ezCater

UMBC has partnered with ezCater for a streamlined and efficient food ordering process.

ezCater is an online platform that will allow members of the campus community the ability to order catering services from local restaurants for meetings and events.

Payment for these orders can be done conveniently through P-cards.

• Pre-order meals for upcoming meetings and events
• Tax-exempt ordering
• Search based on budget and dietary needs

• Set up group orders where each person can order their own meals
• Reward program where departments can earn money back towards future meals
• Convenient payment through UMBC P-card

Register your account and choose a restaurant

1. Create your ezCater account at https://umbc.edu/go/ezcater
2. Enter your delivery address and date/time
3. See restaurants that serve your area

Choose your food

1. Add menu items to your cart
2. Enter your headcount to see your price per head (be sure not to exceed per diem limits (Breakfast – $15; Lunch – $18; Dinner – $30)
3. Once everything looks good, it’s time to check out

Check out

1. Confirm your delivery address and instructions
2. Add P-card information (note: at this time, orders can’t be placed by purchase order)
3. Place your order (note: you are encouraged to place orders ahead of time for events that will take place in the future)
4. Download a copy of the receipt for P-card support documentation

Is there a minimum number of items/cost for orders to be placed?

How does group ordering work?

What does successful delivery look like?

Are there any spending limits?

What do we do if there are delivery delays/problems?

How are additional restaurants added to your platform?

Restaurants set their own order minimums; you’ll see those set amounts in the cart when viewing a restaurant:

Some menus have item‑level minimum quantities (e.g., “minimum 10 sandwiches”); the “Allows Group Ordering” filter can be used to avoid menus with item minimums that are incompatible with individual selections.

Group Ordering lets you pick a restaurant, set an optional per‑person budget, and share a link so each attendee adds their individually labeled item; the owner reviews and checks out. As mentioned above, use the “Allows Group Ordering” search filter to find compatible menus.  Note: UMBC spending policies (e.g., price‑per‑head cap) still apply at checkout.

Successful delivery means the order arrives on time at the correct location with any requested setup, and delivery status is recorded (driver “Start/Complete Delivery”)—often with timestamped events, geolocation, and photo proof when using our driver app.

For ezCater‑arranged delivery (ezDispatch), drivers are expected to have hot bags and perform a basic setup (lay out food). Hot‑kit equipment (sternos/chafers) setup is not required of drivers.

Besides restaurant minimums, there isn’t a platform‑wide cap on order size; if you want help shaping a large/complex order, Concierge Ordering can draft it for review and approval.  UMBC has a spending policy that will appear at checkout if orders are outside the following parameters:  if the total order, including delivery, is more than $5,000 or if the food cost per head is more than $30, which is the limit for dinner orders (please note the per person limit for breakfast is $15 and for lunch it is $18).

For any live order, call 1‑800‑488‑1803 so we can work to resolve it immediately; we see driver location/timestamps, food‑ready times, and can triage whether it’s restaurant or driver‑related and resolve swiftly.  When a delivery is running late on ezDispatch, we follow a clear playbook: check the delivery panel and geolocation/timestamps, get an ETA, coordinate with the restaurant and delivery partner, and resolve with the customer.

Restaurants join via ezCater’s Catering Growth Platform onboarding and must meet operating and quality requirements (e.g., brick‑and‑mortar/commercial kitchen, established web presence, ratings, equal price guarantee compliance, drop‑off catering).

ezCater upholds an Equal Price Guarantee: customers shouldn’t pay more on ezCater than ordering the same catering directly from the restaurant’s own site (exceptions exist for certain enterprise arrangements).