Less than two weeks left for free local food

Campusfood.com is offering students one free meal from some of their favorite takeout restaurants in Mount Pleasant.

Dominos Pizza, Hungry Howie”s, Pisanello”s Pizza, Pizza King, Jimmy John”s, Pita Pit, Roly Poly and China Garden are the area merchants participating in the online ordering service”s promotion.

Campusfood.com employee Robert Saunders said when students put in an order online at http://www.campusfood.com, it is faxed straight to the restaurant.

‘This helps with miscommunication over the phone,’ Saunders said. ‘The restaurants have it right there on paper.’

The Web site is offering the free food until Oct. 10, after which students still can use the site to order food and hopefully get specials, Saunders said.

‘We try to get specials that are exclusive,’ he said.

Don Miller, co-owner of Jimmy John”s, 1901 S. Mission St., said the restaurants are doing a trial run with Campusfood.com to see if it will increase business.

‘The jury is still out,’ he said.

Miller said he has spoken to some other owners of Jimmy John”s on college campuses who have participated in the program. He said they didn”t see much of an advantage to the online ordering, but he hopes that with the promotion, his store will see an increase in sales.

Miller said he received about 40 orders on Monday, the first day of the promotion.

Carson City freshman Courtney Miller said she would definitely order the free food but after the promotion, she would be wary about using the online service.

‘I think the free food is great because it gives you a chance to try someplace different,’ she said.

Saunders said the Web site was started in 1997 at the University of Pennsylvania and is now serving more than 80 schools with the promotion.

After the promotion, the online ordering will be offered at more than 250 schools, he said.