As the drivers of protein-maxxing and fitness influencing, it’s safe to say Gen Zers are paying close attention to what’s on their plates, like loading up on ground beef and rice—a.k.a. “boy kibble”—to build muscle.
But financial realities are getting in the way of their ideal eating habits.
A whopping 85% of college students between ages 18 to 25 wish they ate healthier, and 58% said healthier groceries would be the No. 1 thing they’d spend more on if money weren’t an object, according to a survey of 1,000 people commissioned by snack brand Nature’s Garden and conducted by Wired Research. But most of them also think healthier food is more expensive and report feeling squeezed by everyday costs, so much so that nine in 10 students who completed at least one year of college cut back on buying food or skipped meals to pay for either bills, rent, or tuition.
“They want to make healthier choices, but those choices are colliding with the realities of college life, especially tighter budgets and schedules,” Danielle Sherman, CEO of Wired Research, said in a statement.
Eating healthier is pricier, so students are cutting back
Gen Z students’ concerns that healthier food takes more out of their wallets also shows up in the findings of a joint study released in March by Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic and food-rating app Yuka.
Researchers compared the prices and nutritional value of 805 packaged foods, including cereals, bread, pizza, and snack bars, and found on average the options one would consider healthier—those with less sugar and less additives linked to cancer, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic illnesses—are more expensive. For example, bread without additives cost 28% more than bread containing them, and cereals without those additives cost 65% more than the cheapest alternatives.
And food prices in general have climbed, another nudge to swap expensive items for cheaper ones. Groceries cost 2.2% more in August than a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, adding to years of increases that have made the weekly grocery run costlier.
This could add up fast for Gen Zers already shelling out money for tuition. According to the Nature’s Garden survey, college sophomores and above spent an average of $136.10 a week on food and snacks outside any school meal plan they may have, adding up to more than $2,000 over a typical 15-week semester.
The food price squeeze is also changing what items make it into their grocery carts. Nearly all students in the Nature’s Garden survey said they’ve changed the way they shop, with 47% comparing prices more often and 46% opting for cheaper brands. More than a quarter (27%) have specifically cut back on healthy foods.
But these trade-offs have an emotional cost. Some students reported feeling frustrated by the cost of healthy food, while others said they felt guilty about buying whatever was cheapest rather than what was healthiest.
In turn, their eating habits have changed. Just 24% of the Gen Zers surveyed said they regularly eat three meals a day during the school year, while more than half occasionally or frequently replace meals with snacks. This partially reflects tight college schedules, but is also part of Gen Z’s ability to adjust under financial stress. More of them started cooking at home and shopping less in recent years in response to inflationary pressures.
“Gen Z will be left with psychological scars from persistent inflation due to increased uncertainty and anxiety,” Dr. Dayo Abinusawa, founder of London’s Awa Business School, previously told Fortune.
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