Policies

Trinity Hospitality Service Food & Nutrition Services Procedure No. 503-03

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 2023

PROCEDURE TITLE:

Catering Service Request/Approval Process

To be reviewed every three years by: THS Food & Nutrition Services Advisory Council

REVIEW BY: April 2026

PROCEDURES

1. All catered events held at the local Health Ministry (HM) will be coordinated by the Food & Nutrition Services (FANS) Department. All colleagues are encouraged to be good stewards of catering resources; catered meals at the expense of the HM should not necessarily be an expectation for all scheduled meetings. All catered events must be coordinated through the appropriate designee or electronic program of FANS. The costs of all catering services will be tracked by the General Manager of FANS and will be disseminated to the appropriate Administrative Officer(s) on a monthly basis.

• All catering functions will be supplied by the FANS Department. No outside catering company, restaurant or food service establishment will be permitted to cater any event unless they receive prior authorization from the Vice President of Operations and/or the Chief Administrative Officer, or local Accountable Executive.
• All catering requests must be submitted in writing, using the proper form.
• Requests must be submitted no later than seven (7) working days before the function. Beverage-only services require two (2) working days’ notice. Catering requests submitted without the proper notice may be refused by the FANS Department (unless due to unforeseen or special circumstances). The FANS department will accept requests for any routine/repetitive catering orders for up to one fiscal year. The requesting department is responsible for submitting changes to the order, cancellations, and additions within the required seven or two-day time frame.
• All catering requests must be signed off by the respective local accountable FANS executive or per HM designee. Catering requests without the authorized signatures will be returned and cannot be completed until the necessary signatures are obtained. All catered events will be charged to the Department requesting and approving the event.
• Any deviations from regional/local catering menu options must be discussed with the General Manager or Executive Chef before submitting the catering request. Any special events (i.e., functions with upscale menus or functions for more than 75 persons) must be planned at least two weeks in advance with the General Manager or Executive Chef of Food & Nutrition and may incur additional expense.
• FANS will be responsible for delivering, setting up and breaking down all food, catering equipment, and paper goods for each catered event (provided the meeting or special function is held on the HM campus). Delivery to off-site buildings which are part of the HM or its affiliates must be arranged by the requesting department in conjunction with the General Manager of Food & Nutrition. Any catered events requested off of the campus cannot be guaranteed delivery. Due to operational considerations, it is advised that when planning an event, off-site personnel contact the General Manager to discuss special event needs and service options.
• The requesting customer is responsible for coordinating with proper resources in reserving the function room and any audio-visual requirements and set-up.
• The FANS Department will have an annual budget for all budgeted local Internal Catering (Hospital Expensed Catering). The cost of this catering will encompass food and paper costs only. Only the following costs will be charged directly to the department booking the function:
  • Rentals (i.e., china, linens)
  • Additional labor needed for large scale events (e.g., additional production labor/waiters/waitresses, bartenders, etc.)
  • Labor Costs (for the event being catered)
• Internal catering costs will be tracked by the General Manager and, where technology allows per HM, will be broken down to show catering by each Department or per HM procedure.
• All catering supplied to outside sources (i.e., pharmaceutical companies) will be billed at the time the function is booked. The cost of this catering will include food, paper and labor costs, and the costs of rentals and flowers if applicable. A deposit must be made at the time of the order with full payment due on the day of the function.
• When using an outside catering vendor, the following are required:
  • Food vendor will be licensed
  • Food vendor will take full responsibility for food served, including timely clean-up and equipment retrieval
  • Food storage and holding needs are defined in advance of the event
• Cancellations must be made at least three (3) business days before the event, failure to do so may result in a cancellation fee.

DEFINITIONS:

FANS is the THS Food & Nutrition Service program structure, resource, and tools to support the work of the FANS leadership and colleagues.

PeopleSoft is a firm that provides an enterprise resource planning system (ERP) that is used in accounting and purchasing to track supply and other expense data for the HM.

Health Ministry ("HM") means a first-tier (direct) subsidiary, affiliate or operating division of Trinity Health that maintains a governing body that has day-to-day management oversight of a designated portion of Trinity Health System operations and includes at least one hospital.

Trinity Health Hospitality Services (“THS”) means the system infrastructure that is aligned to support the interests of Trinity Health and all the HM’s in the effective operation of the Food & Nutrition Services (FANS) department.

Standards or Guidelines mean additional instructions and guidance which assist in implementing Procedures, including those developed by accreditation or professional organizations.

Integrated Clinical Services (“ICS”) means the infrastructure to make it easier for our clinicians and colleagues to deliver the finest care to each patient/resident.

RELATED PROCEDURES AND OTHER MATERIALS

• Trinity Health "Guidelines for Policy Development"