For Nevada 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 permit from your health district.
- 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 Nevada, food served to the public at an event needs a temporary permit from your food safety authority. It lasts up to 14 days (NRS 580.400). A nonprofit selling food now and then on its own premises to raise money needs no permit; off its premises, it does (NRS 580.900(5)).
In Clark County, apply to the Southern Nevada Health District at least one business day before the event. SNHD can deny a later application (SNHD 14-201). In Washoe County, ask Northern Nevada Public Health; we have not read its event rules line by line.
Meals for members only: the app can set you up as a members-only kitchen. Whether your dinners need a permit is your health district's call, so ask before the first one.
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 Nevada's rules behind the buffet line.
Employee health: report, exclude, restrict
The FDA Food Code (model) says: 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. Here the law differs: the person in charge tells the health authority within 24 hours (NAC 446.056(1)(c)); no sore throat with fever and no exclusion or restriction for exposure (NAC 446.056).
Nevada: NAC 446.056(1)(c), NAC 446.057
Guide: Sick workers: report it and stay homeHandwashing
The FDA Food Code (model) says: Wash hands and forearms 20 seconds at a handwashing sink only; double wash after the restroom; sanitizer never replaces washing. Here the law differs: lists when to wash, including after the restroom; no double wash (NAC 446.063).
Nevada: NAC 446.062, NAC 446.063, NAC 446.064, NAC 446.066, NAC 446.423
Guide: HandwashingHot 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.
Nevada: NAC 446.178, NAC 446.182
Guide: Hot and cold holdingCooling
135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within 6 hours total.
Nevada: NAC 446.176, NAC 446.177
Guide: Cooling food in two stages
What else can the inspector check? 4 more rules
Buffet and self-service protection
The FDA Food Code (model) says: 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). Here the law differs: general protection only; sneeze guards, covers or display cases not named (NAC 446.158).
Nevada: NAC 446.158, NAC 446.162, NAC 446.053, NAC 446.163; docs/source/research/buffet-and-dinner-service.md
Guide: Buffets and self-serviceAllergens and cross-contact
Label the major food allergens on food you package. Nevada's NAC 446 and SNHD's 2023 rules don't ask for a written allergen notice for unpackaged food, as the 2022 Food Code does; we still recommend one. Keep allergens apart with separate utensils, fresh gloves and washing.
NAC 446.187; SNHD 2023 Food Regulations 3-602.1
Guide: Food labelsCleaning 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.
Nevada: NAC 446.328, NAC 446.254, NAC 446.314, NAC 446.303, NAC 446.364, NAC 446.381
Guide: Cleaning vs sanitizing, and sanitizer strengthsVomit and diarrhea cleanup procedure
The FDA Food Code (model) says: Written procedure: stop service nearby, protective gear, absorb, clean, disinfect 1,000–5,000 ppm bleach or norovirus product, discard, log.
FDA Food Code (model) 2-501.11: not in Nevada's code, so this line is our advice
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. Nevada asks the person in charge to tell the health authority within 24 hours (NAC 446.056). That covers a volunteer with jaundice, or a diagnosed Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli (STEC), hepatitis A or norovirus.
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 (NAC 446.176).
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 Nevada?
Food served to the public at an event needs a temporary permit from your food safety authority, good for up to 14 days (NRS 580.400). A nonprofit selling food now and then on its own premises to raise money needs no permit; off its premises, it does (NRS 580.900(5)). In Clark County, SNHD can deny an application that is not in at least one business day before the event. Meals for members only: ask your health district whether a permit applies; the app can set you up as a members-only kitchen either way.
Do our volunteers need a food handler card?
Nevada has no statewide card. In Clark County, SNHD requires its card before a person starts work in a food establishment. Its regulation lists exceptions, including supervised volunteers for a school or a 501(c)(3). Ask SNHD which applies to your kitchen. Washoe County's regulation has no card requirement.
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