Imagine: you’ve been in class all morning and the hunger pangs strike. You did not pack any snacks with you and you do not have any time to go home or off campus. You resort to buying something at school. If you’re like me, this happens almost everyday. I will never learn apparently. Just about everyone is familiar with what campus has to offer. There are quite a few retail locations spread out around campus for our convenience.

There’s the Wildcat Store in the BMU, which is the largest store because they sell other things like shampoo and aspirin. Options here range from boxed sandwiches and salads, to hot dogs and slushies. Within the BMU is also Common Grounds, a small and fast paced coffee stop with some bakery items and breakfast sandwiches served all day. There is also the Marketplace Cafe, much like a food court with something for everyone.

On the edge of the creek running through campus is Sylvester’s Cafe. This is a larger coffee shop than Common Grounds. There are more seating areas along with more menu items. Sometimes the soup of the day is a vegan chili. Score! Across the bridge from Sylvester’s is Holt Station. This is the smallest convenient store on campus selling convenience snacks, coffee, and bagels. On the other end of campus is Butte Station. This is a larger convenient store, which actually has more ready-made food than the Wildcat Store because of the lack of other items like toiletries and cosmetics.

I excluded mentioning Sutter Dining, which is part of the residence halls because most students do not have a meal plan or live in the dorms. I am one of those students. For a school of this size, we have a lot to choose from when eating on campus. There is a common theme with all food on campus: it’s overpriced. We truly pay a premium just for the convenience. A bagel with cream cheese and a London Fog (my personal favorite snack) at Sylvester’s or Common Grounds can run almost $9.00 after tax. After I spend this much, I feel so guilty while I think about how much food I could buy at WinCo for the same amount.

Luckily I have accidentally and by chance found some less expensive options on campus. Firstly, everything is cheaper at Holt Station. I am guessing it is because you mostly serve yourself. For example, you buy a bagel, toast it yourself, and put the cream cheese on it yourself. If it means I will save a little money in the end, I find it worth it. Not a lot of people have caught onto this but the secret is out now

Here, I buy a bagel for $1.19 and a packet of cream cheese for 75 cents. Hint: they use the same bagels everywhere on campus. I toast the bagel then spread the cream cheese and voila, the same thing as Sylvester’s Cafe but half the price and much quicker. Then, I have to get creative when I finesse a London Fog. For another 75 cents, I buy a bag of Earl Grey tea. They have a lot of other tea to choose from but it is my favorite. Then I pour the hot water in and add some skim milk (or half and half) and a packet of sugar. There you have it! Okay, it’s not a real London Fog because I didn’t steam the milk or put in vanilla syrup but it’s good enough for me. They actually used to charge the same price for small and large teas so I would buy a large and put two tea bags in. I think they caught onto me though because now they charge more. It was fun while it lasted!

If I am feeling hungrier than just a bagel and tea, I will make the trek across campus and buy a few things from Butte Station. Here, they sell vegetarian breakfast burritos which are meant to be heated in the microwave. From what I can tell, they have egg, potato, cheese and salsa. This will cost you under $5.00. They also sell sushi rolls which have a vegan option.

Then, for when I am looking for an actual meal with maybe some leftovers, Marketplace Cafe has some really good sandwiches. Like I said before, I am obsessed with sandwiches. They basically have the same format as any sandwich shop. I just get cheese and pretty much every vegetable they have. That costs $6.29, which I have always thought to be worth it. They also have infused water for free here. I see a lot of people fill up there water bottles with it, so they run out pretty quickly. It is important to mention that the sandwich counter runs out of bread quite often. It happened to me last Friday. I was looking forward to a sandwich so much after studying all day that I almost cried. It happened again yesterday but they offered regular sliced bread instead of a roll. Just go at least an hour before they close and you should be safe.

One day, I will learn to break the habit of buying things on campus. After all, I have food at home. Until then, these are my go-to choices.