Office of Budget and Finance

Mobile Food Vendors

OBJECTIVE:

To provide policies and guidelines regarding mobile food vendors on property owned and maintained by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. This policy was developed to address mobile food vendor solicitation requests and proper administrative oversight. The policy applies to all employees, students, and visitors to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Institute of Agriculture campuses.

Definitions

Food Kiosks include food trucks/vehicles, food stands, giveaways, or pedestrians attempting to sell food on campus. Excluded from this policy are off-campus delivery vehicles and the university contracted food service provider (Aramark). Off-campus delivery vehicles are only allowed to deliver directly to an individual or office and may not establish any location on campus.

Food Trucks/Vehicles include any type of vehicle with the primary purpose of selling food, distributing food, or giving away free food/drink samples directly to consumers. General Policy

Mobile Food Vendors on Campus

The policy addresses all entities who are engaged in the practice to sell food to individuals on campus. As referenced in the definitions above, there are two categories of food vendors (Food Kiosks and Food Trucks/Vehicles), which must follow the policy requirements outlined below:

1. Any and all types of food trucks, kiosks, and individuals are prohibited from selling, delivering, and advertising directly to consumers on campus grounds unless prior approval is obtained from the Office of Senior Associate Vice Chancellor, Finance & Administration.
2. If approval is obtained (as previously referenced), it must be associated with a single day special event/promotion and submitted through the Office of Campus Events. The vendor must be sponsored by a university department or student organization. Mobile food vendors granted permission to sell on campus must do so in accordance with the requirements of this and all University of Tennessee policies, and applicable local, state, and federal laws.
3. Mobile food vendors serving construction sites are allowed only within the boundaries of the project if invited and approved by the general contractor.

General Provisions

1. Mobile food vendor requests are subject to review and final approval (in consultation with various operational units) by the Office of Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration.
2. Approved mobile food vendors must display a permit provided by the Office of Campus Event Services for the approved date, time, and location. In addition, they shall display all applicable local and state licenses and permits.
3. Mobile food vendors interested in participating on football game days, must follow the procedures outlined at operations.utk.edu.
4. A mobile food vendor may not utilize music or amplified sound unless prior approval is received.
5. Mobile food vendors are not allowed to place flyers, signage, etc. on campus for advertising/promotional purposes.
6. The University reserves the right to revoke a mobile food vendor’s permit if violations of this or any other applicable university policy, local, state, or federal laws occur. In such instances, the university may prohibit a mobile food vendor from any future campus engagements or activities.
7. An appropriate administrative fee and/or space usage fee may be assessed for mobile food vendors as specified in the university’s indoor/outdoor space guidelines or other applicable policies.

Related Resources

• UTK Indoor and Outdoor Space Usage Guidelines
• Football Game Day Mobile Food Vendor Procedures