It's not quite the replacement for a dining hall, but learning to cook is not only cheap but really enriching in other ways as well.
1. It's easier to be healthier (and in time this transforms
to "impossible to not be healthier".
2. It's an impressive skill for attracting relationships
both friendly and romantic.
3. Once you're confident, cooking for a party of friends and
second degree strangers is a GREAT way to meet new people.
I forget who it is, but there's a HNer around who's had great successes throwing open-to-all, multi-course Hacker Dinners and taught himself the skills more or less on the fly. At the end of the day, everybody eats; almost everybody can enjoy interesting, tasty food; and those who can skillfully, confidently serve that up become a social hub.
It is indeed a great skill, but time is limited and it feels so incredibly futile to spend 30 minutes preparing nice food for the millionth time, when in 10 minutes it will only be a memory in my stomach.
(edit: removed a superfluous link, so instead I'll just be anecdotal. Cooking and eating are great social activities when done right. In my mind it's incredibly relaxing to cut vegetables and manage a meal. Conversations can spring into new inspiration or just better bonding with friends. I understand that not all meals can put striving for that kind of bliss as a major goal, but I'm not trying to defend all meals.)
