Food Service | Catering | Food Trucks | Off-Campus Vendors | Scenarios

Net Health Food Safety Guidelines
Below are definitions for safety guidelines:

• Food:  Anything consumed by mouth (i.e., ice, water, popcorn, cotton candy, drinks)
• Food Deliveries:  Food ordered and being delivered or dropped off curbside (no indoor setup) (i.e., pizza delivery)
• Catered Event:  Food cooked at an off-campus vendor’s location for a set number of people with indoor setup and/or service.
• Closed Event:  An event not open/advertised to the public (i.e., department potluck; student organization watching movie with popcorn)

Due to the population of our University, a campus-wide event to include all faculty, staff, and students is NOT considered a closed event.

 

Temporary Event – a temporary event is not a closed event, and proof of a “Coordinator Application for a Single Event or Celebration” must be provided to foodsafety@uttyler.edu no later than 10 days prior to the date of the event, only if a vendor has a Temporary Food Establishment permit. If all vendors are vetted vendors with NetHealth permits, the “Coordinator Application for a Single Event or Celebration” is not needed.

As an example, a party with multiple vendors advertised to campus community is considered a 
temporary event and will require a Temporary Food Establishment permit if out-of-district vendors are used or if food is prepared by the campus community (i.e., chili cook off). Proof of application for this permit must be provided to foodsafety@uttyler.edu no later than 10 days prior to the date of the event. When applying for the Coordinator Permit, NET Health will dictate the food handling and sanitation requirements.

Requirements for a Coordinator Application or Temporary Food Establishment Permit can be found on NET Health's website. NET Health needs 30 days’ notice.

 

On-Campus Vendors
Sodexo is UT Tyler’s contracted food service vendor. On-campus food vendors include The Met, Chick-fil-A, Subway, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Starbucks, Wholly Habaneros, tater-licious, Starbucks, and the Swoop & Go Store. Sodexo has a health permit on file with Environmental Health & Safety and is fully insured for all their operations.

The General Manager of Sodexo and/or the Catering Manager will work with the event contact directly to accommodate food-related needs. Catering details, including payment, must be discussed directly with Sodexo.

Orders must be received by Sodexo between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at least seven (7) business days prior to the event. This does not include weekends or holidays.

• Final Guest Count: Must be given five (5) business days (not including weekends or holidays) prior to the event. Changes to the number of attendees after the final count has been given will be accepted at the discretion of the Catering Manager of Sodexo. Cancellations must be made three (3) business days prior to the event to avoid any charges – unless food has already been purchased by Sodexo. In that case, reimbursement of food purchase will be required.
• Delivery Fee: A delivery fee will be assessed for events held outside the University Center building.
• Payment: The final cost will be calculated before the event. Texas sales tax is charged where applicable. Campus departments can only charge cost centers for which they have signature authority or have received permission from the fiscal office.
• Table Linens: Linens are not provided by UT Tyler but can be rented from Sodexo. 

Approved Off-Campus Food Vendors and Food Delivery
Sodexo is not required for catering. However, off-campus food vendor are not permitted on campus unless they have been vetted by Environmental Health & Safety and Risk Management (if the vendor is operating inside the building) and can provide a current Health Food Permit and up-to-date insurance.

The UT Tyler-Vetted Off-Campus Food Vendors and UT Tyler-Vetted Food Trucks lists can be found at the link provided. These are updated regularly. Additional off-campus vendors can be added by following the process found at the same link.

Food Service Scenarios

• • For events where the food is picked up or delivered curbside:
    • A NET Health Food Permit is required
  • For catered events, where food is ONLY SET UP by the outside vendor and not served:
    • A NET Health Food Permit is required
    • Liability insurance is required
    • The UT Tyler department needs to have a contract in place
  • For catered events, where food will be SETUP AND SERVED by the outside vendor:
    • A NET Health Food Permit is required
    • Liability insurance is required
    • The UT Tyler department needs to have a contract in place
  • Insurance for a UT Tyler-Catered Event:
    • A caterer is considered a contracted vendor.
    • The off campus food vendor is required to provide a certificate of insurance (COI) that, at a minimum, shows evidence of general liability, commercial auto, and worker’s compensation coverage. (Appendix A).
  • Food Permit:
    • Food Safety must have the off-campus food vendor’s current permit on file.
    • It is the responsibility of the event requester to ensure Food Safety has a current copy 10 days prior to the date of the event.
  • Any vendor that is not from within the NET Health District (meaning they do not have a NET Health permit) must apply for and obtain a Temporary Food Establishment Permit to serve food on campus.
    • This applies to ALL types of events including caterers and food trucks.
    • This process must be started no later than 14 days before the event.
  • No cooking of food is allowed in the Alumni House kitchen.
  • Food served at catered events MUST be handled and served (or monitored in the case of self-serve horsd’oeuvres) by catering staff to ensure proper food service and handling guidelines are maintained.
    • UT Tyler staff, faculty, and students are not allowed to act as food servers without a food 
      handler’s license.
    • The only catered foods allowed to be “self-served” are hors d’oeuvres where catering staff monitor appropriate food handling and utensil use and can promptly remove any contaminated utensils or dishes.
    • The ONLY exceptions to this rule are delivered pizza, prepackaged boxed lunches, and prepared single serve foods such as cookie platters, donuts, bagels, etc.  Other exceptions MAY be made at the discretion of Food Safety on a case-by-case basis.

Outdoor Events with Food
There are specific procedures that need to be followed for outdoor events with food.

• • Outdoor events serving any food item that is not prepackaged in its original container must observe the following requirements:
    • All areas of food service must be covered by tents – no exceptions.
    • If food is being cooked on site, and not contained within a food truck, the vendor must obtain a Temporary Food Establishment Permit.
    • Three-bin wash disk sinks with hot water must be supplied.
    • Separate hand-wash sinks must be supplied.
    • In-building wash facilities are not allowed to be used in lieu of hand-wash sinks.
    • A finished floor must be provided; food cannot be cooked in grassy areas.
  • Vendors bringing food that has been prepared off site must have a current NetHealth Food Permit.
  • Vendors are responsible for providing any hot or cold holding equipment needed to keep their food at a safe serving temperature.
  • All food service personnel must wear gloves.

Food Trucks
All food trucks must receive prior approval BEFORE arriving on campus from the VP of Operations via the Event Management Coordination Form (EMC). After submitting your online request via Astra, you will be sent an email with a link to the EMC.  This form needs to be completed at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of the event. 

Additionally, the food truck needs to be listed on the UT Tyler Vetted Food Vendors List and is in good standing with the State of Texas.  If the vendor is not listed, please allow three (3) weeks for vetting by EH&S and Risk Management.  The process can also be found on the vetted food vendors webpage.

A Food Truck Agreement, which is mandatory, must be approved by Legal prior to the food truck arriving on campus. Please allow at least 10 days for Legal to review and execute.

Bake Sales and Potluck Meals
Organization/Department potlucks are allowed. Potluck meals must be limited to members of the specific organization or department and should not be opened to other groups or the campus community. It is recommended that any foods that may contain common allergens (e.g., eggs, dairy, shellfish, nuts, etc.) be marked as containing such. 
 
Bake Sales are not allowed unless all foods are purchased from a NET Health-permitted facility and are prepackaged in their original containers. Home-cooked baked goods may not be sold or otherwise distributed to the campus community unless the preparer adheres to all aspects of the Texas Cottage Food Law.

Bake Sales must be reviewed and approved by Student Engagement and Food Safety to determine appropriate compliance.