Catering & Food

Student Org Catering & Food Policies

If a student organization event is to be held on DePaul property (Lincoln Park and/or the Loop Campus), all food and beverages must be catered through Chartwells, the University food service for any purchases over $300. Student organizations can use outside vendors for on-campus events pending they keep costs below $300.

Catering Exemptions

All requests from DePaul departments or student organizations to waive catering exclusivity with Chartwells must be submitted via the Chartwells Exemption Request form on DeHUB through the Office of Student Involvement portal. Both Chartwells and the Office of Student Involvement have to approve your request in order for it to be approved. Please note, submission of this form is not a guarantee that your request has been approved. Your request will be reviewed and final notification will be issued from the Director of Catering. Requests for catering exemptions must be submitted a minimum of one month prior to the event.

Understanding that cultural and religious organizations may have unique catering needs, they are eligible to complete a Religious & Cultural Organization Catering Plan.  The form with additional information can be found here.

How to Order

For on campus catering requests, student organizations must register an account with Chartwells through depaul.catertrax.com in order to place a food order. Food must be ordered at least 3 business days in advance of the event (may vary depending on quantity of food and type of request). When requesting food from an outside vendor, please contact Chartwells for specific ordering details. Note: If the organization has received SAF-B funding, please do not use personal funds to pay for the food ordered.

If a student organization is submitting a SAF-B application, if they are utilizing Chartwells and the order is under $1000, they do not have to submit a quote for their food order. If utilizing DePaul's EzCater platform and the food order is under $300, a quote is not required. If quotes are submitting from anywhere other than Chartwells or EzCater, a quote will be required for all food requests.

Chartwells

When ordering through Chartwells, choose the campus and create a new order with all of the items you'd like to have for your event. Choose all information that is accurate to your event start time and location, as well as providing contact information for somebody who will be there the day of for the delivery of items. Assuming all prior items are complete, proceed to payment method and choose "Student Involvement" as a payment method and complete each dropdown (each dropdown should have only 1 option, with "Program" being dependent on if it's SAF-B or CAF-B; choose accordingly). If you have been provided funding, then submit your order. If you are still awaiting approval, then keep your order in your cart and then follow the steps above.

EzCater

You as an individual will need to create an EzCater account linked to Student Involvement's. Follow this link here and create your account. You will need to be approved. An email will automatically be generated and reviewed within 24 business hours, but reach out to orgfunding@depaul.edu if needed. You may also register through the below QR Code

Once approved to order, you should be able to start a new order and choose from a wide variety of local restaurants and caterers in Chicago and the surrounding Chicagoland area. Proceed to checkout and complete all requested information (SAF-B/CAF-B Funding or On-Campus Account, event name, etc.) and make sure you have put the correct contact information for day of the event. Do not pay yourself, choose the option to "Invite to Pay" (Often an option on the right) and invite orgfunding@depaul.edu to pay and we will take care of payment. Note that it may take 24 business hours to process depending on the time of the year.

Off-campus Events

If the student organization event is not on DePaul University property, food does not have to be ordered from Chartwells. The use of an outside food vendor is acceptable. However, the group must still contact the Office of Student Involvement to ensure that proper procedures are followed to pay for the food ordered. You can find more on the Chartwells website.

For more information on food policies- including consumption contests- please check the Student Organization Handbook at go.depaul.edu/studentorghandbook.