Students’ lives can often be hectic, with time commitments making meals shorter, quicker or more rushed than some would want. Now UM Dining Services and Student Government has helped eliminate that problem by partnering with a mobile app, Favor, that delivers food from any of the university’s retail eateries to the students themselves.
Officially launched on Feb. 1, Favor is similar to the food delivery app Postmates, but Favor is for the UM community, and anyone on campus can have food from Pollo Tropical, Sushi Maki, Panda Express and more delivered to them. The app was originally launched in Austin, Texas in 2013 and has already scaled to 18 different cities in the nation in order to help faculty, staff and students have easy access to campus food that they may not have the time to grab themselves.
Another app that has seen success on campus was Tapingo, which allows students an faculty to pre-order ready-to-go-meals on campus. Building on that success, Student Government liaison for dining services, Rylee Bowles, thought about what could be improved to benefit those with busy schedules.
“We felt there was a huge necessity for delivery, whether you’re studying in the library for finals or don’t have a moment to come up for air from a project,” Bowles said. “Facilitating a delivery program was a high priority in our initiatives this semester.”
Bowles has been working on this initiative for two years and is now seeing her hard work benefit the campus.
Bowles’ duties also include creating a better bookstore experience for the campus and with the launch of Favor, she managed to see another of her initiatives successfully passed. After spring break, all UM veterans will be able to get a 10 percent discount at the bookstores.
The discount is applicable for soft goods, textbooks and current sale items. The discount will not apply to technology. This is the same discount that faculty and staff receive. In order to receive the discount, veterans must show ID and proof of their veteran status.
“We should support and express our thanks to those who have offered up their time for the sake of our nation,” Bowles said. “Giving them a bookstore discount was an easy way to show an appreciable token of our gratitude.”
While the veteran discounts will be in effect after spring break, Favor is ready download now. By downloading the app on smartphones, users can request any order from UM dining retail locations, excluding the Outtakes convenience store, and wait until their delivery arrives.
The app has averaged around 30 deliveries per week since it first started. It operates from 11 a.m. to midnight, and food can be delivered from any eatery on campus for $3 and any eatery off campus for $6.
Users can have their first delivery service waived by entering the code: UOFMIAMI.
The app has already benefited many people with busy schedules. Commuter student Rafael Castillo said that the app has saved him the hassle of going to get food numerous times.
“My days in school are either studying in the library, [University Center], or classes and sometimes I rather not waste time getting food,” Castillo said. “Favor delivers the food to me wherever I am. It is such a useful app.”
Correction, March 4, 2016: This article originally stated that the app delivers “to anywhere on campus for $3 and anywhere off campus for $6,” which is incorrect. The app delivers food from any eatery on campus for $3 and any eatery off campus for $6.