Charging meals to a federal grant is only allowable under certain circumstances. Meals for subject participants and people in travel status associated with grant business are generally allowable. All other meals need to meet certain criteria for being necessary and reasonable for the benefit of a project. The following are a set of specific scenarios under which certain meals are considered allowable or unallowable to a sponsored project. It is the Principal Investigator’s (PI) or his/her designee’s responsibility to ensure that all meals charged to a sponsored project are in compliance with University, federal and sponsor policies.
We have a grant that requires us to bring subject participants in for all day screenings and testing. Can we provide them with lunch while they are here?
Yes – the cost of meals for subject participants is allowable on a Federal Grant if included in the budget.
Principal Investigator has a training grant and would like to hold monthly meetings for all the trainees/students on the grant. A guest speaker will attend every meeting to accomplish the teaching mission. Can we charge the cost of providing refreshments or meals to the grant during these monthly meetings?
No – the cost of refreshments/meals for routine training sessions and meetings of UI students/trainees/faculty/staff are not allowable.
We have a grant that requires we coordinate and host a conference. Can we charge the cost of providing refreshments and/or meals to the grant during the conference?
Yes – the cost of meals/refreshments during a Conference/Seminar/Meeting with a formal agenda and participants from different locations are allowable if outlined in the request for proposals and submitted as part of the budget. The cost for the PI or any other UI faculty/staff/student attending would NOT be allowable as they are not a participant.
Banquets, meet and greets, opening/award/closing ceremonies are considered entertainment and should not be charged to the grant.
My PI holds weekly lab meetings to discuss the progress on the grant. Can the cost of the catered lunch be charged to the grant?
No – the cost of meals/refreshments for routine lab meetings are not allowable.
My PI recently took a trip to attend a conference in Cambridge, MA. During the trip, the PI had dinner with a colleague/collaborator from Harvard, and a collaborator from Vanderbilt. The PI from Vanderbilt is a subawardee on the grant which results being presented. They spent a large amount of time discussing their research projects. Can the cost of the meal be charged to the grant?
Yes and No - The cost of the PI’s meal is allowable as he/she is in travel status, however, the cost of the collaborator/colleague’s meal depends on if he/she is also in travel status and the nature of their relationship to the project being charged. In this case, the collaborator from Harvard is not in travel status so the cost of the meal could not be charged to the project. The collaborator from Vanderbilt should be in travel status on the subaward all travel related expenses should be charged to the subcontract.
A consultant/speaker is coming in from out of town to do some work for a grant. While here, the PI plans to take the consultant/speaker out to dinner to discuss the progress of the project. May the cost of the meal be charged to the grant?
Yes and No - The cost of the dinner for the consultant/speaker would be allowable to charge to the grant if the consultant/speaker is in travel status. This must be reflected in the submitted proposal, budget and budget justification. The cost of the dinner for the PI or any other UI faculty/staff/student attending the dinner would NOT be allowable as they are not in travel status.
We have a grant that requires we hold quarterly advisory committee meetings with various collaborators from all over the country. Can the cost of catering in lunch be charged to the grant?
Yes – the cost of meals/refreshments during a Conference/Seminar/Meeting with a formal agenda and participants from different locations is allowable. This must be reflected in the submitted proposal, budget and budget justification. UI faculty/staff are only allowable if they are charging effort to the award.
We had a federal employee come to campus as a speaker at a conference – can the cost of meals for the federal employee be charged to the grant?
No – the cost of meals for a Federal Employee is NOT allowable on a Federal Grant.
UI faculty/staff/students attend a conference hosted on campus funded through a sponsored project. May the cost of the meals be charged to the grant?
No - The cost of the meals for UI faculty/staff/students is not allowable.
Per NIH Grants Policy Statement - Local Participants' Expenses. With the exception of local mileage as indicated under Allowable Costs-Travel, grant funds may not be used to pay per diem or expenses for local participants in the conference.
Last Updated: 10/1/2024