Campusfood.com giving food away

With a limited number of meal options on campus, students crave more than the tacos from… With a limited number of meal options on campus, students crave more than the tacos from Eddie’s.

And that craving is what the Internet business campusfood.com is trying to satisfy.

Campusfood.com recruits restaurants near college campuses and allows them to post their menus online. Students can then order food, directly from them, using the Internet.

The Web site is giving away free food this month as a promotion to get more Pitt students to use the service. Every customer can get one free meal until September 22.

“We try and find the top restaurants, and that is who we work with,” said Michael Saunders, the campusfood.com president.

Campusfood.com allows Pitt students to order food from 19 restaurants in the Oakland area, with most restaurants delivering the food right to students’ dorms or off-campus residences.

Marketing coordinator Ismael Archbold explained that one of the benefits of ordering online is that there are no busy signals during busy hours. He added that the menu is right in front of the user’s face.

“They know what choices they have and the menu is right there,” he said. “There is no guesswork involved.”

Pitt sophomore Christina Panetlas was skeptical at first when she ordered a chicken salad online from New Atwood Deli ‘ Pizzeria.

“At first, I was like, does this actually work?” she said.

But her food soon arrived at her dormitory.

“It was really convenient,” she added.

Students can choose a medium cheese pizza from Domino’s, Michael G’s or Pop’s Downtown. They can try General Tso’s Chicken from Szechuan Express or Liang’s, chicken lo mein from New China Inn, or a Fat Tommy’s Italian hoagie.

“When we say, ‘free food,’ this is about ordering meals,” Archbold said. “You’re eating on us.”

After the promotion, Campusfood.com will continue to post specials and discounts for Oakland restaurants.