A trend of food delivery services has been sweeping across the country with the invention of meal delivery services such as Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. Now, this trend is even trickling down to college campuses, including Allegheny College. Munch Yum is the new food delivery service on campus, created by Allegheny student Frank Chen, ’18.

Colleges and Universities across the country have adopted this trend and are providing students with the opportunity to order food and other convenience items straight to their dorms.

For example, University of Southern California recently launched a food delivery service program called Envoy Now. Although Envoy Now is still considered a pilot program, it is already being cultivated on nine other university campuses across the country including Cornell University and the University of Michigan. 

These new innovative programs have made their way to Meadville, PA.

Many Allegheny students find themselves making midnight off-campus trips to the grocery store for snacks after Mckinley’s Food Court closes its doors. However, Munch Yum, a new on campus program, is aiming to make these late night trips less frequent and provide students with more easily accessible options on campus.

“[Munch Yum] is really so you don’t have to waste your time driving off-campus,” Frank Chen, ’18, the founder of Munch Yum, said.

Munch Yum is a snack and convenience item delivery service that has been launched on the Allegheny College campus to provide students with quick and easy access to their favorite snacks.

“You work to make people’s lives easier.  It’s a very convenience heavy service,” Chen said.

Chen credits his innovative new food convenience delivery program to Associate Professor of Economics Chris Allison who helped Chen cultivate his idea.

“It started off with me personally,” Chen said. “I’ve always wanted to start a business, but it was just coming up with a really important idea that sells and generates the most money, but ever since I started taking Economics 380 with Professor Allison, he’s taught us that we work to make people’s lives easier.”

“You don’t start with a solution.  You don’t start with an idea.  You start with a problem,” Chen said.

Munch Yum is a way to conveniently deliver snacks and other products to students all over campus, according to Chen.

“We deliver anywhere, except Allegheny Commons.  That’s kind of far,” Chen said.

Within minutes, students can have their favorite snacks delivered straight to their door.

What’s even better is the delivery program has a $1.79 delivery fee that relieves students of the stress of tipping.

In addition, customers are provided with various ways to pay for the goodies including cash, credit or debit card and even Venmo.

The Munch Yum program is super easy for students to use.  Just by going to the Munch Yum website and choosing a payment method, students are provided the opportunity of different products ranging from Doritos and Oreos to laundry detergent and condoms.

Students are able to choose from over fifty different products offered by Munch Yum.

Chen said he is ambitious about the prospects of Munch Yum and is hoping to expand the business to Rochester and other cities throughout the country.

“There’s a lot of areas in the U.S., like college towns and cities, that don’t have this type of service.  That’s my goal, to really expand [Munch Yum],” Chen said.

Chen is currently working on an mobile app with some developers in order to make the program even more accessible and easier for students to use.

“We are trying to improve the experience,” Chen said. “Our main goal is really to provide convenience to Allegheny.  We’re not too stressed about the profit and revenue.”

Although the program is relatively new, it is already making students’ lives easier.

Munch Yum is available to students seven days a week.  The program runs from 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on the weekends.

Although Munch Yum is currently up and running, it is still new to Allegheny’s campus and many students remain unsure about using the program.

“At first I was a little skeptical.  I wasn’t sure if [Munch Yum] was really real or not, but it looks like it is pretty legit and seems like it could be a very efficient way to get snacks.  It sounds really cool,” Brieanna Gerner, ’21, said.

Those who have utilized the snack delivery service have been thrilled with their experiences.

“Within the first two minutes that I had placed the order, the owner had contacted me personally and told me that he was on his way.  My entire order, everytime I have ordered from them has been delivered within 10 minutes,” Sydney Yahner, ’21, said.

“I will absolutely use [Munch Yum] again,” continued Yahner, “and I will absolutely recommend it to friends.”