale. Really handy for cooking if you don't have milk in the fridge.
 
can you describe your rinky-dink kitchen?

what tools (heat sources, sinks and sources of water, pots and pans, bunson burners, umm - and vents, etc.) do you have at your disposal?

have you thought about who is going to clean up?
 
Gotta ask again WHY?

You have already prepaid your meal plan, so you're not broke student like I was when I ate carrots and peanut butter and ramen noodles every day for a year.

You suggest you want healthier alternatives but are stocking your kitchen with junk food and many suggestions here are for less than healthy alternatives.
 
If you have a basic kitchen in the dorm how about making up some teams to shop, cook and clean up, once or twice a week. If everyone chips in the price of a fast food meal you should be able to buy the fixins for a complete pasta meal, Mom's meatloaf, taco bar, stir fry, pot of chili, homemade pizza and salad, etc...
 
I went to Sam's Club and, partially based on recommendations from this thread, bought public-use Quaker oatmeal, Quaker grits, peanut butter, and Country Time lemonade-iced tea mix.

Kudos to you but none of that is healthy food so I'm not sure what you are aiming at here. Why not just eat off the meal plan which is already paid for?

Or is this late night munchie stuff?

Outright not using the meal plan is unrealistic. However, on campus eating is tremendously overpriced, and the one thousand dollars we're coerced to put into our accounts every semester is, like, 1.2 meals a day. We need to fill in the blanks - and encouraging people to use the kitchen is a good thing to do. Obviously they are advised to buy their own foods as well which may be healthier.

I realize not everything I've named is healthy but I'm taking feedback on ways to improve that. People have shown a very warm response to my kitchen work.

can you describe your rinky-dink kitchen?

what tools (heat sources, sinks and sources of water, pots and pans, bunson burners, umm - and vents, etc.) do you have at your disposal?

have you thought about who is going to clean up?

Shoddy sink, low-end Whirlpool stove, Walmart brand microwave, plenty of pots (including several nonstick pans that have been ruined by public use), plates, bowls, cups, mugs, and silverware. Uuhh... Coffee machine, blender, toaster and toaster oven. For vents, we have an oven hood with a fan that doesn't actually expel the air but only recirculates it - setting off the smoke detector is a small concern.

Generally people are good at cleaning their dishes, and there are a few passive-aggressive notes around to encourage that. For spills and messes there is a cleaning crew that comes around every day.
 
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your kitchen sounds like it's fairly well equipped. well enough to make decent food.

ok, so the next question is how many people are served whever anyone cooks at any given time? is it for an individual, for roomies, or the entire floor?


i agree with many of the suggestions so far, especially pasta (to keep it healthy buy whole wheat), jars of tomato sauce or at least cans of tomatoes and dried herbs with which to make sauce, canned beans, rice, canned fish (tuna, mackerel, herring, etc), crackers or flatbreads (lasts longer than bread), canned fruit, pickled veggies (pickles, onions, chow chow, gardiniere), and lots of kinds of breakfast cereals.

a lot of this stuff is high in sodium, but that's why it lasts longer in a cupboard so drink a lot of water. :)


mmm, i could go for a tin of mackerel in olive oil and some wasa wholegrain crackers. or rollmopse and a crusty baguette.


you can also try to introduce fresh fruit by hanging a tiered basket with apples and oranges in it. bulk apples are cheap in the fall.
 
Generally people just cook for themselves. Every once in a while people will bake enough of something to distribute in the lobby - generally just brownies or cookies with a few exceptions. That's something I'd love to encourage as well - hence the free-to-use canola oil, sugar, etc.

I would be interested in bulk wheat pasta in the future, and any conceivable way to make fresh fruit available is very welcome. I will look into that and keep all other suggestions in mind as well.
 
I agree with most of the other forum members. The selection of foods is very unhealthy and may be doing more harm than good. Would be tough for them to concentrate with so much junk in their body. I do like the eggs, really is proven to be brain food. How about dried fruits such as banana chips, apricots, etc. Peanuts are inexpensive and are very healthy. Oatmeal and grits I did see in earlier threads and is very helpful in the diets of college kids. Hope this helps and good luck with the kids :)
 
I went to Sam's Club and, partially based on recommendations from this thread, bought public-use Quaker oatmeal, Quaker grits, peanut butter, and Country Time lemonade-iced tea mix.



Outright not using the meal plan is unrealistic. However, on campus eating is tremendously overpriced, and the one thousand dollars we're coerced to put into our accounts every semester is, like, 1.2 meals a day. We need to fill in the blanks - and encouraging people to use the kitchen is a good thing to do. Obviously they are advised to buy their own foods as well which may be healthier.

I realize not everything I've named is healthy but I'm taking feedback on ways to improve that. People have shown a very warm response to my kitchen work.



Shoddy sink, low-end Whirlpool stove, Walmart brand microwave, plenty of pots (including several nonstick pans that have been ruined by public use), plates, bowls, cups, mugs, and silverware. Uuhh... Coffee machine, blender, toaster and toaster oven. For vents, we have an oven hood with a fan that doesn't actually expel the air but only recirculates it - setting off the smoke detector is a small concern.

Generally people are good at cleaning their dishes, and there are a few passive-aggressive notes around to encourage that. For spills and messes there is a cleaning crew that comes around every day.
Crumbs! That's positively luxurious compared with the kitchen we had in our hall of residence (what you call your dorm). Large gas fired water heater for making hot drinks, a one ring gas burner and a sink and a spin dryer for laundry. That was it - for 40 women!There was a dining hall but when you get chips/fries with everything (including breakfast sometimes!) it gets a bit boring to say nothing of the excess calories!

Veg are cheap, good for your inside and your outside and make excellent filling tasty soups if you include a can of some sort of beans, chick peas or lentls in the pot and some wholemeal bread (tastier and better for you than pappy white sliced supermarket bread) to eat with it. Canned baked beans on wholemeal toast followed by an orange is a pretty balanced and cheap supper. If you can afford it pop a poached egg on top to add vitamin E and extra protein. Quick and filling too.
 
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Maybe organize and schedule some community meals together. Something like wedding soup is delicious and healthy and can be made in the morning and slow cooked all day in a crockpot. Or a general vegetable beef soup or chicken noodle. Serve with a nice crusty loaf of french bread.

And some other basics for a pantry include pasta and veggies (fresh is best, but canned or frozen is fine too). Spaghetti and meatballs is easy and cheap. And also maybe have a taco night with a slow cooker of taco meat (or beans for vegetarians) and they can build their own tacos.

Maybe go to the thrift store and get a cast iron skillet (a large one) for like $5 or so. Can get a crockpot there too.
 
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