Food Vendor Guidelines

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Please read the following carefully. These regulations and guidelines form part of your contractual commitment to the Mariposa Folk Festival (MFF).  They have been established to provide operational rules to enhance the experience of festival patrons and to ensure that the festival suppliers adhere to the Festival’s commitment to diversity and the environment. By submitting an Application for consideration as a food vendor, you are committing to conducting your business in accordance with the guidelines below.

  • (MFF) hours are Friday 4pm–11pm, Saturday 11am-11 pm and Sunday 11am–11pm.  Vendors must be open during all festival hours, unless otherwise authorized by Food Vendor Coordinators.  Vendors may open prior to festival hours at their own discretion.
  • Food Vendor applications for participation in the 2012 festival must be received by the MFF office no later than March 1, 2012.
  • All food vendors approved for participation, will be required to sign a legal contract which will clearly outline the terms of agreement as described in this document.  This contract must be signed (with tax # provided on the form) and received by MFF office no later than April 30, 2012.
  • A security deposit of $250 payable to Mariposa Folk Foundation is required from approved vendors by April 30, 2012.  Please be aware that your security deposit will be cashed.
  • Security deposits will be refunded to vendors in the week following the festival, only if, in the opinion of MFF, the vendor has adhered to all guidelines and regulations put forward by MFF including (but not limited to) the 2012 Food Vendor General Guidelines and the 2012 Food Vendor Green Guidelines (see below).  A post-festival inspection of the vendor site will be conducted on Monday July 9 and must be deemed satisfactory for a full refund.
  • All food items sold to customers must be dispensed on MFF approved certified compostable product.  This includes forks, knives, spoons, plates, bowls, napkins, cups and straws (and any other item involved in food dispensing).  Vendors must purchase serving ware from the list of companies noted below and may not bring any other serving ware or utensils onto the grounds:
    • Eco Products Canada www.ecoproductscanada.com. Contact is Al Pac rep Kathy Rye, 519-820- 9587, kathyr@al-pack.com. Please note that a combined order of $500 will result in free shipping to MFF on Friday July 6. Kathy can do a follow up visit on Saturday for emergency supplies only.
    • Earth To Earth  www.earthtoearthpack.com/cms/products.html. Local supplier for Earth To Earth is Stewart Foods htttp://stewartfoodservice.com/catalog/category/F85/.
    • Greenshift http://greenshift.ca/
    • Pactiv’s “Earth Choice Sustainable Product” www.pactiv.com
    • Walmart’s Great Value Plate (22.2 cm) with “compostable”, “US composting council” and “BPI” designations on the label is also acceptable. Please note that only this single product at Walmart currently meets specifications. Please ensure that the designations are clearly present on the label.
    • Please note that many of these manufacturers and/or suppliers also supply serving ware that does not meet certified compostable requirements.  It is essential that you are clear about your needs when purchasing product to ensure that all serving ware meets certified compostable requirements.
  • MFF will collect 15% of gross revenue as a fee from each vendor. Vendors with frontage greater than 20 feet will incur a surcharge of 1% per foot over 20 feet.  Vendors will permit MFF personnel to review, during and after the Festival, all transactions, ledgers and back-up as reasonably required to confirm compliance.
  • MFF is issuing Mariposa Money. Vendors are required to accept Mariposa Money as cash for the purchase of food and beverages.  This includes issuing change in cash from any purchase made with Mariposa Money. Mariposa Money collected by vendors will be refunded at face value at cash out.
  • Food Vendors will be issued a Cash-Out Form and must cash out on Sunday evening of the Festival at the Cash Control Trailer unless alternative arrangements have been authorized by the Cash Control Coordinator.  Failure to do so will likely result in exclusion from future festivals.
  • MFF will provide the following –  space for the vendors’ booth, electricity, water, grey water disposal area, and all waste disposal and recycling as outlined in the Food Vendor Green Guidelines below.
  • Vendors are required to provide flooring, sinks, hoses, extension cords, lighting, tents and all other equipment. Please note that extension cord connections must be kept off the ground and dry. Properly rated cords must be used.  All electrical equipment and cords must be in good working order.  Any unusual voltage requirements must be communicated to the Food Vendor Coordinators well in advance of the Festival.
  • A Special Events Permit is required for each vendor from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.  It is the responsibility of the vendor to obtain this permit and to comply with all health and sanitation requirements.  All vendor permits must be approved by the Health Unit and presented to the MFF office by the vendor no later than May 14, 2012.  The contact for MFF food vendors at the Health Unit is Shannon (705) 325-9565 or 1-877-721-7520 – ext. 7526.  Permit applications are available on the Health Unit website.
  • Health Officials will inspect all food vendor operations during the festival and the vendor permit must be posted at all times.  Please note that food vendors must use a ‘smooth, easily cleanable’ canopy for cover and flooring at their booth, if they don’t have an enclosed sales facility.
  • All vendors commit that food offered for sale at the MFF will adhere to the food description, quantity and price as outlined by vendors on the Food Vendor Application form.   Please note that no changes (eg. price, size etc.) will be allowed once the application is approved.
  • Please note that no alcohol is allowed for sale by food vendors.
  • Please note that no bottled water is allowed for sale by vendors.
  • Ice will be available for purchase on site at Alice’s (the beer tent right beside the food court) during festival hours.  The volunteers selling alcohol in the tent also sell the ice.
  • Placement of booths will be determined by festival organizers, and successful applicants will be notified of booth location closer to the time of the festival.
  • Vendors will generally be located together in a central food court.  Exceptions to this placement may be made for snack food vendors at the discretion of food vendor coordinators.
  • MFF and its staff, directors and volunteers are not responsible for lost, stolen, damaged or misplaced goods.
  • MFF will provide overnight security for structural displays only.
  • Weather permitting; vendors will have access to two off-site parking spaces.
  • Vendors will be provided up to five general admission wrist bands for their staff.
  • Vendors are required to complete set up by 2 pm on Friday, July 6, and attend an on-site 2:30pm meeting.
  • Movement of vehicles on Festival grounds during Festival hours is strictly prohibited.  All set-up and take-down requiring access to vehicles must be done outside of festival hours.  There will be absolutely no exceptions.  This will be vigilantly enforced Sunday night.   This is a safety issue, and failure to comply with this rule will result in exclusion from future Mariposa Folk Festivals.
  • All clean-up of food vendor sites must be completed no later than 12:00 noon on the Monday following the festival.
  • Please note that email will be the main mode of communication between vendors and festival organizers.  Please ensure that your email contact information is accurate.

