The Best Graduation Gift Is Hiding at Your Grocery Store

A lot has changed since I graduated college… uh, a few years ago, but one thing is consistent: Buying graduation gifts for the newly-minted laureate can be tough. Thankfully, there are plenty of gift guides to help — including this extremely useful guide for grads courtesy of Apartment Therapy’s sister site, Kitchn. And speaking from experience as a former graduate and as someone with a lot of graduating cousins, I’ve always found the most useful gift is at your local grocery store.

Yep, whether it’s Whole Foods, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, or a regional or local outlet, there are few ways to top giving a graduate a grocery store gift card. Yes, you could also just give them the cash to direct towards their student loans or a night out with friends or whatever their smart little heart desires, but grocery store gift cards are useful in a way that many people don’t realize.

For one, groceries aren’t among the most exciting of expenses. Sure, you can get misty-eyed over a fancy imported cheese, but when you’re straight out of college and applying to jobs or juggling other responsibilities, chances are good your grocery list is filled with utilitarian basics and maybe a frozen microwave dinner as a splurge buy if you don’t feel like cooking. Why not take that task off their plate with a gift card?

Alternatively, the grad in your life is into talking to the cheesemonger about the latest and greatest behind the glass case this week, in which case, you’ve just footed the bill. That’s the beauty of a gift card: It’s there for the recipient to use as they see fit, whether that’s offsetting the cost of a new-kitchen grocery shop, or strategically saving it for a day when they need to buy a whole cake for a last-minute party. (Again, speaking from experience.)

One word of caution, though: Be sure that the grocery store you pick is also available in your grad’s area, especially if they plan on moving to a new city in the near-ish future. If you’re worried about what’s around, you can always supply them with an Amazon gift card, which they can use for Amazon Fresh and/or Whole Foods delivery. And for a final, thoughtful touch, why not deliver it alongside a favorite recipe written out onto a card? They might just use it as grocery-list inspiration.