Food
Having food at your group's events can become extremely complex, so there are some key things to be aware of!
Where possible, we’d encourage you to serve cold, shop-bought and pre-packaged snacks and drinks. These are low-risk and if anything goes wrong with them the shop they were purchased from is liable, rather than you/your group/York SU.
Try to cater for as many dietary requirements as you can; consider gluten-free, nut-free, and vegan options. You must still be careful and ensure you follow the mitigations provided on your group’s risk assessment, specifically:
Adhere to all rules and regulations listed in the York SU Food Policy, (this is essential, so please read this before organising any event involving food) and adhere to the Specific Risk Assessment for food at events. Please submit this Risk Assessment as part of your events application.
Provide ingredient lists and/or allergen notices
Know what to do in case of an emergency
Download the SafeZone app onto your mobile phone before your event if on campus, to contact Campus Safety easily.
Contact the emergency services on 999 and University Security on 01904 323333 if on campus.
Prohibited Ingredients
As a rule, you should avoid cooking food for student group activities as doing so is extremely high risk. There are some foods which are low-risk enough for you to be able to make them yourselves, such as bakes and some vegetarian meals (e.g. soups or stews). You need to consider how these will be made, stored, and served safely.
However, if your recipes use any of the following ingredients you must not serve them at an activity or event:
Meat
Fish
Rice
Dairy products (e.g. milk, cream, custards, soft cheeses)
Egg products (cooked eggs, quiche)
Nuts
These are high-risk ingredients and can cause food poisoning, so our insurance simply will not cover an activity which involves them being cooked by someone not qualified in food safety.
Catering
Instead, you may use a private caterer (if you are on campus you will probably be required to use the University’s on-site catering team, Campus Kitchen, which holds the licence for most spaces around campus except York SU venues). This includes if you want to hold a barbecue, as we cannot insure this without someone qualified in food safety present. Please do not hold organised barbecues as a student group activity.
You can also order a takeaway to campus for a group event and then claim this back from your accounts.
Questions?
Contact your link staff member or our Events Team (events@yorksu.org)