FOOD VENDOR GREEN GUIDELINES

  • All food items sold to customers must be dispensed on one of the products identified above (See General Guidelines above).  This includes forks, knives, spoons, plates, bowls, napkins, cups and straws (and any other item involved in food dispensing).  Vendors may not bring any other serving ware or utensils onto the grounds.
  • Successful applicants must place an order with one of the approved companies for an adequate supply of the necessary serving ware by May 14, 2012 in order to receive final approval of participation from MFF organizers.  Copies of the order must be made available to MFF organizers by the vendor by May 14, 2012.  Failure to do so may result in revocation of approval as a food vendor.  It is imperative that you order enough to meet your weekend needs.  If you run out, we will have no option but to shut you down.
  • Waste collection during the festival will be ongoing and at no charge.  Throughout the event, Food Vendors must place all waste in the appropriate containers.
  • Waste diversion containers exclusively for use by for Food Vendors will be located directly behind each row of Vendors.  Each Waste Diversion Station is comprised of a Compost Container, a Recycling Container and a Garbage Container.
  • Vendor’s site, including the area immediately behind and adjacent to the booth, must be free of garbage and debris throughout, and after each festival day.

Waste must be sorted as noted below:

  • Compost includes all food and dairy scraps as well as all serving material and utensils.  If a vendor feels a need for a specific compost container at their booth, one will be provided.
  • Recycling will include all glass, metal and plastic containers.
  • Vendors will be responsible for breaking down (flattening) all cardboard containers, removing any plastic wrapping and placing the cardboard between the containers at the station.
  • Any bulky plastic containers not reasonably fitting into the recycling container provided for vendors must be carried by vendor’s staff to the Main Waste Diversion area.
  • All cooking oils must be taken by the Vendor from the MFF site.  No oil will be accepted in the waste diversion program.
  • It is essential that there are no ‘mystery’ bags of garbage.  Vendors are expected to separate all food preparation waste into the provided streams.  Anyone found not separating waste will automatically forfeit their deposit and risk future event exclusion.  MFF will conduct a formal waste audit this year.
  • Sealed beverages may be sold to patrons in plastic, glass or cans as long as the container is recyclable. However, the sale of bottled water is prohibited.  Vendors are required to honour the use of personal mugs and bottles by patrons and must dispense product in these containers if requested to do so by the patron.
  • MFF will provide food vendors with a small sign informing patrons that all serving ware is compostable, and vendors must post this sign at their booth for the duration of the event.
  • The Food Court area is designated as a non-smoking area and individual vendors are also expected to comply with this rule.

Please note that failure to comply with the above 2012 Food Vendor General Guidelines and 2012 Food Vendor Green Guidelines may result in forfeit of security deposit, forfeit of space for the day and / or weekend, and exclusion from all future events.