Are groceries accessible on the UW—Madison campus? We surveyed students to find out.

Madison, Wis., voted best college town in America by Barstool Sports, seems to have it all, except for affordable grocery stores.      

At the heart of the University of Wisconsin—Madison’s campus, there are limited grocery options, and the few available are too expensive and scarce in supply, according to surveyed students.

A small pool of students were surveyed on their experience with affordability, accessibility and quality of grocery shopping on the UW—Madison campus. Of those surveyed, nearly half of respondents said they prioritize affordability in their groceries and nearly 60% of respondents voiced the biggest challenge when grocery shopping on campus is, affordability.

“There are limited grocery stores available,” said Amelia Weidemann, the director of the Open Seat Food Pantry. “And that allows prices to be very high because to some extent, you are paying for a convenience.”

At UW—Madison, 75% of students live off campus, according to US News. This means that students are off the university’s meal plan and are expected to grocery shop and cook on their own. For students who live in the southeast neighborhood, Fresh Market, Target on State Street and Capital Center Market are some of the few stores within reasonable walking distance.

Because of this, the demand for groceries is high, creating a competitive supply that generates a financial trap for students who do not have transportation or time to shop elsewhere.

“I wish that Fresh [Market Madison] wasn’t our only big one [grocery store],” said Sarah Lipscomb, a third-year student and off-campus resident. “I think that the Target on campus is super little and only has the bare minimum and half of the time it’s out.”    

Students expressed they also shop at Trader Joes, Whole Foods and Aldi, all of which are more than 2 miles away from Memorial Union, a central part of campus. Of those surveyed, only 15% said they own a car, making these more affordable and healthy options inaccessible for the majority of busy college student.

“This year my roommate got a car so we can sometimes go off campus,” said Eatai Sasson, a UW—Madison undergrad. “But that is not an easy choice for a lot of people.”

Before he had access to his roommate’s car, Sasson often walked to the grocery store from his house on Bassett Street. However, the act of walking created barriers for the number of groceries he could buy, resulting in multiple grocery runs per week. This experience is not exclusive to Sasson. Over a third of survey respondents said they predominantly walk to get their groceries.      

Additionally, almost all of survey respondents wrote that more affordable options are needed closer to campus.      

Undergraduate students and roommates, Sheng Vang and Cheng Vang, live off campus in the southeast neighborhood and are financially independent from their parents.

“I feel like food here is pretty expensive,” Sheng said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get good groceries without having to worry about, ‘Oh shit I have to wait for my next paycheck.’”    

Sheng and Cheng also use EBT’s and utilize other food access resources on campus, like the Open Seat food pantry. However, they both expressed how resources on campus are not always advertised, and the stigma around not being able to afford good groceries and healthy foods is preventative to those in need.      

“It’s something no one has to be ashamed of,” Sheng said.

A survey done in 2020 by the National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education found that 23% of undergraduates and 12% of graduate students are experiencing food insecurity. The data received 100,000 responses from students across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, representing 20.7 million students across America. Therefore, this is a national problem and the lack of grocery store access on the UW—Madison campus contributes to this issue, according to the student survey.

Weidemann said that having consistent food access to items you want to eat that are healthy, culturally relevant to your needs and affordable should not be a privilege and need to be advocated for, especially for college students.      

“It’s just not easy,” Sasson said.