How to Keep a Kosher College Kitchen

Author and Photographer: Zachary Sarmoen

Kosher is a set of dietary restrictions and laws regarding food preparation and consumption in Judaism. Kosher laws span from how animals must be slaughtered to what animals can be eaten to not mixing meat and dairy products, making the process of keeping Kosher a complex and often strenuous one. With the various steps that meat must go through to be deemed Kosher, meat prices tend to be close to double those of non-Kosher meats. Coupled with the struggle of finding few, if any, grocery stores carrying Kosher goods, shopping to keep a Kosher kitchen can often be time-consuming and expensive.

If there are two things that a college student would deem a rare commodity, they would be time and money. Therein lies the struggle that many Jewish students come across when living on their own in college. Since fast food and restaurant options are always limited, it is extremely difficult to maintain a Kosher diet of proper nutritional value.

When factoring in availability and affordability to the Kosher diet, processed snacks are the easiest option. Many large snack corporations create non-meat products that already follow Kosher rules, so many of them have gotten their products certified as Kosher in order to sell more. Common household snacks, such as Lay’s Potato Chips, Oreos, and Cheez-It Crackers, as well as many processed and packaged dairy and produce products, are certified Kosher, which makes snack shopping a relatively painless process for Kosher students. In Hyde Park, Target and CVS on 53rd Street are the most convenient locations to buy such snacks, selling them at their average retail price, if not below due to discounts or promotions. However, CVS, as far as food goes, is only useful for snacks and drinks, and when it comes to grocery shopping at Target, the other Kosher options are slim. Target on 53rd Street does not sell any Kosher meat products; even commonly found Hebrew National hot dogs and deli meats are not available, so while Target has good Kosher dairy snack options, it may not be worth the trip for a busy college student due to the inability to supply one’s full dietary needs.

Kosher Snacks

When looking to fulfill Kosher shopping needs across the board, especially with meat availability, Hyde Park offers students two options: Trader Joe’s and Jewel-Osco. Both stores are full-fledged grocery stores, equipped with fresh and frozen dining options of all types, from premade meals to raw meat and produce. Trader Joe’s is northeast of the University of Chicago campus at 1528 E 55th St., Chicago, IL 60615, and Jewel-Osco is southwest of the campus at 6014 S Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago, IL 60637. Both locations are therefore walkable or reachable via the university's free Lyft service for students looking to purchase Kosher meat and other groceries. 

Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s is a smaller grocery store, selling mostly their own Trader Joe’s-branded products, meaning it is more difficult to find common Kosher snacks and to buy any of them in bulk. However, Trader Joe’s does have a diverse selection of Kosher meats, selling various types of beef and poultry at the price points listed below. Trader Joe’s selection presents two potential issues to the Kosher college student: it lacks ready-to-eat Kosher meat (deli meat specifically) besides hot dogs, and it would likely require shopping at a second grocery store for a complete grocery haul. Regardless, Trader Joe’s presents resources for a full and effective Kosher college kitchen at a relatively affordable price and convenient location.

Trader Joe’s Beef Selection

Trader Joe’s Poultry Selection

Jewel-Osco

Jewel-Osco is a much larger grocery store that carries more of the big-name snacks and has a larger inventory that is generally more diverse. When it comes to Kosher meats, Jewel-Osco offers much of what Trader Joe’s does (see price comparisons below) but lacks ground beef, offering the alternative of Impossible Beef as well as other cuts of beef. In addition, while Jewel-Osco also lacks the availability of ready-to-eat Kosher meat, they offer a depth of frozen Kosher vegetarian options that are useful for the time constraints of a Kosher college student. With this depth and variety of offerings, Jewel-Osco presents the benefit of being a one-stop grocery shopping experience to meet health and dietary needs across the board, from produce to snacks to meat. They also offer the helpful tool of being able to place grocery orders online for pickup, enabling students to better conserve their time with shopping.

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Hebrew National Kosher Dogs

Conclusion

For a college student looking to keep Kosher in Hyde Park while making efficient use of their time and money, Trader Joe’s and Jewel-Osco are the go-to options. If you are looking to gather all your groceries in one trip, we suggest Jewel-Osco, but if you are willing to make an additional trip to a Target or some other grocery store, Trader Joe’s may be the more effective choice, especially with its close vicinity to other shops. If you are unsure where to shop, we suggest you take location into account as the main deciding factor, as Trader Joe’s and Jewel-Osco are on opposite corners relative to the University of Chicago campus. Regardless, with the provided information, keeping a Kosher college kitchen is accessible and affordable.