Correction appended.
When they return in the fall, students will have the option of a new off-campus meal plan that will allow them to use a credit-and-point system at Thayer Street venues as an alternative or addition to other meal plan options.
The MunchCard plan is the brainchild of four Brown students — Ben Vishny '14, Tucker Adams '11 and brothers Andrew Tran '11 and Steven Tran '13 — who have spent the past semester setting it up.
Local restaurants will accept MunchCards, which are wallet-sized and have a bite-shaped hole in the corner, and will often offer student discounts to cardholders. Though the MunchCard program will not run through the University, it will operate with meal credits and points similar to University meal plans.
A list of participating eateries is still being finalized, but the founders said it will be complete when registration opens May 20.
Kabob and Curry has already signed on, and close to 20 businesses — including Andreas Restaurant, Baja's, Better Burger Co., Froyoworld, Haruki Express, Juniper, Mama Kim's Korean BBQ, Paragon and Subway — have expressed high levels of interest, Vishny said.
Students on the MunchCard plan will be able to choose how many meal credits and points they want for the semester during online registration, allowing them to use the plan either as an alternative or a supplement to a University meal plan. Students must sign up for a minimum of 30 meals per semester, though meal credits can roll over to the following semester.
Students and parents "want the security of having a meal plan, but they also want variety," Vishny said.
The four founders also emphasized the flexibility of the card. Students can add meals and points at any point during the semester. The first four weeks of the fall semester will be a trial period during which students can change or cancel their plans.
The idea for the project came out of ENGN 0900: "Managerial Decision Making," a class three of the four founders are taking this semester. A major factor stopping students from eating off-campus is the fact that they needed to use their meal plans, Andrew Tran said. "We looked at the market, and it looked ready for something like this," he said.
Kabob and Curry chef and owner Sanjiv Dhar said the founders' "spirit of entrepreneurship" piqued his interest in supporting the MunchCard program.
Though Dhar said MunchCard discounts at Kabob and Curry would be minimal, Vishny said the discounts could be about 20 percent for some eateries.
Rie Ohta '13 said though her University plan is "convenient," she is "sick of meal plan." She said she plans to look into the MunchCard option, adding she "probably would spend less" because of the Blue Room's high prices.
But MunchCard meal credits — like University meal credits — set a price range, which might make it just as easy to pay cash, said David Manning '13, who eats most of his meals through the West House co-op. Manning added he would still look into the MunchCard.
Stephanie Lai '12, who is off meal plan and eats on Thayer Street about once a day, said she would be interested in the MunchCard option. "When we don't eat on Thayer, we make our own food because it's cheaper," she said. "But if Thayer's cheaper, that's probably more convenient."
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that David Manning '13 lives in West House. In fact, Manning is part of the West House co-op but does not live there. The Herald regrets the error.
ADVERTISEMENT
