Too lazy to trek to TresEx? Can’t find what you need at the bookstore? No problem — your next candy bar could be just a click away thanks to DormSnacks.com, a student-owned and -run website that caters to your door.
Founded by Brown University undergraduates in 2004, the DormSnacks grocery service has since spread to three other national universities, making its Stanford debut two weeks ago.
Sophomores Jay Kilachand and Omar El-Ayat, who launched the Stanford branch with help from Brown student Kevin Dixon, said they had a similar idea last year when faced with a common freshman dilemma: how to quench the midnight munchies without a car.
“Its 11:50 and you go to the vending machine and there’s nothing there you want; what do you do?” Kilachand asked.
If you plan ahead, he said, you’ll save yourself the disappointing trip downstairs to the laundry room machine.
DormSnacks.com provides students with snacks and supplies, offering everything from Doritos to Dove soap — provided that you are willing to buy in bulk, place your order by 2 p.m. Thursday and wait for Friday delivery.
Eventually, Kilachand and El-Ayat said they hope to make deliveries available a few times a week.
The two grocers deliver out of their car, dubbed the “Snackmobile.”
“At Brown they did deliveries in a shopping cart, but Stanford is just too big,” Kilachand said.
DormSnacks takes credit card, cash or check, and even offers a “Snack Bucks” feature that lets students keep credit on the site. Prices may look a little steep because students must buy in bulk, but delivery is free.
So what’s fueling Stanford’s studying?
“Junk food, soda and chips,” Kilachand said. “But the biggest orders have been for bottled water.” He added that there has not been much interest in sundry items.
The owners say customers have been mostly undergrads.
“We are targeting freshmen and other students without cars, but we were surprised by a grad student order last week,” Kilachand added.
Their advertising campaign appears to be working. Freshman Asmita Kumar reported that she received an email about the service and is interested in checking it out. However, some remain leery of the service’s requirement that orders be placed in large quantities.
“Maybe if things weren’t all in bulk, or you had the option to buy individually, I would try it,” freshman Teresa Wu said.
Others offered suggestions that the DormSnacks business branch out into delivery of other products.
“They should try it with hot food,” said freshman Daniel Graham.
Others maintain that there is no need to turn to DormSnacks for off-campus supply runs.
“I’m quite happy to bike to Safeway or use TresEx,” said senior Hassan Abudu.
In the two weeks they’ve been in business, the DormSnacks boys say they have served about 30 customers.
“It’s pretty big at Brown,” Kilachand said, adding that almost 700 students use the service in Providence. “We hope in the next two years that we get a big enough customer base at Stanford to get 20 to 30 orders per day and can offer next day service.”

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