So this summer will be the first time I'll sorta be living on my own away from food. I've lived at home and on campus the past two years, but food has always been provided to me. This summer I'll be on campus, but there will be no access to food, so I'll have to go to Safeway or something. Anyways, I was wondering what are some easy to prepare snacks, and what's the best way to go about shopping for food, especially on a tight budget.

There was a time when I'd get me women that cook well, not anymore. I eat Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones and South Beach diet, plus tuna and sardines. Nothing to cook. I'm cutting back, if you want 3000+ calories a day those won't do. This will http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=learn+to+cook

Farmers markets are good if you got a big fridge.

You can by produce and meat cheaply, fresh, and in large quantities (or smaller ones) straight from the farmer.

Also, to save time cook in batches. Rice lasts for a few days, so do potatoes (in the fridge of course).

I found frozen dinners a cheap, easy way to eat. The only problem is sometimes portions can be small, and they can also contain a lot of sodium.

Cheap food is: tuna sandwiches, basically any sandwich, hot dogs, eggs, and you can also use potatoes. A good way is to slice potatoes sort of like discs, put them in a pan with olive oil and fry them. Mac&Cheese is also cheap. That's what I did while I was in college. Also keep some fruit and vegetables around, like banannas. Apples aren't very filling but banannas are. Also for drinks, try brewing tea or sun tea. It's cheap and a good alternative to coke or soda.

What kind of cooking facilities and food storage will you have? I can most likely help you out on this subject. Tell me how much you can spend a week on food as well. Oh...and the location of your school would be good, too. I can look at the local food markets and see if I can give you some tips on low cost meals that are easy to prepare.

My boys love this for making Quesadillas:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5639871

They also love this:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...1/601-9747713-0993730?ie=UTF8&asin=B0006A305Q

With this thing they make grilled chesse sandwiches, tuna melts, corn dogs, pancakes, muffins, omelets...all kinds of things.

I used this book my freshman year and passed it along to my step daughter for her freshman year. That was five years ago and she's yet to return it. It's just that good.

http://www.amazon.com/Starving-Students-Cookbook-Dede-Hall/dp/0446679615