Student Groups Serving Food at Events Policy

Request to Serve Food by Students

The University encourages the use of Lehigh Catering whenever possible

• Contact Lehigh Catering at lehighcatering@lehigh.edu or 610-758-4152 as far in advance as possible and at least two weeks prior to the event.

Food served in Lamberton Hall and the Clayton University Center requires the use of Lehigh Catering unless permission to bring in external food is received in writing by both the Executive Director of Auxiliary Services and the Director of Student Center Facilities.

Food served at the temporary HST 3rd Floor location and Wood Dining Room must go through Lehigh Dining/Catering or food will not be permitted.  We recommend planning at least three months in advance especially during the spring semester to ensure Catering will be able to accommodate the request.

Organizations requesting to serve food from an off-campus restaurant/caterer must meet the following requirements:

An Event Planning Form (LINC) must be completed a minimum of 4 weeks prior to the date of the event including the request to use an outside caterer/restaurant and budget

• The restaurant or caterer must be an established legitimate business with a Food Facility and have all required local licensing to operate
  • The restaurant must be within a 10-mile radius of Lehigh University’s campus 
• The organization must notify the reserving office that food will be served
• The scheduling office reserves the right to charge a post-event cleaning fee
• Food must be picked up no more than 45 minutes before the start of the event
• Hot food must then be placed into the proper equipment to keep food at the required temperature (chaffing dishes, sterno burners, ice, etc.)
• Review the Two Hour Rule portion of this document 
• The required certification will be at the organization’s or individual’s expense
• Food must be discarded after 2 hours of service
  • Additional information for ServSafe certification is listed at the end of this document under Resources
•  Lehigh University is not responsible for any incidents that occur to and from campus
• For events with over 150 people or more, must have an assigned person who is in charge of coordinating the food. This person must be ServSafe certified and be onsite  at the event for the duration of the food serving to oversee safe handling practices
• The person who is picking up the food takes on all the risk of driving to and from the venue location.

Cleaning up after your event

• Wipe down any table surfaces with Lysol wipes 
• All food and serving items and other trash must be placed into proper trash receptacles without overflowing the unit, this may require arranging for extra trash bags/receptacles in advance.  If not already required by the scheduling office, we strongly encourage each group to place a work order through Facilities Services Work Order Central to clean up and remove trash and wipe down tables
  • Failure to do so will result in a minimum $250 cleaning fee and club probation

Request to have food served by Caterer/Restaurant 

An Event Planning Form (LINC) must be completed a minimum of 4 weeks prior to the date of the event including the request to use an outside caterer/restaurant and budget

Organizations requesting to bring in an External Caterer on campus to serve food must abide by the following requirements 

• Notify the space scheduling office of your request to have food served by an External Caterer to determine if there are any restrictions with bringing in an External Caterer
• The organization must provide the External Caterer with the Lehigh University Vendor Acknowledgment and Agreement Form and Indemnification and Insurance Form which can be found under Resources at the end of the document
  • Copies of the signed documents must be returned to the Campus Engagement Advisory Group (CEAG) Christmas Saucon Room 136 or submitted to inceag@lehigh.edu at a minimum of 10 business days prior to the event.
  • Ensure that all External Catering staff are ServSafe trained and certified 
  • Ensure Caterers have the proper equipment to keep food warm (chafing dishes, sterno burners, ice, etc.)
• The sponsoring organization will be responsible for arranging any table needs, additional cleanup that is required, and requesting the exemption
• Display a sign with the company name at each end of the serving area

 

Food Being Made By Students 

Small group meetings (50 students or less) requesting to prepare their own food. Considerations will be made if it meets the following criteria: 

• Food cannot be sold at the event, this includes the solicitation of donations 
• A minimum of four weeks’ notice will be required to allow adequate time to review the request and arrange a meeting with the sponsoring group. This request must be made through an event planning form in LINC.
• A confirmation for the space must be received and it must be designated as a space where food can be served 
• There must be a designated Lehigh faculty or staff member acting as a University liaison to oversee the entire event and ensure the safe preparation and handling of food 
• Anyone preparing and/or serving the food must be ServSafe trained and evidence of certification provided to the Student Engagement and Student Center Facilities Office at least 10 business days prior to the event 
• Sanitary gloves must be worn when serving food and all food must be placed in appropriate serving units 
• Due to food allergies and religious practices, each dish must be labeled listing the ingredients, and put in close proximity to the dish 
• All trash must be bagged and placed in the designated trash area. Any additional cleanup and/or damage charges will be billed to the sponsoring organization

