Dispatch from Lincoln High: Students Create a School DoorDash Called Mustang Munchies

Dispatch from Lincoln High is a series that features the reporting of journalism students at Lincoln High School and its student newspaper, the Lincoln Log.

By Laish Doris-Wiener

The Mustang Munchies is a program in which special education students deliver food from local restaurants directly to teachers' classrooms every Thursday, for a small delivery fee of $2.99. The program is good for teachers as it allows them to conveniently order food from restaurants without paying an excessively high delivery app fee, and without taking time out of their day to walk to restaurants to pick food up. The program is also very beneficial for the students, both through the valuable life skills they learn, and the funds they receive, which help pay for class field trips, projects, and materials.

David “John” Maske runs the Mustang Munchies out of his class. He began the program last year in October, inspired by a similar program he saw at Balboa High School.

Maske says, “The process begins on Monday right before lunch, when students distribute order slips to teachers from 11:00 AM to 11:45 AM.” 

Students are given a dialogue sheet in which they put their names in a blank space to help introduce themselves to teachers and correctly get their teachers’ orders. This helps students with social anxiety and it allows them to practice communication skills.

Students then make logs for all the orders received, both to keep track of them and to allow students to practice math and organization.

The next step of the process occurs on Wednesday when all the order slips are collected, and students call restaurants, one day in advance to pick the orders up the following day. Maske says, “This is to ensure orders are ready in time.” When students call, they also use a script, which they look at while ordering over the phone.

Then, on Thursday, two hours before lunch, students set out to pick up the food they ordered the day prior. Accompanied by Lincoln seniors, Ken and Raymond, Maske’s class splits up, sending different students to different restaurants based on their needs, as some students are wheelchair-bound, or need aid in walking. 

Sara Falls, a teacher and frequent orderer from the Mustang Munchies says, “I really like that they're engaging with the school in a way that brings awareness to them and is a resource for them to put into practice job skills.” 

She adds, “I think it's really cool. It's a little expensive, but it's been something I’ve been willing to spend money on because I’m like ‘this is a good cause, I want to do it.’”

Maske points out, “The program really helps a lot, not only for the kids, and the classroom, but also for the local restaurants.”

The four restaurants teachers can choose from are Lou's Cafe, King of Thai, Sushi Zen, and Pho Ga. Since the class has a special relationship with the four restaurants, they can easily order from them without confusion.

After students pick up the orders and bring them back to the school, the class separates and organizes the food, ensuring the right items are delivered to the right teachers. The orders are then delivered to classrooms at the beginning of lunch.

Maske says that on average they are getting four orders a week, but in the past few weeks, they have been receiving an increase of ten to 15 orders a week. Maske attributes this to “more teachers realizing the benefits of the program.”

Maske says many teachers use the Mustang Munchies because they “have very little time to go get food at lunch, and delivery apps are much more expensive compared to ordering food from the Mustang Munchies.”

The class uses the money gained from the delivery fee for many things including stamps and envelopes, class project materials, staff appreciation gifts, birthday parties, extra equipment and tools, sensory fidgets, and more.

Maske says, “Students are so excited to go outside because it is like a field trip and they enjoy the exercise.”

Jasmine, a student in Maske’s class, says her favorite part of the Mustang Munchies is “meeting and talking to teachers and delivering food.”

In January of this year, Maske began experimenting with an electronic Google Form in place of knocking on doors in to not disturb teachers during their teaching hours. Currently, they take orders both in-person and through Google Forms.

Finding a job can be a difficult process for many special education students. Another benefit of the program is that students can begin to understand how a job would work enter the real world and begin to make connections. It also allows the students to be active and develop real-world experience with work. 

Future job opportunities for Maske’s students are limited. After graduating from Lincoln, they will attend a transition program in which they learn life skills and how to be independent in life. Maske acknowledges that while some of his students may be able to work in the food delivery business later on, the majority will find it difficult to hold a job in the future. 

However, Maske says, he program is still very helpful for them as all the activities are specially designed to be educational, and to help teach students valuable social and communication skills, which help them to learn to live a more independent life.”

Maske worries about next year as he doesn't know if “the process will still be possible because the school is currently debating when the lunch time will be on Thursdays.” If lunch is scheduled earlier, Maske says his class will “either have to greatly improve our time management skills, or the program might no longer be possible.” This is because “most restaurants open around 11:00 AM, and we can pick up orders at the earliest at 11:30 AM.”

Reported and written by Lincoln High School student journalist Laish Doris-Wiener. We encourage student journalists in high school and college to volunteer as writers for Supervisor Engardio’s newsletter. Interested? Apply here. Do you know a story you would like to see featured in the newsletter? Tell us about it here.