Ordering Food

Health Sciences Center Student Organizations Only

The following information ONLY applies to organizations on the Health Sciences Center Campus.  

This information does NOT apply to Main Campus student organizations.  View Main Campus Policies here.

Cherry & White Catering Company is Temple University's approved caterer and must be used for all on-campus and university-funded food/beverage purchases. Exceptions to this policy require preapproval from the Office of Business Services at least 2 weeks prior to an event through the Catering Exception System (CES). That said, the Office of Business Services has consulted with Accounts Payable (AP), the Office of Risk Management and the CFO's Office to implement several changes to the university's catering exception requirements. Effective immediately, catering exception approvals are no longer required for the following:

  • Off-campus events unless the external gathering is held at a location where a third-party catering company is hired to serve food and/or alcohol (e.g., a rental hall)
  • Pizza purchases Please note the Office of Business Services will work with AP to conduct periodic audits of receipts submitted for reimbursements to ensure compliance with the university's catering policy.
  • Donated food items
  • Faculty, staff, and/or student meals at a restaurant
  • Food and/or beverage purchases of $500 or less – unless a catering company will be on campus to set up and/or serve – in which case a Certificate of Liability Insurance (COI) is required.

Reimbursement requests for purchases outlined above can now be submitted directly to AP through Concur Travel and Expense without a catering exception approval from Business Services. In addition, Certificates of Liability Insurance (COI) are no longer required to accompany catering exception submissions when:

  • Food is picked up from a restaurant and dispersed amongst meeting/event attendees
  • Food is delivered (but not set up or served) to an on-campus meeting/event by a restaurant, caterer, or food delivery service (DoorDash, Uber Eats, etc.).

Catering exception approvals and COIs are still required in all other cases. The Catering Exception System (CES) has been updated to reflect the aforementioned changes to the university's catering exception requirements. To access the CES, go to TUportal and select Catering Exception System (CES) from the TUApplications menu on the left. For external vendors and guests without single sign-on access to TUportal, a paper-based catering exception form is available on the Business Services website. For more information about the catering exception policy, or for CES assistance, please contact Kathleen Paul in the Office of Business Services at 215-204-3121, or email catering.exception@temple.edu.

Food Exemptions (Non-Aramark Catering)

The process outlined below is on a per event basis. Please complete the process for each individual event with food.

  1. Start the process at least 2 weeks before your event, ideally 3 weeks. To begin:

    • Submit a Funding Request to establish your approved budget for the event.

    • Fill out the Food Exemption Form using the new online system called (CES) based on the policies outlined above.

    • Obtain Certificate of Insurance (COI) from vendor if needed based on the policies outlined above.

      • If a vendor has a current COI on file, it will be listed on the new catering exception form . If the vendor is not there or the COI is outdated, you will need to reach out to the vendor to obtain a current version.

        • COI is generally only good for a specific date but can be made available for an entire year at the discretion of the vendor.

        • The COI must have the following wording (below) referenced on the COI and be at a minimum of $1,000,000 general liability coverage. Exceptions to the $1,000,000 have happened but will need to be approved by the Office of Risk Management and Insurance.

          • “Temple University – Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education, its trustees, officers, employees and agents”.

  2. For orders under $500, no approval needed.

  3. For orders over $500, SFC, Business Services, and Aramark will need to approve.

  4. You will be notified via email from the CES system when your request has been approved.

  5. Once informed of approval, the organization is good to move forward with food purchase. Do not purchase food prior to approval.

  6. Pay for the food using personal funds. Hold on to all original receipts and submit Purchase Request to begin the reimbursement process. Learn more about the reimbursement process here.

     

Important Notes:

  • Starting the process within the time frame given does not guarantee approval of request and not following the time frame could result in no approval for funds to be used to purchase food for your event.  
  • Any food purchased without a completed and fully signed catering exception form by Business Services is not guaranteed to be approved for reimbursement if over $500.

Catering Process (Aramark)

Request Food from Aramark Cherry & White Catering Company

  1. Place order with Aramark a minimum of 5 business days, 10 business days preferred, prior to the event. Approval, prices, and delivery not guaranteed if outside of this time frame.
  2. Place order at Aramark here. Please note that Aramark Catering's new process is fully online and requires no paper or email attachments.
  3. Click “Student Org. Wise Owl Menu and Order Form”
    • Choose food items and drinks
    • When you have to choose your payment method you MUST choose pay by FOPAL.
    • Enter sfc@temple.edu and the office phone number 215-707-4017.  The form will automatically be emailed to our office for final approval.
    • This is for the Health Science Campus student only! For Main campus groups please visit their webiste for instructions.
  4. Once our office approves the online form, you will receive an automated response for your records.
  5. Money will be taken directly from the HSC allocations budget. Students do not need to spend their own money unless ordering more than the amount of funds available in their student group allocations fund.
  6. Submit a purchase request on OwlConnect attaching Aramark invoice within 10 days of the event so that the relevant funds can be subtracted from your group’s allocation fund. 

Note: A $50 delivery fee is applied to all HSC orders. Free pick up is available as well