A new way to eat off campus: Waddle Meal Plan launches at UO

In 2019, Alden Schatz started his freshman year at the University of Oregon and quickly became "so sick and tired" of eating the same Hamilton breakfast sandwich most mornings. He thought it would be cool if his parents could give him food money to spend off campus, he said, but that was the end of his thought.

Then, as quarantine was starting in the spring of 2020, one of his closest friends, Mia Lopez, sent him a text explaining how her dad uploads money to her brother’s school account in Colorado which he can spend at off campus restaurants. Lopez asked Schatz if he would be interested in doing something similar in Eugene. Schatz said he responded immediately: “call me.”

 “To this day, I think it’s the luckiest phone call or text that I’ve ever received," Schatz said. 

Over the next year, Schatz and Lopez turned this idea into Waddle, a student-founded app that UO students can download this academic year to begin an off-campus meal plan. Described as “the meal plan parents and students can agree on,” Waddle allows parents to upload money to their student’s account. Students can spend this money at 21 restaurants — and counting  — off campus.

At the beginning of the venture, Schatz said they didn’t know much about building a business, meal plans or creating an app. After posing as incoming freshmen and current students at over 150 universities to learn more about other schools’ dining options, they came across two similar programs that allow for off campus dining and reached out. They ended up licensing the same software and app as those two programs at CU Boulder and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

“It’s been the craziest roller coaster ever,” Schatz said. “When you take two 19 year olds, and none of you know how to code or anything about software or credit cards, you just have this idea, it creates a lot of learning moments.”

Schatz said since Waddle is a three-way market — with students, parents and restaurants — it can be difficult to manage. Their priority right now is brand awareness, especially getting parents to hear about the app. .

The team put out a survey to parents and students asking almost identical questions and found that when students receive $100 for food from their parents, about $52 of it is spent on food. However, parents reported they thought their student was spending just above $90 on food.

“What's in it for the parent is this ensurity that the money you're giving your student for food is being used as intended,” Schatz said. “There was this discrepancy over where this money was going. We are trying to help parents feel that sense of comfort.”

Waddle also features budgeting restrictions for students. The app is free to download, and students receive coupons immediately upon downloading. Using the app has no additional costs to students and parents — other than the money they’d already be spending on the food, Schatz said.

Restaurants only have to pay a $20 insurance fee to protect the technology Waddle provided them with.

“Unless we bring a restaurant a sale, they don't pay us anything,” Schatz said. “We’ve generated the whole business model around the idea that unless we do our jobs, which is to bring more people into your restaurant, then we’ll take our little commission fee. If we don’t do that, it really doesn’t hurt you to accept Waddle at your store.”

Olivia Klumbo, a UO senior who works at ShakeSmart, said she’s noticed a lot of people coming in using Waddle, which she was “pleasantly surprised” by. Klumbo said Waddle is something she wishes she would’ve had earlier.

“I think my mom would’ve really liked it my sophomore year or freshman year,” Klumbo said.

Schatz said asking businesses to include Waddle was not the easiest sell at first.

“I’ve never gone into a place as a 20 year old and tried to convince someone who does this for their life to trust me with their money,” Schatz said.

However, as the model starts to prove itself, he said he is confident more restaurants will get on board.

Schatz said Waddle is not currently a profit-driven business, but he and Lopez hope to inspire other students to create their own venture. He also encourages students to support the app.

“At the end of the day, if you don't need Waddle, being able to support your UO students by doing the free download and sign up is something incredible,” Schatz said.