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HomeMy Public PortalAboutADM-147_Food Purchasing Policy_Effective 03-20-2024 City of Lebanon New Hampshire ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES & PROCEDURES Food Purchasing Policy Policy Number Effective Date Last Revision Page No. ADM-147 3/20/2024 Page 1 of 4 Approved by: SECTION 1.0: PURPOSE Circumstances exist when the use of City funds to purchase food in connection with the conducting of official business of the City is justified. The purpose of the food purchasing policy is to define parameters under which staff may purchase food using City funds. It is recognized that clear guidelines need to be established defining when purchases are appropriate. This policy pertains to meetings or events hosted by the City of Lebanon and does not apply to expenses incurred while travelling for City business, such as for professional conferences/seminars, site visits, special assignments and training sessions. For details about travel expenses, please refer to ADM–107 Travel Expense Policy. SECTION 2.0: SCOPE This policy applies to all departments of the City. SECTION 3.0: DEFINITIONS 3.1 Emergency and Disaster Scenarios are crisis scenarios where employees work excessively long hours and cannot return home to eat or easily stop work to access food. 3.2 Food is used interchangeably (within this policy) to represent food, nonalcoholic beverages, meals, refreshments and snacks, candy, as well as related items such as disposable plates, flatware, coffee creamer, etc. purchased from any source, specifically food services, catering services, restaurants, grocery stores, and retail outlets. 3.3 Light Refreshments are items that may be served between meals, such as pastries and pieces of fruit or cheese. 3.4 Meals include breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. 3.5 Receipts are a written acknowledgment of having received, or taken into one's possession, a specified amount of money, goods, etc. A receipt is not a confirmation notice or quote. City of Lebanon New Hampshire ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES & PROCEDURES Food Purchasing Policy Policy Number Effective Date Last Revision Page No. ADM-147 3/20/2024 Page 2 of 4 Approved by: SECTION 4.0: POLICY DETAIL 4.1 Cost-Effectiveness All purchases made by the City of Lebanon must serve a public purpose. Staff should also consider price and cost-effectiveness when procuring food products, as well as departmental budgets. 4.2 Reasonable and Legitimate Expenditures Expenditures for food at meetings are considered reasonable and legitimate if the following criteria are met: 1.) Meals taken during work must enhance or extend the quantity or quality of the work, and thus must be incidental to the meeting. 2.) The meeting or event must include substantial activities or functions in addition to those activities involving food. A meeting or event that lasts no longer than the meal during which it is conducted does not qualify. 3.) All meal and food purchases must have receipts. 4.) No alcohol or tobacco may be purchased for any meeting or event. The purchase of alcohol and tobacco with City funds is strictly prohibited. 5.) Departments may purchase coffee or tea to be used in a K-cup dispenser for general use by employees and volunteers such as board members for use when they are performing the job functions or official duties. 4.3 Meetings and Events A. Board and Committee Meetings: Board or Committee meetings that begin between 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM and continue beyond 7:00 PM may have food included for City employees and officials. City employees and officials may not have had the opportunity to eat prior to the meeting. B. Training Events and Workshops: Food may be purchased for employees attending City of Lebanon training events or workshops. All purchases are limited by available departmental budget. The training event or workshop must meet all the following criteria: City of Lebanon New Hampshire ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES & PROCEDURES Food Purchasing Policy Policy Number Effective Date Last Revision Page No. ADM-147 3/20/2024 Page 3 of 4 Approved by: 1.) The announced purpose of the training must be educational, instructional or a workshop/work session. 2.) More than half of the time must be scheduled for an organized exchange of information between members of the work group, presenters and/or audience. 3.) The content of the event must be relevant to improving individual/organizational performance or achieving specific City objectives. 4.) The event duration must be more than 4 hours and occur during times that would be considered traditional meal times. C. Holiday and Retirement Events: The City Manager may authorize the purchase of meals or light refreshments for holiday events, retirement events, or other special occasions that may occur throughout the year. If the expected expense is greater than $500 during such events or occasions, then prior approval shall be obtained from the City Manager. The quantity of the meals or light refreshments provided must be commensurate with the scale of the event. D. Emergency and Disaster Scenarios: City employees who are working particularly long hours during emergency or disaster scenarios may be supplied with food and drink. Supplying food and drink during these situations is up to the discretion of the Department Heads. However, this should not be considered routine. It should be on a case-by-case basis when employees do not otherwise have access to food or they are not able to easily stop work to get access to food. E. Special Programming and Community Engagement Events: Purchase of food for special programming such as events conducted by the Library; Recreation, Arts and Parks and other community engagement programs conducted by other departments. SECTION 5.0: PROCEDURES 5.1 Receipts City of Lebanon New Hampshire ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES & PROCEDURES Food Purchasing Policy Policy Number Effective Date Last Revision Page No. ADM-147 3/20/2024 Page 4 of 4 Approved by: City employees should make every effort to obtain invoices and receipts for their expenditures. The receipt should be submitted to the accounts payable system. If an employee cannot provide a receipt, the employee should attach a memo. SECTION 6.0: REFERENCES (Charter/Code/State Statues) 1. City of Lebanon, ADM – 107 Travel Expense Policy ADM-107_Travel Expense PolicyEffective 10-01-2018 (laserfiche.com) 2. Northwestern State University, Food Purchase Policies and Procedures Food Purchase Policies and Procedures | NSU (nsuok.edu) 3. University of Washington, Receipt Policy Information Receipt Policy Information | Procurement Services (uw.edu) 4. USDA, Part 409 – Purchase of Food With Appropriated Funds Purchase of Food With Appropriated Funds (usda.gov) 5. Western Washington University, POL-U5348.16 Purchasing Food and Beverages POL-U5348.16 Purchasing Food and Beverages | Policies & Procedures | Western Washington University (wwu.edu) SECTION 7.0: POLICY & PROCEDURE REVISION HISTORY Section Revisions Date Original Adoption 3/20/24 Amendment Amendment Amendment