<p>I love cooking and love fresh food like vegetables, fruits, fish, and I also eat lots of tofu. If I end up going to USC, I plan on getting the cheapest meal plan at USC and then supplementing lots of fresh food into it. Are there places near USC where you can buy produce? I live in the Bay Area and I am very use to farmers markets/small and fresh produce stores. One of the biggest things that is turning me away from USC is the fact that all life in on campus and getting off campus, unless you have a car, can be hard. If there aren't any nearby produce stores, are there any places on campus where I can get produce?</p>
<p>There’s a Ralph’s on Adams, a few blocks north of campus. It’s a supermarket, so expect supermarket-quality stuff. There’s also a Superior grocers in the UV just north of campus, but I wouldn’t buy groceries there. Many people do though. I do know that USC hosts a farmer’s market at least once a month, but I generally don’t go so I couldn’t tell you how it is.</p>
<p>Honestly, you’re going to have a pretty hard time getting anything fresh in the middle of LA. Good luck though, I definitely sympathize with you.</p>
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<p>This is a lie. LA is California and the food is as fresh as it can be because the farms are mere hours away. </p>
<p>I’m a foodie from the Bay Area myself and the Ralphs, while expensive, has everything you’d want or need. The produce is absolutely fine and reasonably priced. The store even has a free shuttle that will drive you back to your apartment.</p>
<p>There are two farmer’s markets that regularly come to USC – one on campus and one across the street at the intersection of Jefferson and Hoover. Not sure of the days because it changed all the time.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’re a freshman, though, and since you won’t have a full kitchen, I really don’t recommended not having a meal plan. The dining halls have vegan and vegetarian options – and plenty of veggies and tofu.</p>
<p>Find a friend with a car – there’s a few Trader Joes and Whole Foods store nearby, the closest being in Glendale and/or Silver Lake. The Ralphs downtown is also really nice and has a great butcher section. (Hell, I used to take the bus to Trader Joes and the Silver Lake farmer’s market! There is ALWAYS a way to find what you want in LA if you’re willing to make an effort.)</p>
<p>Thanks guys. Yes I will be a Freshman! I have a drivers license and I’m not sure a this point if I should consider having a car at USC. I’m visiting soon and I guess I’ll decide when I tour around if it’s necessary. Living in the Bay Area I take the bus 24/7, through bad and good neighborhoods and depending on how I think the area around USC is, that too will help me decide.</p>
<p>I didn’t get to bring my car down from the Bay until sophomore year. (Parking on campus for freshman is $400 a semester, versus something like $160 when you live in off campus USC housing, or free if you live in non-USC housing!) I think it forced me to really learn the LA streets via the bus and metro, and it made me take advantage of USC’s trams to DTLA.</p>
<p>A car is better after you’ve been there at least a semester.</p>
<p>my son had a car at USC from day one and would not have had it any other way. It was one of many reasons that he choose USC over other colleges that did not allow freshman to have cars. Parking on campus in one of the permit lots meant he had freedom to explore LA and the surrounding areas with his friends.</p>
<p>Freshman year I didn’t have my car with me so whenever I needed to get groceries I would just go to ralphs, which is a couple blocks north of SC on Vermont. The shuttles at ralphs were very convenient. Several times I would bike to Ralphs, buy a bunch of groceries and have the shuttle drive the groceries back to parkside (where I lived) and I would bike back and meet the van there. I don’t know if every van driver would do that, but I was able to use that tactic several times throughout the year. If you want cheaper and better groceries/ produce then you definitely need a car or a friend with a car. There are a bunch of trader joes around but they are mostly in Hollywood, West LA area. The closest Trader Joes is on La Brea and 3rd street close to the Grove. (There’s another Trader Joe’s next to a target on santa monica blvd and just west of la Brea). They recently opened a fresh & easy 2 miles west of campus on Adams which is much closer, just as cheap as Trader Joe’s and a LOT less crowded. The last option/ if you want more choices of fresh produce are the bunch of korean groceries in K-Town. You still need a car but there are several Korean groceries on Olympic Blvd, from Hannam Chain to the Galleria marketplace</p>
<p>Ah, I never had a car so it was hard for me. I hear that they might be putting in a Trader Joe’s at Gateway, which I am definitely crossing my fingers for.</p>
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<p>Said before, will say again – closest TJs are in Silver Lake and Glendale. I don’t recommended anyone go to the Westside locations because they are crowded and much more difficult to get to because of traffic.</p>