Behind the Scenes of Target

            As I take a seat in the small break room at Target in Trumbull, Connecticut, Kate sits across from me in her red Polo shirt and nametag that displays her name in black bold font. She is willing to sit down with me on her only break of the day, her twenty-minute lunch break.

“I’m sorry, don’t mind me, I’ve been here since 8 in the morning and I’m starving,” as she takes a bite out of her ham and cheese sandwich. Kate is a junior in college, and has been working at Target since she was a senior in high school. She attends Southern Connecticut State University, and works at the Target in her college town during the school week. She experiences many college students coming into the store to stock up for their dorms, and she even shops for herself at the end of the day.

Q: So Kate, are the customers that come into Target mostly college students?

A: Actually, at this target, there are a lot of college students in towards the end of the summer or at the end of school breaks, like winter break and spring break when they are ready to go back to school. But I also work at the Target in New Haven (where her school is), and there is a much bigger population of college student shoppers.

Q: Do you notice a pattern of what college student purchase for their dorm rooms as far as food goes?

A: Yes, usually there is a pattern. One example is peanut butter. You would be amazed at how much peanut butter college students buy, and they always buy the same brand, Target brand, because it’s the cheapest. Especially at the Target near my school, when parents aren’t there to pay for groceries, I see a lot of Target brands coming out of grocery carts.

Q: What other, more specific foods have you noticed college students buying for their dorm rooms or their refrigerators?

A: Umm, well, definitely Pop Tarts, Ramen, the mac and cheese that you can microwave, water bottles, Cheese Itz, applesauce, and ice cream. These all seem to be college dorm necessities, oh! And those bagel bites that you can throw in the microwave, they are like miniature pizzas, perfect for a late night snack [laughing and pointing to herself].

Q: So you think in your hometown of Trumbull, more parents are present when college students go grocery shopping?

A: [Laughing] Yes definitely, it’s a way that the students don’t have to pay, I do the same thing when I’m home from school!

Q: Do parents buy the brand named products for students or do they buy the cheaper option, which is Target brand?

A: No, usually parents but Target brand for their kids because they don’t want to spend more money than they have to, I mean, they already pay for their kid’s tuition, most parents are smart enough to shop for the bargains at the grocery store.

Q: Do you think college students buy the foods they do because of price or convenience?

A: Um, I think a little bit of both. I mean, some students get grocery money from their parents, other students, such as myself, work for grocery money, but either way, groceries are expensive. Like I said, there is a pattern of college students buying Target brand products, but for a college student, every dollar counts, so college students definitely buy products based on price. As far as convenience, it is definitely a huge factor. The mac and cheese, all you need is water and a fork, and you have a meal. Actually, mac and cheese is an example of a staple food for college students that is convenient, but not as cheap. Pop Tarts, those are convenient and you can find them cheap. They might not be called Pop Tarts because they are Target brand, but you get the idea, it’s a breakfast pastry, and it’s super easy to grab on the go and eat on the way to class in the morning.

Q: So to wrap this up, you see a pattern of what types of food college students purchase, and how much they usually spend, do you think the food they buy is necessary for a college dorm?

A: Wow, that’s a tough question…but I would have to say from a college student’s point of view, yes it is absolutely necessary. I always try and keep healthy foods in my refrigerator too, but these convenient snacks from the grocery store sometimes serve as my dinner on those late study nights, these foods just seem to be the typical college food from what I’ve seen in the past few years.