Facing rising fast food prices, college students learn to cook

By: Nick Butler

PITTSBURG, KS– It is no secret that fast food prices have been on a constant rise, making it more difficult for people to justify the cost of eating out. While this is affecting everyone, there is one local group of people that it is affecting more than most: Pittsburg State University students who live off campus. 

Prices for many things have been rising due to inflation. However, fast food seems to be rising more than everything else. According to FinanceBuzz, inflation has caused prices across America to be raised by 31% since 2014. With fast food having the most price jumps. 

According to FinanceBuzz, McDonald’s has seen the biggest price jump, with their menu prices, on average, doubling since 2014. Not far behind McDonald’s is Popeyes with an 86% increase, Taco Bell with an 81% increase, Chipotle with a 75% increase, and Jimmy John’s with a 62% increase during the same period. 

There are several reasons for these price jumps. According to the Foundation for Economic Education, the most basic reason companies change their prices is due to supply and demand. When the supply is low, but the demand is high, the fast food companies will increase their prices. However, there are other reasons why prices are getting higher, such as labor and production costs rising.

While everyone is being impacted by the rise of fast food prices, college students are having to find ways around this problem. 

College students have a reputation for having to live a cheap lifestyle due to the cost of going to college and having lower incomes than many adults. As a consequence, many college students have to rely on cheap and easy meals to get by. 

However, with fast food prices rising, college students are having to look elsewhere for cheap and convenient food. 

The easiest solution that college students have found is cooking their own meals. 

Joe McGrath, a senior at Pittsburg State University, has been trying to stop going out to eat and cook more at his apartment. 

“[It’s] mostly because of the prices,” McGrath said. “I’ve noticed my bank account is dipping significantly within the first semester of me eating at fast food joints.”

There are many reasons why college students are trying to cook for themselves now, but a few reasons stick out above the rest. 

“The cost factor and the convenience factor—that I don’t really have to leave home,” McGrath said. “The other reasons I started cooking was because I’ve never really cooked for myself in my life before, probably, like this year, my senior year of college. Every other time I was either eating out or eating things like Hot Pockets and whatnot.”

For people who are nervous to start cooking or do not know how to cook, there are many places to look. Students find recipes and advice from just about anywhere, including online resources and social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and others.

Cooper Ruggles, a sophomore Pittsburg State student living away from his parents and on his own for the first time, has found internet sources to be key. 

“When I first started out,” Ruggles said, “I found this app called Zest … [with] free recipes that you can get from beginner to expert, and it just gives you the rundown. They label it as a Duolingo for cooking, almost. There are lessons that you can do to help you understand what something needs.”

For most people, it takes time to get comfortable in the kitchen, preparing and making their own meals. However, these students knew that and pushed forward. 

“You gotta start somewhere,” McGrath said. “You’re probably going to be a bad cook whenever you start.”

It may take time, but students said they knew there would be a point where they could feel confident in their abilities to make good food.  

“Once I found my footing and found I can actually cook good meals and do it with good enough timing, I guess then I just pop in my earbuds and just go away and start cooking,” Ruggles said. “I kind of zone out.” 

Cooking can be a scary challenge for people to face, as if done incorrectly, it could lead to sickness. 

Starting out, students such as Ruggles said they experienced both good and bad meals. But they say that practice is teaching them important lessons.

“The biggest thing I’ve taken away is that it won’t burn if you move it a lot,” McGrath said. “I’m constantly stepping up to the chicken, and shaking the pan a little bit because then it just gets like a nice brown sear and it won’t burn.”

“I guess, just start with what you feel comfortable with,” Ruggles said. “Don’t try something easy, think you’ve got it, and then go to something super difficult and overwhelm yourself. Just take it slow.”