Large group meetings (50+ students) requesting to prepare their own food. Considerations will be made if it meets the following criteria: 

• Food cannot be sold at the event, this includes the solicitation of donations 
• A minimum of four weeks’ notice will be required to allow adequate time to review the request and arrange a meeting with the sponsoring group. This request must be made through an event planning form in LINC.
• A confirmation for the space must be received and it must be designated as a space where food can be served 
• There must be a designated Lehigh faculty or staff member acting as a University liaison to oversee the entire event and ensure the safe preparation and handling of food 
• Obtain a food license from the City of Bethlehem Health Bureau for the event 
• The City of Bethlehem Health Bureau reserves the right to send a health inspector to the location to ensure all guidelines are being followed and food prepared safely 
• Anyone preparing and/or serving the food must be ServSafe trained and evidence of certification provided to the Student Engagement and Student Center Facilities Office at least 10 business days prior to the event 
• Sanitary gloves must be worn when serving food and all food must be placed in appropriate serving units 
• Due to food allergies and religious practices, each dish must be labeled listing the ingredients, and placed in close proximity to the dish 
• All trash must be bagged and placed in the designated trash area. Any additional cleanup and/or damage charges will be billed to the sponsoring organization

Food Trucks 

Groups may request to bring a food truck onto campus. They must meet both Lehigh University and City of Bethlehem guidelines which are listed below:

 

Lehigh University

• Food Truck and company must be fully licensed and insured. Must have all relevant certifications to operate a food service (servsafe training, etc.) 
• Food Truck must provide a certificate of insurance(COI) listing Lehigh University as additionally insured 
• Organization sponsoring food truck must notify business services and auxiliary services that they will be on campus 
• Organization sponsoring food truck must reserve space on campus where food truck is to be located
• Organization sponsoring must obtain all requirements for food truck by putting in work orders as needed(ex: electricity, tables) 
• Organization may not sign the contract for Food Truck, this must be completed by a Lehigh University Staff member within the Office of Student Involvement. 

City of Bethlehem 

• Vendor Permit Application (attached here) – vendors would be asked to provide completed applications at least 2 weeks prior to their scheduled vend date at LU.  As the event organizer, you would complete and sign the top part of the application and provide to your proposed vendors. The vendors would then complete the remainder of page 1 and sign page 2. 

 

• Food trucks would be required to be inspected on site at City Hall. The Fire Department typically does onsite inspections for Food Trucks and Food Vendors that are cooking, heating, warming on site.  In order to inspect the vehicle, the vendors would be asked to reach out to the Fire Department directly to schedule an inspection here at City Hall.  These appointments can be scheduled by the vendor calling the Fire Department Directly at:  610-865-7143. (The Department may need at least two weeks’ notice to schedule the inspection).

 

• A Site plan would be required to be included with each vendor application. An example site plan is located here.

 

Additional Information

Two-hour Rule

Food should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Throw out anything left out for two hours or more.

Keep foods at the proper temperature

• Hot foods should be kept at 140 F or warmer
  • Use chafing dishes, warming trays, or slow cookers to keep hot foods hot on the buffet table
  • All hot food must be in warming units so plan accordingly to ensure you have enough
  • Keep the covers on the hot food dishes to keep the heat inside the dish.
• Cold food should be kept at 40 F or colder

• Nest dishes in bowls of ice to keep foods cold.

Leftover Food Safety

• Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within two hours of serving.
• Throw out foods left on your buffet table for longer than two hours.
• Eat leftovers within three days.
• Freeze foods for longer storage.
• Reheat leftovers to 165 F.
• When reheating in the microwave:
  • Use a food thermometer to ensure food is reheated enough to kill bacteria. 
  • Let heated, covered food sit for two minutes before eating to let the heat distribute throughout. Microwave ovens heat unevenly.

Resources

• The Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture has listed approved certification training courses by county and online. This online course is available for food handler certification or select one of the other approved sites.  
• USDA Foodsafety.gov Holiday or Party Buffets
• External Vendor Forms
  • Lehigh University Vendor Acknowledgment and Agreement Form
  • External Vendor Insurance and Indemnification Form

 

September  2023