Independent Meal Plan Arrives on NYC Campuses

Independent Meal Plan, LLC (IMP) announced today that its independent, off-campus meal plan is open for business in New York City, providing alternative dining options for students citywide. The IMP program emphasizes choice and value for students at surrounding schools, such as NYU, Columbia, and NYIT. The plan had been operating in trial mode for a semester, with limited student enrollment at NYU.

Cold Spring, NY (PRWEB) May 5, 2004 -- Independent Meal Plan, LLC (IMP) announced today that its independent, off-campus meal plan is open for business in New York City, providing alternative dining options for students citywide. The IMP program emphasizes choice and value for students at surrounding schools, such as NYU, Columbia, and NYIT. The plan had been operating in trial mode for a semester, with limited student enrollment at NYU.

For some time now, NYC college students have been jealously eyeing schools elsewhere in the country where alternative meal plans allow students to use declining balance cards" at off-campus restaurants. Because they offer the student wide latitude to select cuisine type and dining locale without time slot restrictions, such meal plans are popular on the several dozen campuses where they currently exist. Parents like the plan because it permits them to contribute to student food budgets up front, or periodically during a semester, without worrying the money will be spent on other things.

Some schools offer a limited off-campus plan to try and address the increasing cry for dining alternatives. They have either acquired or contracted with a handful of establishments. One key feature of the new IMP program-and a decided advantage over expanded university-based solutions-is the programs unique cross-campus approach, which allows participating students to use their IMP cards at participating restaurants all around Manhattan and beyond, without regard for campus affiliation.

"It's all about choice and value," said Alex Sorenson, IMP President. "With IMP, students eat what, when, and where they want, and save money doing it. For merchants, participation in the network provides direct exposure, at no cost, to a large population of willing patrons. And for the community, it's a way to keep the money local instead of pouring it into some huge, national food service."

The IMP system features a sophisticated web interface (www.IndependentMealPlan.com) where students can sign up, browse dining options, and track their account balances and meal purchase records. Participating merchants, who get both a free annotated listing and menu page on the company's web site, can also use the site to post specials, adjust menu info, and track student business. The company has also built out its own customized transaction processing system, including dedicated servers and merchant site hardware and software.

In New York City, we have the luxury to pick and choose from over 25,000 restaurants, delis, and grocers in order to build an ideal food merchant set for student diners," said Paul Barr, IMP CFO. "We also have over 185,000 students who, if confined to their schools meal plans, are sentenced to snack food long before the evening ends." Merchants in the IMP network include restaurants, take-out shops, delicatessens, and others. In exchange for participating, merchants pay IMP a percentage on meals purchased with the IMPcard.

"Students and administrators have recognized the need for an off-campus card program for quite some time," said George Davies, VP of Business Development. "For several years running, the subject of expanding the use of student ID accounts to off-campus merchants has been a popular campaign plank during student elections. For their part, university administrators fear not only the possible negative impact to on-campus vendors, but also the viability of an alternative program. At the same time, they recognize the importance of an off-campus offering to attract and retain students."

For additional information, contact IMP representatives at 877.657.8456, or visit www.IndependentMealPlan.com.

About Independent Meal Plan, LLC
Based in Cold Spring, NY, the Independent Meal Plan (IMP) provides an alternative, off-campus meal plan at select college and university campuses. Providing students with maximum dining choice and value, merchants with increased exposure, and administrations with a flexible dining option to attract and retain students, IMP provides a seamless and mutually beneficial solution to all those interested in the student dining dollar.

Contact Info:
Alex Sorenson
Independent Meal Plan, LLC
877.657.8456
http://www.IndependentMealPplan.com