Food and Services Events

Food and Beverage at Events

Catering, Concessions, Food Trucks, Potlucks and Self-Catering on the UC Davis Campus

Catering

Catering is defined as food and/or beverage service that includes on-campus food service or on-campus food preparation, provided at an on-campus event or function.  For full-service catered meals, students, faculty, and staff will be required to utilize the on-campus caterer, Olive and Vine.  In the event that Olive and Vine is unable to support the service, additional guidance on options will be provided. Please see the Requesting a Carve Out page for additional information.

UC Davis is committed to bringing in-house all covered services as defined by Article 5 of the University Collective Bargaining Agreement and Regents Policy 5402: Regents Policy Generally Prohibiting Contracting for Services. As such, contracts that include covered services will only be allowed sparingly and will require demonstration that all other options to utilize or create career UC positions have been exhausted.

Drop Off

Drop Off is defined as a limited catering option where a food provider drops off the order and provides no other services. With a drop off event, event planners are responsible for set-up, clean-up, serving, etc. Event planners are permitted to use any vendor they choose but must still follow all campus policies and procedures related to payment.

Bar Service

It is the event planner’s responsibility to check and verify that the vendor they have chosen, meets all of the campus requirements. We are no longer offering this service. 

Event planners will need to request the following from the vendor and make sure that all information is CURRENT at the time of their event:

  • Type 58 License to Sell (no exceptions)
  • Food Handler’s Certificate (because bar providers touch and work with lemons, limes, ice, etc.)
  • County Health Permit (Yolo County requires a “Catering” County Health Permit)
  • Certificate of Insurance with the following insurances and information:
    • Commercial General Liability Insurance (min. $2,000,000.00)
    • Liquor Liability Insurance (min. $2,000,000.00)
    • Auto Liability Insurance (min. $1,000,000.00)
    • Workers’ Compensation Insurance (min. $1,000,000.00)
    • Regents of the University of California, University of California, Davis must be named as “Additional Insured”
    • Regents of the University of California, University of California, Davis must be named as the Certificate Holder

Concessions

Concessions is defined as the sale of food and/or beverages at a function where said products are sold directly to the guests by a commercial provider.

On the UC Davis campus, Olive and Vine Catering has the first right of refusal for ALL concessions. Please direct your request for concessions to Olive and Vine.

Food Trucks

A food truck is a vehicle equipped to prepare, cook and serve food for the purposes of catering or concessions (see definitions above).

All food truck operators must go through Olive and Vine to provide services on the campus. Event planners will need to contact Olive and Vine if they would like to have a food truck at their event.

Potlucks

A potluck is defined as an event to which participants bring food to be shared with other participants. On the UC Davis campus, these types of events are limited as follows:

  • Attendance Restrictions
    • Events with an attendance of 75 and under for Registered Student Organizations.
    • Restricted to the stated capacities for the approved indoor locations listed below with the appropriate signage (see below).
    • Potlucks in outdoor locations must not be accessible to the public and the appropriate signage posted (see below).
  • Food may not be sold to the public or given away free to the public.
  • In the following locations:
    • Putah Creek Lodge
    • Memorial Union
    • Departmentally controlled space
    • Outdoor Event Spaces (ex. Quad)
  • A large sign (easily visible) must be posted in the area where the potluck is taking place indicating that it is a “Closed Event” or “Private Event” and not open to the public.
  • Providers must refer to the Food Safety Course which can be found at http://lms.ucdavis.edu (course titled "Food Safety Online Training")