University of Birmingham "meal deal society" goes viral

A University of Birmingham society built around the humble supermarket meal deal has gone viral after dozens of students crowded into a Tesco Express in Selly Oak for its first meet-up.

More than 60 students came along to the Meal Deal Society's first event this month, filmed for a TikTok video that has been viewed more than a million times. The organisers admit far more people turned up than they expected, and they had to split them into groups because "too many people" were standing outside the shop.

An icebreaker

The society was set up by five friends on the same course, after their friend Finley came up with the idea. The aim is simple: buy a meal deal, compare it with everyone else's, and make friends along the way.

Phoebe, 21, the society's vice-president, said: "It's very chill. The idea is, anyone can love a meal deal, anyone can hate a meal deal. At the start of university, you go around saying, 'what year are you in?', 'what are you studying?', 'where are you staying?' Instead it's a new one: 'What are you having today?'"

"We had people from their first year to their final year," she said. "All different courses came along, and people just formed groups because they would say, 'oh what's your deal?'"

Rules of the game

Some combinations are more divisive than others. An egg pot can be "quite controversial", Phoebe said, and choosing water as your drink is "a no". The highest ratings go to the best value for money, with members comparing their Clubcard savings.

Tesco noticed the attention and sent nine boxes of Doritos for the students.

Not just about drinking

The first event ended with a pub crawl, but the organisers say the society is for everyone, whether they drink or not. Luke, 22, the treasurer, said: "It's just a bit of fun. Everyone can have a bit of a laugh with it. Our events aren't just drinking ones. Next week we're doing a scavenger hunt."

Membership costs £3.85, the price of a meal deal with a Clubcard, and anyone who joins through the society's website gets a meal deal included. It already has more than 100 members.

Making friends at university

The society's popularity reflects something universities take seriously. Loneliness is one of the most common problems new students report, and research has linked feeling that you belong at university with staying on your course and doing well.

Students' unions run hundreds of societies, from sport and politics to culture and faith, partly because they are one of the easiest ways to meet people outside lectures. Many of the most popular are light-hearted ones that make it easy to turn up without knowing anyone.

Selly Oak, next to the university's Edgbaston campus, is home to thousands of students living in shared houses, and its high street shops, pubs and takeaways are a big part of student life.

As Phoebe put it: "It was a great way to meet so many different people because it unites people from all sorts of backgrounds."