Half of students go hungry in order to save money, with even more ignoring best before dates, research has found.
Three in five admit to ignoring best before dates, while nearly 60% replace takeaways with toast, a survey of more than 1,000 students revealed.
Of those who ignored best before dates, 62% said they judged the food by "look and smell" while 22% said they simply "hoped for the best".
Other money saving strategies included:
- Staying in - 68%
- Using the reduced section at supermarkets - 66%
- Sell possessions on eBay - 57%
- Share group meals - 55%
- Pre-drink at home - 51%
- Walk everywhere - 47%
- Look online for free stuff - 42%
George Charles, of VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, who conducted the survey, said: "A key part of staying healthy is a balanced diet, but it seems that when needs must, pasta will do if you’re a student. It’s cheap and filling so I can see the attraction, but it’s not something you should live off long term!
"It’s good that students don’t throw food away needlessly, but you need to take an element of care. Inspect food that’s past its ‘best before’ date to make sure it’s safe to eat. If it’s got a ‘use by’ date though then you’re better off binning it and accepting the financial loss."