Seasoned students know the feeling of scraping together their last dime to pay for bad take-out and cheap beer. Having extra money to pay for food, groceries and any other necessities is something that students rarely get to enjoy, especially near the end of the semester. Now, thanks to the expansion of the Campus Cash program, students can save a dime or two for gas money.
According to Mitch Green, the executive director of Campus Dining and Shops (CDS), students will now be able to use Campus Cash at Ava Cado's, Bruno's Pizzeria, Just Pizza, Palladinas, Rena Optical and Zetti's Pizza and Pasta. Mark's Pizzeria will also be accepting Campus Cash within the semester.
Students were previously limited to very few restaurants and grocery stores that accepted Campus Cash while trying to find an alternative to the dining halls.
"I think students from Rochester will especially appreciate being able to spend their Campus Cash here," said Brandon Marshall, a manager at Mark's Pizzeria. "We're like their hometown pizzeria."
With most of the newly added locations in University Plaza or on Main Street across from South Campus, most locations are easily accessible to students.
"The process of adding new vendors started last year after FSA ran a survey through the MyUB portal to find out what type of places students would be interested to use as possible Campus Cash vendors," Greene said. "We also ran an ad in The Buffalo News to see which vendors would be interested in participating."
Overall, CDS approached over a hundred vendors in order to put together the best list possible for students to choose new Campus Cash vendors.
"I have Campus Cash, but I don't normally use it at any other place but campus," said Samantha Rogers, a sophomore health and human services major. "If they added Wegmans, I would use my Campus Cash there all the time."
The process to add a vendor to the Campus Cash program starts with the interest of the vendor who wishes to start accepting Campus Cash.
"The survey should take place early in each semester, so that those vendors can be added before (then)," Greene said. "Sometimes the number of vendors that can be admitted is limited based on the technical resources available."
After the executive director reviews each request, the results are compiled to decide which vendors will be offered the chance to accept Campus Cash at their respective location. The board of directors then makes a final vote on the vendors recommended by the executive director.
While having local vendors accept Campus Cash is a great way for students to get off campus and experience the city that they are living in, it is also a great opportunity for merchants to form a bond with the University and increase business.
"Since we started accepting Campus Cash, we have seen a slight increase in student business," said Andy Philipps, the assistant manager at Ava Cado's restaurant. "It's a great way for us to appeal to the students who live across the street."
With increased sales and business, newly added vendors are optimistic about the impact that the Campus Cash program will have on their business.
"We just got the approval to start offering Campus Cash, and we're now just starting to advertise and get the ball rolling," said Brandon Marshall, manager of Mark's Pizzeria. "A lot of people that I know who live on South go to Domino's right now because they take Campus Cash, but they don't really like it. I think once we start accepting it, we'll see a good increase in business.
Each semester the CDS will continue to add more vendors in an attempt to accommodate the ones that students would like to see accept Campus Cash the most.
"I don't have Campus Cash, but I would probably add (it) to my UB card if Wal-Mart started accepting it," said Shawniece James, a freshman biomedicine major.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
