Devil delivery

Nov 13 2011, Written by Ashley Mooney in Dining,News, 1 Comments

Sophia Palenberg/The Chronicle

It’s been said that after a while, food on campus gets a bit old. So, college students broaden their food-consumption horizons.

Approximately 27 percent of total student food points are spend with Merchants on Points vendors, Rick Johnson, assistant vice president for housing and dining, wrote in an email Thursday.

MOP allows students to spend meal plan dollars—food points—off campus through delivery services. Johnson noted that MOP is a more flexible program than at many other universities across the nation, which allow only general or all campus card points—the equivalent of Duke’s Flex points—to be used off campus.

To become involved with Merchants on Points, a vendor first must express interest to Duke Dining Services. Dining services then facilitates a presentation to the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee, Johnson said, adding that if DUSDAC recommends their inclusion, the vendor will then sign a contract for MOP.

Currently, the Food Factory and Grace’s Café—both on central—are the only two on-campus locations that also provide delivery services. The Food Factory began delivery in early October, according to The Chronicle, and Grace’s Café is one of the most profitable MOP vendors.

“Each delivery vendor calculates their own profit or loss,” Johnson said. “[On Wednesday] Jimmy John’s and Grace’s were the two leaders in popularity by quite a margin over the next group of vendors.”

The most popular hours for delivery are evening hours between 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., Johnson said.

There are few things in life more convenient than service to your door. For college students, there are few commodities more valuable than food.