For 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 log 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 county temporary permit.
- Volunteers change every week, and nobody knows who logged the fridge.
- You serve to care for people, not to chase clipboards.
First things first
Do we even need
a permit?
Food served to the public at an event needs a county temporary food event permit. Meals for members only are set up as a members-only kitchen. Ask your county health department which fits.
Free: the Utah inspection-ready checklist
Every rule an inspector can check, in plain words, with where it comes from. Print it. Tick what you have.
- Cafés, restaurants and other permitted kitchens (PDF)
- Food trucks and carts (PDF)
- Home kitchens (MEHK) (PDF)
- Church and community kitchens (members only) (PDF)
Pick your place, type your email, and the PDF downloads.
The permit question comes first, and it costs nothing.
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 the rules behind the buffet line.
Employee health: report, exclude, restrict
Food workers report vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, pus-filled sores, Big 6 diagnoses and exposures; the person in charge excludes or restricts.
Food Code 2-201.11, 2-201.12, 2-201.13; R392-102-15(4)
When does a sick food worker have to stay home?Handwashing
Wash hands and forearms 20 seconds at a handwashing sink only; double wash after the restroom; sanitizer never replaces washing.
Food Code 2-301.12, 2-301.14, 2-301.15, 2-301.16, 5-202.12; R392-102-14(4)–(8)
How long should food workers wash their hands?Hot and cold holding
Hot 135°F or above and cold 41°F or below, except a whole roast cooked on the roast chart (130°F or above, not on a food truck), raw shell eggs (the air around them 45°F or below) and food marked under time control (Food Code 3-501.19, 4 hours, not on a food truck). Food carried to an event is probed at loading and on arrival.
Food Code 3-501.16, 3-501.19; R392-102-12(6)
What are the hot and cold holding temperatures?Cooling
135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within 6 hours total.
Food Code 3-501.14, 3-501.15; R392-102-12(5) (trucks: at the commissary)
How fast do you have to cool cooked food?
What else can the inspector check? 4 more rules
Buffet and self-service protection
Sneeze guards, covers or cases on displayed food; a utensil for each dish; a trained employee watches the line; no raw meat, poultry or fish on self-service; customers told to take a clean plate for seconds; food returned by a customer is never served again (the only exceptions: a closed narrow-neck bottle, or crackers, salt or pepper in an unopened original package in sound condition, and only for food that does not need to stay hot or cold; 3-306.14).
Food Code 3-306.11, 3-306.13, 3-304.16, 3-306.14, 2-103.11(M); docs/source/research/buffet-and-dinner-service.md
What are the food safety rules for a buffet?Allergens and cross-contact
Tell customers in writing which of the 9 major allergens are ingredients in each unpackaged food; label allergens; prevent cross-contact with separate utensils and pitchers, fresh gloves, and washing (sanitizer doesn't remove allergens).
Food Code 1-201.10(B), 3-602.12(C); FALCPA; FASTER Act
What goes on a food label in a restaurant?Cleaning and sanitizing
Wash, rinse, sanitize, air-dry. Chlorine 50–99 ppm 10 s; quat per label 30 s; hot water 171°F 30 s. Test kit on site.
Food Code 4-301.12, 4-302.14, 4-501.112, 4-501.114, 4-703.11, 4-901.11; R392-102-8(17), R392-102-10
What is the difference between cleaning and sanitizing?Vomit and diarrhea cleanup procedure
Written procedure: stop service nearby, protective gear, absorb, clean, disinfect 1,000–5,000 ppm bleach or norovirus product, discard, log.
Food Code 2-501.11; R392-102-15(5)
How do you clean up vomit in a restaurant?
See the checks a volunteer sees on the day.
Kind by design
Will a volunteer be
embarrassed?
No. The person in charge sees only the action.
The action reads like No food work today
. The symptom stays with the volunteer.
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 check is saved with the time and who did 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 log.
After the dinner
Serve your people.
The log 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?
Food served to the public at an event needs a county temporary food event permit. Meals for members only are set up as a members-only kitchen. Ask your county health department which fits.
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 the action, 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