sharing food with roommates

hello all--

In the fall I'm going to be sharing an apartment with two friends.  I don't want to sound like a selfish bitch by saying this, but I'm really not into sharing food items. 

Part of this is because I cant go to the store often to re-buy things, and also the  food I buy is usually kind of expensive (I buy veggies and fruit, along with Vegan-friendly products from Amy's, Kashi, etc, and a lot of organic products are vegan-friendly [and expensive]).

I'm not really planning on having to slipt the cost of any food with my roommates... I don't eat butter or eggs or condiments or chips, and I dont like dairy milk, so i stick with my Almond Breeze (kinda expensive.. I'm not sure how much Dairy milk costs but Almond Breeze also comes in a small container & IMO pricey).  I also eat 'fake meat' vegan-friendly products. I'm not sure how they feel about Almond Breeze of 'fake meat' products, but I kinda hope they dont like them! lol.

So a question to you... Do you share food with your roommates?

thanks :) all insight and opinions welcome!

This can be an absolute sore spot. I don't think if you are dieting you should share your food with roommates. They will likely eat more than you and then they will eat it up before you can get to your share. It's best to tell them right off that you are on a special diet (if you want to lie you can say it's a medical diet) and that you have a set amount of foods for the day, the week, etc. Explain that you are too busy to go grocery shopping all the time and that you all can mark your food and keep it separate. You can all also do a pitch-in for  the basics like mustard, rice, ketchup, etc so your fridge isn't totally packed with stuff. But as far as the organics, pricey stuff or specialty foods, keep it separate and just explain why before you even move in so that there is no hurt feelings or bad vibes.

I lived with roomies for years, I have always eaten $$$ health food. Roomies had no idea how much that stuff would cost and would just huff it all down in one sitting, NOTHING would peeve me more.  I hope it doesn;'t make me sound bitchy, it's the facts, and it would always suck when they would try to replace it (if they even bothered) with some generic supermarket brand stuff that cost them about 75% less =\

Avoid the heartache LOL!

absolutely not do i share my food with my roommates. i eat healthy as well and can't stand it when my roomies snag my food. im in college (hence poor and totally annoyed when my food disappears and im not the one eating it) and i live with 7 other girls. we all label our stuff and i usually leave nasty warnings on my really good thigns (fruits and veggies and my diet cokes :) ) theyre all my really good friends and we get along great but food is definitely a tough spot. id let your roommates know right away how you feel about keeping your food to yourself.

This past year I lived with a roommate (male) and we did not share food (except milk), mostly because we had totally opposite tastes in food.  He also had a strange eating schedule.  With the milk we switched who bought it every other time we needed it (first week he bought the milk, next week I did, etc).  My bf and his roommate shared food, switching who bought the groceries on each shopping trip.  There diet was not expensive health food, but still pricey.

I think that if your roomies would eat your food and you don't want to share you should tell them and buy your groceries separately...OR stagger the purchases between yourselves...OR split the cost of the groceries.  If they wouldn't eat what you purchase, then I don't see a problem.

Communication is the key here...let them know you'd rather they didn't eat your [expensive] food or at least that if they do they replace it with the EXACT SAME THING.

Food is always an issue with roommates.  I shared one apartment with two of my friends.  One of my roommates was a vegetarian and decided after one month of living together that since she didn't eat the same foods as me and our other roommate, she was going to shop for herself and only pitch in for the things that she ate (milk, eggs, butter, etc.).  This made the bills wildly confusing and I don't know if we ever worked everything out perfectly, but it actually worked out pretty well.

I have a friend who is very thin and doesn't eat a lot, but she had roommates who loved to eat.  She ended up just going with the flow but she was ALWAYS annoyed because someone ate her last granola bar or took one of her yogurts or whatever.  So speak up for yourself early before things have a chance to go wrong.

Communicate your expectations as soon as possible, preferably before you move in.  From your post, I'm guessing you're vegan, so that's a valid excuse for wanting to do your own shopping.  Be sure to offer to pitch in for the stuff you plan to share with them (if you plan to share anything).  Also, I would recommend sometimes cooking and eating together with your roommates.  This can often alleviate the tension food issues can cause.

