For New York fairs, festivals and one-time events
Your event booth, permitted and on record for the weekend.
The temporary food service permit first. Then the ice, the hand sink and the cooler readings your crew taps in between customers, ready if the inspector stops by the booth.
Start your 25 days free See it work
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Saturday, 12:40 pm
Why does the booth
get away from you?
- The permit
Food for the public at a fair or festival needs a temporary food service permit from your health department. Each office sets how far ahead you apply; some say three to four weeks, Clinton and Oneida counties say 30 days.
- The booth
You are flipping burgers with one hand and taking cards with the other. The cooler thermometer under the ice and the water in the hand sink are the first things nobody looks at.
- The point
You came to feed a crowd, not to chase a clipboard across a field.
Watch a sample booth's day before you fill in a single form.
First things first
Which permit,
and how early?
Selling or giving food to the public at one event? In New York your booth is a temporary food service establishment. It needs a permit from your health department, displayed at the booth (10 NYCRR 14-2.1, 14-2.2). One event runs up to 14 days in a row.
Subpart 14-2 names no lead time; each office sets its own. County brochures say to allow three to four weeks. Clinton and Oneida counties want the application 30 days ahead, Dutchess two weeks. In New York City, the event organizer tells the Health Department 30 days before the event. Each vendor holds a temporary, regular or mobile permit. Ask your office how early, and whether the organizer files for the whole event. Booth sizes are not in the part of Subpart 14-2 we read, so ask your health department. Workers' compensation and paid family leave coverage come before any food permit in New York.
How to open a food business in your county
The permit question comes first, and the answer costs nothing.
What the inspector checks at a booth
Which rules apply
under a tent?
Here are New York's rules behind a booth once the permit is on the table, hand sink first. Each one says where it comes from, and where your county differs.
Temporary food service permit
A booth at one event, up to 14 days in a row, needs a temporary food service permit (10 NYCRR 14-2.1, 14-2.2). Your health department issues it, and it is displayed at the booth. Each office sets how far ahead to apply.
CleanCleaver: The permit is the first step on your list when you pick Event booth, and the app keeps a copy in the binder.
10 NYCRR Subpart 14-2
Guide: Temporary events, potlucks and fundraisersHandwashing
Wash hands at the booth's hand sink, with hot and cold water, soap and single-use towels. A handwashing sign hangs at the hand sink (10 NYCRR 14-1.143).
CleanCleaver: Water, soap and towels at the hand sink are on the setup list, with the rule beside them.
New York: 10 NYCRR 14-1.71, 10 NYCRR 14-1.143; FDA Food Code (model) 2-301.16: not in New York's code, so this line is our advice
Guide: HandwashingHot and cold holding
Hot food at 140°F or hotter. Cold food at 45°F or colder under the state rule (10 NYCRR 14-1.40), 41°F in New York City (Health Code 81.09). We recommend 41°F everywhere, so the app's limit is 41°F.
CleanCleaver: Each cooler reading is saved with time and name. A warm one asks what you did.
New York: 10 NYCRR 14-1.40(a)
Guide: Hot and cold holdingCooking temperatures
New York's own numbers (10 NYCRR 14-1.82): chicken to 165°F, burgers and other ground meat to 158°F, pork to 150°F, most other food to 140°F. The app's rule card prints the FDA Food Code's numbers (3-401.11). Where New York's is higher, like burgers, cook to New York's and write that number.
CleanCleaver: Each grill reading is saved with the time and who took it.
New York: 10 NYCRR 14-1.82; FDA Food Code (model) 3-401.12: not in New York's code, so this line is our advice
Guide: Cooking temperatures
What else can the inspector check? 5 more rules
No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food
The FDA Food Code (model) says: Use tongs, deli tissue, waxed paper or gloves; single-use gloves for one task; bare-hand contact only with county approval and records. Here the law differs: Gloves allowed; no single-use, one-task glove rule stated (10 NYCRR 14-1.80).
New York: 10 NYCRR 14-1.80; FDA Food Code (model) 2-401.13: not in New York's code, so this line is our advice
Guide: Gloves and no bare hands on ready-to-eat foodIce: drinking water, clean scoop, clean machine
The FDA Food Code (model) says: Ice is made from drinking water or bought bagged from a supplier that follows the law. The scoop is kept clean and protected (we say out of the ice, handle up, never a cup or glass). The ice machine and bin are cleaned at the maker's stated frequency; the Code sets no number of days. Here the law differs: Approved sources required; no receiving temperatures stated (10 NYCRR 14-1.31); No 4-hour cleaning interval for continuous use stated (10 NYCRR 14-1.110).
