From Hy-Vee to Walmart to Target, Iowa State students are buying groceries across Ames based on transportation, variety, price and more.

Aidan Friedel, a sophomore in industrial engineering, said his favorite place to shop is Hy-Vee.

“(Hy-Vee) has good prices and I like their quality,” Friedel said. “I usually spend $20 or $30, usually just buying snacks. I also like the wider variety of foods other stores don’t offer.” 

Similarly, Ryan Humenik, a sophomore in psychology, also said that Hy-Vee was his go-to option. 

“I do have the meal plan through Iowa State, but I like to get snacks and protein shakes from Hy-Vee,” Humenik said. “Hy-Vee is the closest store as well so it’s just the first one I go to.” 

Zachary Allen, a freshman in management, said he used to go to Walmart, but he started switching over to Hy-Vee recently. 

“Hy-Vee just has more variety, and sometimes they have reduced prices that go even lower than Walmart’s average pricing,” Allen said. “For weekly items, I still like Walmart, however, the food and snacks at Hyvee just gives me freedom in the products I could choose, [there is] so many more brands.” 

Gabriel Korzenowski, a junior in computer science, said Target is his favorite place to shop because of CyRide. 

“(Target) is on the blue route, so I just hop on the bus and get out at Target and go right in. Then I just get back on the bus and head back to campus. I usually just buy Coke or maybe some snacks, like $10 or $15,” Korzenowski said. 

Ellie Moore, a sophomore in history and secondary education, said she does her shopping at Aldi because that is where she has shopped before. 

“I don’t have a hometown,” Moore said. “I have moved all over the world and Aldi’s is all over the world as well so I am used to it. They also have really good produce and it is pretty cheap. I usually spend like $30 or $40, but for bigger purchases, like move in, it was more like $70.”