Pizza ATM makes its debut on national college campus

COLUMBUS, OH — It sounds too good to be true, but thanks to technology it is.

A high-tech pizza ATM, otherwise known as every college kid's dream, is ready to serve hungry students at The Ohio State Univeristy.

On Tuesday, the school announced the state-of-the-art vending machine was officially open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for student meal plan holders and from 11 p.m. to 4 p.m. for general use.

“We are always looking for innovative and new ways to provide services to our students here at Ohio State,” said Abby Hertzfeld, associate director of operations for the Office of Student Life Dining Services.

The pizza ATM, which is loaded with about 70 pizzas at a time, is just as convenient as you would imagine.

Pizzas are pre-made in a nearby kitchen and come with cheese or pepperoni toppings. They are stored inside a refrigerated compartment inside the machine and are moved to an internal oven when a pizza is ordered.

It costs about $8 for a 10-inch pie, which takes about three to four minutes to cook. The machine will bake it until the crust is crispy and the cheese is nice and melted.

“It’s about a perfect size if you’re trying to get it on the go. So if you don’t have too much time, you can get it and you can just go to class,” said Isaac Cox, a second-year zoology major. “It’s not too big of a pizza, you can really just walk around with it and it’s always nice and hot.”

Eventually, the ATM will be able to offer more toppings and will be able to serve ready-to-go, hot pizzas around the clock.

“Students love to eat at all times of the day and even at breakfast they can eat pizza. They love pizza,” Hertzfeld said. “We’re starting out right now with our pilot program with limited hours but we’re going to continue to extend hours throughout this semester with our ultimate goal of there being 24-hour access for our students when we get to fall semester of 2019.”

Cox Media Group