For California church and community kitchens
Church kitchen food safety, even with new volunteers every week.
Volunteers check in for the event day, see only what is due, and every reading lands in one binder.
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The dinner
What makes a church dinner
risky?
New hands in the kitchen every week, and a room full of people to feed.
- Funeral lunches, potlucks, public dinners: some of them need a temporary food facility permit from your county, and some need none at all.
- Volunteers change every week, and nobody knows who took the fridge temperature.
- You serve to care for people, not to chase clipboards.
First things first
Do we even need
a permit?
In California, a church or nonprofit event for members and their guests needs no permit. The law does not count it as a food facility, up to 3 days in any 90 (HSC 113789). A dinner open to the public is a temporary food facility. That needs a permit from your county environmental health office (HSC 113755).
California law names no lead time for the permit; each county sets its own, and Riverside County asks for two weeks. Ask your office how early. A temporary food facility shows food safety knowledge instead of holding a manager certificate (HSC 113947.1).
Meals for members only: the app can set you up as a members-only kitchen. If your dinners run more than 3 days in 90, or guests from outside walk in, ask your county before the first one.
How to open a food business in your county
The permit question comes first, and the app keeps a copy of the permit in the binder.
The buffet line
Which rules apply to
the buffet line?
Church kitchens run on volunteers, so the app treats every volunteer like a first-timer. Here are California's rules behind the buffet line.
Employee health: report, exclude, restrict
A sick volunteer stays off food. The person in charge tells the county environmental health office about a diagnosed Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli (STEC), hepatitis A or norovirus. Two or more people sick at once: the same call (HSC 113949.5). No hour count: call right away.
CleanCleaver: Health questions before the event. You see only
OK to work
orNo food work today
.California: HSC 113949.2, HSC 113950.5
Guide: Sick workers: report it and stay homeHandwashing
Wash hands at the hand sink, at each moment the law lists (HSC 113953.3). A wash-your-hands sign hangs at every hand sink (HSC 113953.5).
CleanCleaver: Each volunteer signs the handwashing rules in the app.
California: HSC 113953.3, HSC 113953.1, HSC 113953.4
Guide: HandwashingHot and cold holding
Hot food at 135°F or hotter on the buffet. Cold food at 41°F or colder (HSC 113996).
CleanCleaver: Each reading is saved with the time and the volunteer's name. A warm one asks what they did.
California: HSC 113996, HSC 114000
Guide: Hot and cold holdingCooling
Cool the soup from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within 6 in all (HSC 114002).
CleanCleaver: Start cooling sets the 2-hour and 6-hour timers; each reading is saved with time and name.
California: HSC 114002.1
Guide: Cooling food in two stages
What else can the inspector check? 4 more rules
Buffet and self-service protection
Sneeze guards or covers over the buffet. A utensil for each dish. A trained person watches the line. Food a guest took is never served again.
CleanCleaver: The app lists the clean-plate sign, with the rule beside it.
California: HSC 114060, HSC 114063, HSC 114075, HSC 114079, HSC 113947; docs/source/research/buffet-and-dinner-service.md
Guide: Buffets and self-serviceAllergens and cross-contact
The person in charge knows the major allergens (HSC 113947). A chain of 20 or more places lists them per menu item from July 1, 2026 (HSC 114093.5). For a church dinner, we recommend a written card beside the dish anyway.
CleanCleaver: The app makes the written allergen note for you.
HSC 114093.5 (SB 68, 2025)
Guide: Food labelsCleaning and sanitizing
Wash, rinse, sanitize, air-dry. Test the sanitizer with a strip.
CleanCleaver: Each strip test is saved with the reading, time and name.
California: HSC 114099.2, HSC 114107, HSC 114099.7, HSC 114099.6, HSC 114105
Guide: Cleaning vs sanitizing, and sanitizer strengthsVomit and diarrhea cleanup procedure
A written plan for cleaning up vomit or diarrhea: stop service nearby, gloves and mask, clean, disinfect, throw away what was near.
CleanCleaver: A cleanup is saved as a report, with the rule beside it.
FDA Food Code (model) 2-501.11, state section not mapped yet: confirm with your local health department (California Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Branch can tell you which)
Guide: Vomit and diarrhea cleanup
See the steps a volunteer sees on the day.
Kind by design
Will a volunteer be
embarrassed?
No. The person in charge sees only what to do.
It reads like No food work today
. The symptom stays with the volunteer. California asks the person in charge to tell the county environmental health office about a diagnosed Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli (STEC), hepatitis A or norovirus. Two or more people with a stomach illness at once: the same call (HSC 113949.5). The law names no hour count: call right away.
So nobody has to say the symptom out loud.
Set up
How long is
setup?
Three steps for the whole building.
Pick Church or community kitchen
It starts as a members-only kitchen with soups, a buffet and cut salads.
Invite volunteers for an event day
Their access ends the day after.
Get one PDF
Every reading is saved with the time and who took it. The binder is one PDF.
$19 a month for the whole building, with unlimited volunteers.
The cost of a gap
What if a sick
volunteer serves?
A volunteer who was sick yesterday, a pot of soup cooled on the counter: that is how a church dinner makes people ill.
The app asks each volunteer the health questions and keeps the cooling record. Soup cools from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within 6 (HSC 114002).
After the dinner
Serve your people.
The record keeps itself.
Try it on one dinner within the 25 days.
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Questions? Call or text (415) 640-1667.
Plan one dinner, invite your volunteers, and see the binder fill.
Questions
Before you
start.
Do we need a permit for a church dinner in California?
Not for a members-only one. A church or nonprofit event for members and their guests, up to 3 days in any 90, is not a food facility (HSC 113789). A dinner open to the public is a temporary food facility. That needs a permit from your county environmental health office (HSC 113755). Each county sets how far ahead to apply. The app can set you up as a members-only kitchen either way.
Do our volunteers need a food handler card?
The law counts the card from the day a food handler is hired. A California Food Handler Card within 30 days, lasting 3 years, with the employer paying (HSC 113948). Whether that reaches your volunteers is your county's call, so ask your environmental health office. Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties run their own cards.
What does a church pay?
$19 a month per building, with unlimited volunteers. 25 days free. Cancel anytime. Billing is on Stripe's own page. The 25 days start when you add a card.
We only cook twice a month. Does it want me every week?
Open the app on the day and the list shows what is due. A volunteer is invited for one event day, and the invite ends the day after.
Can a volunteer see who was sent home sick?
No. The person in charge sees only what to do, like "No food work today". The symptom stays with the volunteer.
How does a volunteer get in?
They open the link you sent, type their name and answer the health questions. It works in the phone's browser. There is also a 6-character code, and a shop tablet with a PIN.
Your binder is ready when the inspector is.
Pick your place. Start with one shift.
Start your 25 days free See it work
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Questions? Call or text (415) 640-1667