I would also recommend talking about cleaning schedules/dishwashing/guest rules around the time you have this conversation.  It's a lot easier to decide these things beforehand because then everyone knows what they're in for.

Good luck and enjoy your new apartment!

elkazolot- yes I agree that they probably would eat more than me before I would get my 'fair share', and knowing this, I would probably eat MORE.. obstructing my weight loss goals. 

I'm not really planning on having to slipt the cost of any food with my roommates... I don't eat butter or eggs or condiments or chips, and I dont like dairy milk, so i stick with my Almond Breeze (kinda expensive.. I'm not sure how much Dairy milk costs but Almond Breeze also comes in a small container & IMO pricey).  I also eat 'fake meat' vegan-friendly products. I'm not sure how they feel about Almond Breeze of 'fake meat' products, but I kinda hope they dont like them! lol. 

My housemate and I have "community foods" and "personal foods". 

We share things like baking/cooking stuff, eggs, butter, milk, and other basics. Sometimes we'll cook/bake something or bring home a box of cookies, ice cream, chips, extra fruit, stuff like that, and announce that it's "community". But we stay out of each others cupboards.

I wouldn't mind sharing...but we both have very different opinions about what we like to eat. I'm sure I could invite her to consume anything I had in my cupboard and she would decline. She also eats most of her meals out, so I'd end up eating a majority of the groceries.

i agree with skookum. i don't have roommates (still in high school), but it bothers me just when my own brother eats my food. i think that you should be honest with your roommates, and say that since you're the one who bought those specific food items, you'd appreciate it if no one else ate them (i'm sure they'd feel the same way if they spent money on something for themselves). you don't even have to mention the fact that you're on a diet if you don't want to. if you mention that it's something you're paying for, then i have a feeling they'd understand, since money's tight these days.

personally, i'd have everyone label their own things (maybe everybody can have their own shelf in the fridge/cabinet/whatever), and then have certain unlabeled things that everyone can eat as they please. have a conversation about what foods you all like and eat (ie- basics like eggs, as well as maybe a certain type of cookies, chips, etc) so you can decide together what to buy & share, as well as split the expense. this is what i plan on doing when i have roommates.

I'm sharing an apartment with a roommate, and quite early in the beginning we agreed on not sharing food, just each buying food for herself. Each of us has a separate shelf in the refrigerator and kitchen, and it's been working really well so far.

I'm the only health conscious person in my house and the only cook.  They only cook if it is pre-packaged and easy.  I've never had them go through my fruits, veggies, or raw ingredients.  That being said, I love it when people try my cooking so I cook for the house, not just myself.  They usually pitch in when I buy groceries, so in the end it works out and I've never reached for something to find it missing.

I guess I'm lucky.  :P

Well, if your roomies eat high-fat, meat-filled food, and you are on a vegan diet, they won't want your food anyway.  haha.  When I lived with a really health-conscious person and I wasn't on any sort of restriction, I thought the "nuts and berries" were gross, and just went out and bought myself hamburgers.  So you many not have anything to worry about, depending on what type of food your roomies eat.

i don't share food with my roomates except for condiments- ketchup, mustard, butter, etc.  the only reason we share those is because there are 4 of us sharing a fridge and space is limited so it really doesn't make sense to have 4 separate jars of mustard.

when i lived with a roomy, we shared basic stuff (milk bread flour eggs, etc) and had our own other stuff.  We had our own seperate shelves in the kitchen (she was darn near a foot taller, so she got the high shelves haha).  We also cooked for each other maybe 3X a week. 

Original Post by andi8983:

Well, if your roomies eat high-fat, meat-filled food, and you are on a vegan diet, they won't want your food anyway.  haha.  When I lived with a really health-conscious person and I wasn't on any sort of restriction, I thought the "nuts and berries" were gross, and just went out and bought myself hamburgers.  So you many not have anything to worry about, depending on what type of food your roomies eat.

 Pizza.  Pizza and Taco Bell, every day.  They actually really like my cooking too, but they refuse to learn how to do cook anything.  I know all the pizza delivery guys on a first name basis.  :D

I will definitely talk to my future roommates about the food sharing thing before we move in.

I have no problem providing toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex, etc for the whole apartment but food is expensive!