Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch? We’ve compiled some free ways to eat around campus, because NYU is expensive enough as it is without factoring in the costs of groceries, takeout and restaurant outings.

Club Events

The first place to look for free food is on clubs’ Facebook pages. If a club is having an event, chances are there will be food, even if it’s just pizza.

First Time Order Codes

For many food delivery services like Seamless, Uber Eats and Munchery, your first meal is free (or at least highly discounted). It’s worth trying, since there are always new companies popping up and trying to get new customers hooked.

Join Free Food Events @ NYU

This Facebook group consistently posts about events happening on campus with free food. If you are a student, you just have to join the group and turn notifications on to get frequent updates on where to find a completely free meal.

Leftovers From Events

This one is a bit less reliable, but the payoff can be great. There are tons of events in Kimmel every night — we’re talking private clients, actual adults and real food. Start by looking at the TV downstairs that displays all the events taking place in the building, and try to target big rooms like Grand Hall and Rosenthal. If you are inconspicuous and go into the room after the event ends, catering staff will often let you take some of the food that they would’ve ended up throwing out anyway. You can sometimes win big with Chinese food, hummus and cheese plates, entire pies or salads, but you may also leave empty handed.

Go to Stores Before Closing

This works best at places that are going to throw their food away at the end of the day — think bakeries, bagel shops and anywhere else that makes food fresh daily. Be nice! Buying something small before inquiring about leftover food is a good idea.

Residence Halls

If you live in a dorm, I shouldn’t have to tell you this — go to your RA’s events! Chances are they have tons of dumplings or pizzas that they are just dying to give away to residents.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Nov. 28 print edition. Email Camille Larkins at [email protected].