How to order food for a UChicago club, house or lab event

Rules checked October 5, 2026, on the University's own pages. They change, so open the linked page before you commit to a date.

Where the food can come from

Student Centers' RSO guidelines for 2026-27 cover events in its spaces, including Ida Noyes, the Reynolds Club, Bartlett and the Quads. They say all food has to come from a licensed and insured caterer, restaurant, store or food service provider. Homemade food is out.

Nobody cooks on site, only assembly or arranging. Food that has to stay hot or cold needs a licensed vendor watching it and Student Centers' approval first. Only a licensed caterer can use Sterno, and the caterer stays while it is in use.

Student Centers keeps a list of featured caterers, approved caterers and 15 Hyde Park restaurants it calls its most frequent visitors, and it says the list is not complete. If yours is not on it, ask your Event Coordinator to approve it first. The same guidelines say every caterer must provide a certificate of insurance, so ask the restaurant for one when you book.

Fees in Student Centers rooms

Food in a Student Centers room costs $25 for catering coordination, per the price matrix Student Centers links today. You clean the room after, including whatever your caterer leaves. If staff do it, a cleanup booked ahead in business hours is $75 and an unscheduled one is $250. Mandel Hall, FXK Theatre and Max Palevsky Cinema allow no food at all.

Four ways to pay

CLI, the office that handles RSO accounts, lists four.

Reimbursement works on the shortest notice. Food is reimbursable, and a tax-exempt form saves the sales tax. Catering with paid staff is a service, and CLI will not reimburse it.

A purchase order needs a vendor already set up in PaymentWorks, and a quote from them. Ask the RSO finance office to check the vendor first.

A University check needs the most lead time. CLI's 2019 chart only allows it with three weeks or more.

A house account is the fast one. You order now and pay after the event. CLI keeps them with a few local vendors, and its 2019 chart names The Medici. Ask rsofinops@gmail.com which vendors have one now.

SGFC

The Student Government Finance Committee will consider paying for food when the food is not the only draw. Every event it funds has to be open to all students. Requests go in on Blueprint by Friday at noon, the committee meets Thursday, and College Council votes Monday. Money goes first come, first served until it runs out for the year. This autumn SGFC takes requests at noon on most Fridays from October 16 to November 27, and CLI's table gives the earliest event date for each deadline. The first is October 16, for events on or after October 28.

SGFC's cost guide, dated February 26, 2026, caps food per person at $6 for snacks or breakfast, $10 for lunch and $12 for dinner. Cultural events and events with dietary needs can go up to 25 percent higher. The guide also says SGFC may pay a slightly higher rate when the food comes from a local, non-chain Hyde Park restaurant. The committee is not bound by these numbers. It wants an itemized quote for every item, and it usually will not fund food for regular general body meetings. How the rest of USG's money works is in the guide to how UChicago clubs get money.

UChicago Dining's RSO Catering Fund

Dining's fund opens October 7, then January 13 and March 31. Applications go to cateringfund@uchicago.edu and are reviewed every Tuesday, and the event has to be at least 14 days after the next review. An application on October 7 is reviewed October 13, so the earliest event is October 27.

The fund is a line of credit with Chartwells, Dining's caterer, not cash, and it can award part of what you ask for. It has a fixed amount each quarter, so apply early. Only on-campus events qualify, and orders under 100 people are pickup only, so someone in your group carries it.

Houses

The Inter-House Council's finance committee runs two funds for events between two or more houses in different halls. The Activities Resource Fund covers up to half the cost per person. The Mergel Funsky Fun Fund can cover up to the full cost per person for an activity that is new this academic year. Proposals go in on Roompact by 5 pm the Friday before the committee meets. This autumn that is October 9 for the October 12 meeting, October 23 for October 26 and November 6 for November 9. The event has to be at least two weeks after the meeting. For your own house's budget, ask your house council.

Labs and departments

University policy covers business meals, including department-level events and seminar series. It says business meals should not go on a grant or contract unless its terms allow it. A receipt is required at $75 and up. More than 10 people can be listed as one group. Card or purchase order depends on the department, so ask your administrator before you order.

How much food for 25, 50 or 100 people

Dining tells groups to plan four to five items per person. Multiply that by your headcount, then check the total against SGFC's per-person caps if SGFC is paying.

The caps are $10 a person for lunch and $12 for dinner, before the 25 percent extra SGFC allows for cultural events and dietary needs. An event with only snacks or breakfast is capped at $6 a person.

Getting a quote

The easiest way to ask is Pool's catering form. One form reaches several Hyde Park restaurants, there is no account, and only your name and email are required. Pool gets the quote, and you pay the restaurant directly. If SGFC is paying, ask for the quote itemized, because SGFC wants a price for every item. Pool is also the food deals app for UChicago, with 2-for-1 12 oz açaí bowls at Deep Purpl and 2-for-1 subs at Subway 53rd Street, plus deals at 12 more Hyde Park restaurants (one from October 8).