Photo of the outside of London Metropolitan University. Credit: London Met website
By Jade Lennon
With the cost of living on the rise, many university students are struggling to stay affloat. According to Black Bullion, financial worry is the new normal with almost 9 in 10 students reporting consistent concern about money, suggesting that anxiety is not crisis-based but now embedded in everyday life.
Universities across the UK and other companies have put initiatives and programmes in place to help students feel more financially stable, but what is London Metropolitan University doing?
Let’s take a look at the different initiatives and programmes that they have in place and what companies have put in place to help students during this time.
Free Resources
Screenshot of the student membership options for The Gym Group.
The rising cost of living is forcing a significant number of university students to abandon the things they enjoy to have more money to cover expenses such as food and water.
London Metropolitan offers a range of free resources to students.
Commercial gyms like The Gym Group, offer student memberships. London Metropolitan offers a range of free resources including the gym. Sessions must be booked beforehand and this gives you access to the entire gym and the hot showers that are located in the changing rooms. To use this, you do not need to pre-book a gym session.
Paying for streaming platforms like Netflix and Paramount can be very costly for students. The university is subscribed to Kanopy. This is a video streaming service that partners with libraries and universities to offer a variety of films, documentaries and TV shows. All you need to do is create an account and start watching.
Student Discount Cards and Apps
Discounts directly help to combat the rampant cost of living crisis. After enrolling at London Met, students can apply for a NUS (National Union of Students) Extra card. Did you know about this?
The card costs £14.99 but entitles you to multiple discounts, including beauty, fashion, tech and more.
Similarly to this, apps like Unidays and Student Beans allow students to purchase items at a discounted price without having to make an initial payment. Apps like these have skyrocketed with Unidays having 200 million students that use the app daily and Student beans having over 5 million users.
Student Money and Accommodation Advice
The University has an expert team that offers students support on undergraduate and postgraduate funding for home and EU students, as well as accommodation advice. The team are all “accredited members of the National Association of Students Money Adviser”(NASMA).
If you’re struggling, NASMA can help you with resolving problems with your funding application, maintenance and tuition fee loans, advice on finding accommodation in London and more. To book an appointment fill out this form.
The university also offers a hardship support fund to “provide financial support to help alleviate unexpected financial hardship”.
Food Banks
Infographic of CPI and CPIH rate. Created by Jade Lennon.
More and more people are relying on food banks, including university students, with CPI and CPIH rates on the rise. The London Metropolitan Students’ Union has a food bank.
Photo of the student food bank stock. Credit: Jade Lennon.
To receive food from the food bank, there’s a sign up system, or students can email the student’s union reception. Some feel shy to do this, so you can also drop in and help yourself.
The food bank was set up by the previous Equity welfare officer in 2024 but was brought back to life by the current Equity welfare officer Sowmitra Paul. He expressed how it was “one of my manifestos” to get the food bank up and running again as the stock had stopped.
Paul explained how the food bank sees “around 50 students” weekly and continues to increase.
“The cost of living is increasing day by day,” Paul said, saying he had seen an increase in food banks in Islington.
Food insecurity in London is definitely increasing at a fast rate.
Research from Hart Food Bank shows that, between January and December 2025, more than 2.6 million emergency food parcels were provided to people experiencing financial hardship, with the number of people needing to use a foodbank increasing 35% since pre-pandemic in 2019.
But how is the cost of living crisis affecting university students?
Photo of Aaliyah Chaplin at London Metropolitan University. Credit: Jade Lennon.
Aaliyah Chaplin, a 19-year-old studying marketing at London Met, explained how she’s living in accommodation and hasn’t used a food bank but has considered it in the past. – “If it helps, it helps.”
When doing her daily food shop, Chaplin does this at the Holloway Lidl as this is cheaper compared to the Lidl near her accommodation in Finsbury Park.
She explained how most cereals at the Lidl located on Holloway Road are 99p or a pound compared to the Finsbury park Lidl where cereals range from £2-£3. This is known as price flexing. This is when product prices are adjusted locally or regionally; in this case locally to match competition and market demand.
Chaplin expressed how she didn’t know that there was a student food bank but “If it’s there, I think people will go for it”, she explained about the student food bank and how many are unaware that this programme is in place.
She suggested having a potential spokesperson go around the university to inform students about this and having leaflets and posters created for the university entrance. As well as this, she also suggested it could be advertised in a news letter.
Paul expressed how many students are very shy about and they “feel like everyone is watching” using the student food bank
Hopefully this gave you an insight of the different schemes and programmes in place to help students in London and students studying at London Metropolitan University.
“Whenever you need help from your food bank, don’t feel shy and help yourself,” Paul says.
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