For members of the seven UC Berkeley fraternities that have arranged mutually beneficial "meal-deals," Cheese 'N Stuff sandwiches have become the staple food for lunchtime outside of their houses.

The first "meal-deal" partnership began in 2001 when the fraternity Delta Upsilon asked Cheese 'N Stuff to supply them with food for one week while they arranged a new meal plan. Seeing this as mutually beneficial, owner Sam Juha offered to turn it into a long-term arrangement.

"It's business for me and of course it's advertisement, and on the other hand, they get a great deal for lunch," Juha said.

The "meal-deal" soon became popular and spread across the Greek community.

"One fraternity ... approached me to feed them for one week; some kept coming, and one told the other, and now I have seven of them," Juha said.

The seven fraternities with a Cheese 'N Stuff plan-Acacia, Delta Chi, Delta Upsilon, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Sigma Chi-each have personalized plans tailored to their budgets and needs; some consist of only a sandwich while others include chips or drinks. All receive a 35 to 40 percent discount on orders.

"Pre-paying Cheese 'N Stuff is really easy for us because we just include it in our dues for the fraternity," said Lev Eldemir, a member of Sigma Chi.

The food steward for Sigma Chi, Roy Button, said the "meal-deal" is popular in his fraternity: at least 75 percent of members participate.

"It works out because people are out and about on campus, so they can just go to Cheese 'N Stuff to get food and they don't have to be around (the house) to eat," said Peter Douglas, a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Juha devised a system to keep track of the 200-some fraternity members who are part of the plan by checking their student IDs when they pick up their sandwiches and marking off their names on a list.

While almost 150 participants come to Cheese 'N Stuff daily, Juha has still managed to get to know many of them.

"Now I know them by a first-name basis," he said.

While Juha said he is open to making arrangements with sororities, Alta Delta Phi member Christie Richards said sororities do not need "meal-deals."

"Sororities all have their own chef- they have breakfast, lunch and dinner served in the house, and therefore they do not need to go elsewhere to get food," she said.

But for fraternities, which typically do not have cooks, the "meal-deal" partnership offers an alternative to catering services for both lunch and dinner.

"We were getting a catering service Monday through Friday and they just became kind of bland, so we decided to branch out," said Brett Butterfield, Sigma Alpha Epsilon's kitchen steward.

Although Sigma Alpha Epsilon also has a partnership with Smart Alec's, they only get a break from tax and must place bulk take-out orders.

Fraternity members say Cheese 'N Stuff's wide selection, consistent quality and fair prices are reasons to keep with the partnership.

"Everyone in the house likes it-it's really good food," said Matt Lusich, the treasurer of Phi Gamma Delta. "We're continuing it because it's really affordable, he gives us really good deals."

Juha said he has not come across any difficulties with the "meals-deals."

"I've never had problems with money-they pay me on time, they respect me," he said. " ... Dealing with those boys on a daily basis-it keeps my spirit young. I love it, they love it."

Tags: FRATERNITY, CHEESE 'N STUFF