Ok, if you're doing long term savings you probably need to rethink how you're going to eat because you will wind up with malnutrition. Others here have made good suggestions. Learn when your supermarket starts marking things down and shop then. At the end of each day you will find a lot of tossed food from supermarkets in their bins as already mentioned. I found out one of the students in my family at the time was doing this (he never asked any of us for help)... he kept quiet about it until his mum told me what he had been doing... he even brought her food too because she works real hard but doesn't always make enough money. So he'd go when it's dark with one of his mates with torches in hand and they'd find packaged goods like rice, pasta, cans of beans, etc.... probably lots of fresh produce too because they have to get rid of that and some of that is packaged as well so wouldn't get dirty in the bin. Probably the only thing I'd stay away from is meats and poultry, and any frozen goods as they would've already started to spoil in the bin and could make you real sick. That's probably doing the extreme I know... but the other option is to find your local charity that provides a food bank and visit them regularly for help. Maybe pop in to soup kitchens now and again, etc. If you have friends and family that don't mind cooking you a free meal now and again... let them know you'd appreciate it. Also if you have market gardeners or farmers in your area you may be able to get free produce or marked down produce from them too. Considering you're growing things yourself you may even be able to do a food swap with them sometimes. If you know any friends that prefer to buy meat or produce in bulk, ask if you can contribute a small amount for a small share of what they order (my family does that sometimes with meat and fruit/veg) as buying bulk from a wholesaler or producer is usually cheaper than buying from the store. I know you'd be trying all you can to save when you're studying and it's not easy. But there are plenty of ways to eat well without making yourself sick in the process. I wish you the best.