Not all first-year students are able to maximize their meal plans, but Eitan Zur, Sci ’28, is looking to change that.
Launched March 31, TAMExpress connects first-year students who have leftover trade-a-meals (TAMs) — meal swipes that can be exchanged for food at campus retail locations — with upper-year students, who pay a discounted price compared to regular retail rates.
In an interview with The Journal, Zur explained that through the website, users can request a meal that’s only available as a TAM. The request is then sent to first-year students registered on the site, who can accept it, place the mobile order, and send the order details to the buyer, who then picks it up. Zur has tried out different TAM prices, ranging from $4.50 to $8.
He said the idea came from seeing his own and his peers’ unused TAMs go to waste during his first year, since they expire at the end of the winter term.
“It started off pretty slow, but it’s been growing,” Zur said in an April 11 interview. “Every new day is like the best day.”
While first-year students are paid to place the TAM order, Zur explained he takes a $1 cut from each sale in order to process refunds that come up, but said his goal is not to turn a profit.
He added that the website uses the payment platform Stripe for all transactions, meaning he doesn’t have access to any financial information of users.
According to Zur, as of April 18, TAMExpress received over 250 orders. He claims students have saved more than $2,500 through the platform so far, with his estimate that buyers save around $10 per order.
Acknowledging the service operates in what he described as a “grey area” when it comes to Queen’s meal plan rules, Zur said he hasn’t heard from the University about the website, despite making his contact information available through the platform’s social media.
“I’m not trying to make a protest,” Zur said. “I just wanted to turn an idea that I had into reality, and save students some extra money.”
He added that if Queen’s told him the platform needed to stop operating, he wouldn’t fight the decision.
“If it’s actually hurting Queen’s, then they would reach out and I would shut it down,” he said.
As TAMExpress continued to grow, Zur said he noticed some dining locations more closely checking order information. He said some locations have asked students to open the mobile app or show identification when picking up orders, adding that signs have been put up at campus retail locations reminding students about rules surrounding meal plan use.
TAM mobile ordering signs at Flip It (left) and Clove and Spice (right). PHOTO BY EITAN ZUR.
With the ordering website offline, as TAMs have expired for the year, Zur said he’s unsure whether he’ll bring the service back. However, if Queen’s doesn’t reach out and student demand is high, then there’s “a good chance” TAMExpress will return.
Tags
meal plan, TAM, TAMExpress, TAMs
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