Food and Beverage Service Procedures

The health and safety of all is paramount. In the interest of food safety, quality, and cost-effective services, the following procedures are established for all food service provided at Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s events/activities.

Primary Food Service Providers

College employees must contact the food service provider directly for more information and ordering. It is the responsibility of the employee to be on-site from catering setup through teardown as well as to inform Event Services of catering plans including access timeframe, tables needed, etc. Event Services will support and coordinate food service for all rental clients.
Arcadia Commons Campus and Bronson Healthy Living Campus - Kalamazoo Valley Culinary Catering has the first right of refusal for all food service needs scheduled at the Arcadia Commons Campus and Bronson Healthy Living Campus.

To request service, please email catering@kvcc.edu. To help expedite the processing of your request, it’s recommended that you include the proposed date and time of the event, location, budget, and specific service interests in your email.
For questions about Kalamazoo Valley Culinary Catering services please email catering@kvcc.edu or call us at 269-548-3207.

Texas Township Campus and Groves Campus - The college’s contracted food service provider, Aramark, has the first right of refusal for food service needs at the Groves Campus and Texas Township Campus weekdays between 7:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

To request service, submit your request in Aramark’s catering system, Catertrax at https://kvcc.catertrax.com/.
For questions about Aramark services, contact hanson-jeffery@aramark.com or call 269-488-4103.

If either primary food service provider is unable to support the event, documentation that the request has been declined must be shared with eventscheduling@kvcc.edu before reaching out to an approved food service provider. Event Services will notify rental clients of next steps if their needs cannot be supported by the primary food service provider.

Approved Food Service Providers

Event Services maintains a list of approved food service providers that may be utilized for food service if the primary food service provider is unable to support the event. This list is established for event food safety purposes. If you have questions please contact the Facility and Events Manager at eventscheduling@kvcc.edu. College employees should reach out to Business Services with any questions regarding payment processing with these vendors.

Approved food service providers are not permitted access to college kitchen facilities and must prepare the food off campus.

This list of approved food service providers can be found here.

Only the location(s) for the establishment identified on the list is approved.
College employees and rental clients must contact the food service provider directly for more information and ordering. It is the responsibility of the person ordering to ensure you have support on-site from catering setup through teardown as well as to inform Event Services of catering plans including access timeframe, tables needed, etc.
This list and new applicants will be reviewed annually. Any food service provider wishing to apply to be considered for next year’s list (effective July 1) should email the completed Food Service Provider Application with the required documentation to Event Services at eventscheduling@kvcc.edu between Jan. 1 and March 1.

College employees can request an exception to review a provider outside the standard review period when warranted by specific circumstances. To initiate this request, the college employee must contact the Facility and Events Manager at 269.488.4204 at least three weeks in advance of the event. Requests should be submitted as soon as possible. Three weeks advance notice does not guarantee that there will be sufficient time to review the request.

Limited Exceptions

We recognize that some items pose limited risk to guests and may allow (with prior approval from Event Services) the following food and drink to be provided at events:

Individual unopened beverages (I.E., bottled water or soft drinks).
Individually prepackaged and shelf-stable products that will remain unopened until consumption. Food will not be opened and served to attendees.
All food must remain in its original packaging and all seals must be intact.
Baked goods from a licensed bakery;

Baked goods may be provided at internal college sanctioned events through a licensed bakery. These items are typically breads, cakes, buns, rolls, cookies, bars and pies.

Note that potentially hazardous baked goods (those that require temperature control, contain meat, custard, cream, etc.) cannot be provided unless through a primary or approved food service provider.
An ingredient listing should be available and items should be labeled including labeling of the nine major food allergens, as applicable.
These items should be individually packaged whenever possible.
Label all packaged food.

Additional exceptions may be granted through executive leadership. All requests for exceptions should be sent to the Facility and Events Manager at eventscheduling@kvcc.edu at least three weeks in advance of the event. Requests should be submitted as soon as possible. Three weeks advance notice does not guarantee that there will be sufficient time to review the request.

Questions? Contact the Facility and Events Manager at 269-488-4204 or eventscheduling@kvcc.edu

Food purchases for BHLC

Food purchases for the Bronson Healthy Living Campus academic labs, community kitchen, and culinary theater must be requested directly from the BHLC Storeroom Manager using a food requisition form. All foods must be prepared on-site. All workers involved in food preparation or serving of food/drink in these spaces must possess a valid Food Handlers’ Permit and the individual overseeing the event must be present for the duration of the event to supervise food safety and ensure all food safety regulations are followed.

Food Safety Expectations

All groups serving or providing food at on-campus events shall adhere to the following food safety expectations:

Avoid cross-contamination: Always use one utensil per item and clean and sanitize between uses.

Buffet lines: Buffet lines should generally be set up in a one-directional traffic flow.

Equipment: A list of all equipment to be used shall be submitted to Event Services for review prior to the event.

Fire extinguisher: A fire extinguisher shall be on hand for any event where food will be prepared or served on-site over an open flame. Only primary food service providers can cook on-site over an open flame outside of their kitchen spaces with prior approval from Event Services.

Have ingredients and allergen listings available: Avoid allergen and dietary issues whenever possible. Have an ingredient listing available or posted including labeling or posting of the nine major food allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame).

Health requirements: Food and drink may only be prepared and served by a “healthy” person. Anyone experiencing cough, fever, diarrhea, vomiting, or lesions on the hands, wrists or any other exposed body part shall not be allowed to prepare or serve food or drink.

Ice: Ice shall be served with a scoop, not hands or a cup. If food or drink are stored in a container with ice, the ice shall not be used in drink cups.

Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold: Hot foods must be held at a minimum of 140 degrees Fahrenheit and cold foods must be held below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Perishable foods should not be left out at room temperature for more than two hours. In the event that the area is over 90 degrees Fahrenheit food should not be left at room temperature for more than one hour.

Keep the menu simple: Avoid potentially hazardous foods and common allergens (meat, eggs, dairy, nuts, cut fruit, and vegetables, etc.), especially if not provided by a primary or approved food service provider.

Leftover food: In order to limit the risk of food borne illness, leftover food or food that needs to be hot or cold will be removed if it is deemed unsafe by the food service provider.

Maintain cleanliness: Food prep and serving areas shall be cleaned regularly and sanitized with food-safe disinfectant. This includes tabletops, chairs, and flooring.

Prepare for bad weather and power outages: Prepare an action plan for the food and drink in case of severe weather closure or power outage. How will you maintain temperatures? Will you donate your food?

Remove trash and materials immediately: Dispose of all trash regularly to maintain a clean environment and discourage any potential insects. All food service materials must be promptly removed from the facilities by the food service provider or disposed of by the client into receptacles.

Use disposable gloves, tongs, or another sanitary tool to handle food: Food and drink will not be prepared or handled in any way with bare hands. When preparing food or drink disposable gloves should be worn at all times. Tongs or another sanitary tool should be used to handle the food or drink. Tools should be washed in warm soapy water and sanitized before use. Hand sanitizer should be made available.

Wash Hands: Hands shall be washed for a minimum of 20 seconds with warm soapy water before preparing and serving food. A sanitizing station or individual hand sanitizer shall be made available at food serving areas.

Exclusions to These Procedures

These procedures shall not apply to the following:

Off-campus events held at locations that provide food service through licensed operations.
Food and beverage purchased and/or prepared by individuals for personal consumption.
Potlucks that are not open to the public (general college community or greater community). Anyone consuming food at a potluck assumes all risks associated with such food consumption. Potlucks are not permitted in public areas.