<p>Hi, my son will be a resident at Fordham Lincoln Center in the fall.</p>
<p>I see from the breakdown of costs that Rose Hill costs about $10,200 for a double and $5,160 for a standard meal plan, whereas Lincoln Center costs about $13,800 for a double and $1,600 for a declining balance food debit card.</p>
<p>I can't believe that kids can subsist on only $800 worth of food a semester, so does this mean that Lincoln Center kids end up paying a lot more for room and board when you factor in the extra food they have to buy?</p>
<p>And what do most LC resident kids end up doing for food? Do they just add to their cards until they have enough to eat? Is there a nearby grocery? (I know there's a Whole Foods at Columbus Circle, but isn't that insanely expensive?) How much does the average student end up spending on food/meals each year, about $5,000 just like the Rose Hill kids?</p>
<p>Any input from current LC students would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>After two semesters, my freshman daughter still has over $400 left on her card for the year. The food in the cafe at LC is not that great and my daughter only ate there as a last resort, or just grabbed something small when she had to.
Most kids shop and cook or order out. There is a Whole Foods and a Trader Joes nearby. My daughter did a lot of shopping at a place called… hmmm… had the word Beef in it’s name I think. She also shopped a lot at CVS.</p>
<p>I also sent her some care packages during the year with cereal and snacks.<br>
I really have no idea how much she actually spent on food. But when we went for orientation, all of the upper classmen said they didn’t spend the full $1,600 the first year.</p>
<p>Western Beef. That’s where she did most of her shopping.</p>
<p>Thanks, Lefty. I would like to know how much people’s total food/meals bill adds up to, if the $1600 being spent on the declining balance card is just wasted money. We are unfortunately on a very tight budget and ordering out in Manhattan seems way too expensive for us to afford.</p>
<p>Rose Hill kids OFTEN go off the meal plan after Freshman and Sophomore year, as they are in Walsh or Campbell or Salice Conley dorms which are apartments with full kitchens, not unlike LC. </p>
<p>LC is an apartment like setting with kitchenettes from the gitgo. So yes, the lower food cost on paper is due to the fact they are buying their own food and preparing it, or they are eating out all the time. Its one of the differences between LC and Rose Hill.</p>
<p>There is a new trader joes about eight blocks or so from lc, easy walk, with a cart if you got lots of groceries, oh and they deliver free to certain areas if you spend over a certain amount which wasn’t much. My daughters lives in that neighborhood and o sent her a grocery cart wheely thing that folds up flat…there is also a good farmers market, great fresh fruit on the street, etc. Soap.com was great for ordering cleaning supplies and paper products with free delivery. My d and her roommates got together ordered the minimum and it came right away.</p>
<p>Make sure your son knows how to cook some easy meals. Send him to school with a lot of pasta, mac and cheese mix, and cereal. He will have to spend money on meat, dairy and fresh veggies.
My daughter’s favorite discovery was the $1/ slice pizza.</p>
<p>There is an online food delivery service, Fresh Direct, that a lot of people in NYC use that might deliver to the LC dorm.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your replies. I’ll be checking out those options.</p>
<p>This is concerning to me, too. My daughter will be a freshman at LC and is a vegetarian. I hope her roommates won’t be cooking up too much Western Beef ;)</p>