New York: 10 NYCRR 14-1.120, 10 NYCRR 14-1.31, 10 NYCRR 14-1.110; FDA Food Code (model) 3-202.16, 3-304.12: not in New York's code, so this line is our advice; docs/source/research/menu-items.md IC1-IC7
Employee health: report, exclude, restrict
A sick helper stays off food: no one works while sick with an illness that spreads through food (10 NYCRR 14-1.70). A customer sick from your food is reported to your health department within 24 hours (14-1.200).
CleanCleaver: Health questions before each shift. You see only
OK to work
orNo food work today
.New York: 10 NYCRR 14-1.70
Guide: Sick workers: report it and stay homeFood handler training
New York has no statewide food handler card. Your county can require training (10 NYCRR 14-1.73): Monroe County wants a certified food worker present whenever the booth is open, temporary units included. Ask your health department.
CleanCleaver: The app keeps each certificate and its expiry date.
10 NYCRR 14-1.73
Guide: Temporary events, potlucks and fundraisersAccurate thermometers
Thermometers read within 2°F. Check yours in ice water at 32°F.
CleanCleaver: Dipping the thermometer in ice water is a setup step, saved with the reading.
New York: 10 NYCRR 14-1.85
Guide: Thermometers and calibration
See the same rules as taps on the phone your crew carries.
Set up
How do I get my crew on it
before Saturday?
Three steps on Thursday night.
Pick Event booth
The app starts you with a grill menu (burgers and fries) and the temporary event permit as your first step, and you edit the list.
Text your crew a link
They open it in their phone's browser and check in before they touch food. Your phone sends the text. We don't.
Every reading is saved
Each cooler and grill reading has the time and who took it. The binder is one PDF.
A booth is billed like a community kitchen: $19 a month for the location, any number of helpers. The 25 free days cover your first event.
A festival Saturday
What does the day
look like?
One crew, one tent, one phone.
Check in
Each person answers the health questions. The answer is
OK to work
orNo food work today
. Nobody with a stomach bug serves the crowd.Sink and ice
Water, soap and towels at the hand sink; the thermometer in with the ice. The rule for each is printed beside it.
Hold it right
Hot at 140°F or above. Cold at 45°F or below under the state rule (10 NYCRR 14-1.40), 41°F in the app. Type the cooler reading; a warm one asks what you did before it saves.
Close the day
The last cooler reading. Today shows anything still open.
Every line here is on your list from the first screen, and the permit step comes first.
The cost of a gap
What if the permit
comes late?
No permit, no booth: a temporary food service establishment opens only with a valid permit on display (10 NYCRR 14-2.2). Your office sets how many days ahead it wants the application.
A booth with the permit on the table and the cooler readings on the phone is a calm booth. A booth without them spends Saturday morning on the phone with the health department.
After the weekend
Feed the crowd.
The readings are on your phone.
Try it on one event within the 25 days.
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Questions? Call or text (415) 640-1667.
Set up the booth on Thursday, run Saturday, and see the binder fill.
Questions
Before you
start.
Do I need a permit for a one-day event in New York?
Yes, if the food goes to the public at an event, with or without charge. Your booth is a temporary food service establishment. It needs a permit from your health department, displayed at the booth (10 NYCRR 14-2.1, 14-2.2). One event runs up to 14 days in a row. In the five boroughs the permit comes from New York City's Health Department. Elsewhere it comes from your county health department, or the state district office for your county.
How early do I apply?
Subpart 14-2 names no lead time; each office sets its own. County brochures say to allow three to four weeks. Clinton and Oneida counties want 30 days, Dutchess two weeks. In New York City the organizer notifies the Health Department 30 days before the event. We found no late-fee rule we could confirm. Ask your office how early, and whether the organizer files for the whole event.
How big can the booth be?
Booth sizes are not in the part of Subpart 14-2 we read, so we will not guess. Ask your health department.
Do I need a certified food protection manager for a booth?
Not statewide. Monroe County wants a certified food worker present whenever the booth is open, temporary units included. In New York City a Food Protection Certificate holder supervises food work at a food service establishment (Health Code 81.15). Ask the Health Department whether that reaches your booth. Elsewhere, ask your office.
Does someone at the booth need a food handler card?
There is no statewide card. Your county can require training (10 NYCRR 14-1.73), and whether that reaches volunteers at a one-day booth is your office's call: ask. The app keeps each certificate on file.
Can I prep the food at home?
No. New York has no home kitchen meals permit, and NYSDOH says plainly that your home kitchen cannot be used for a food service business. A separate kitchen in your residence may be acceptable with a permit; ask your health department. The home processor registration covers only approved shelf-stable foods, not a booth's hot food.
Will the app remind us to take the cooler reading?
Not by text. In a browser, yes, once you say yes when the app asks. Open the app and the list shows what is due and what is late.
What does a booth pay?
An event booth is billed like a church or community kitchen: $19 a month for the location, with any number of helpers. The 25 free days start when you add a card on Stripe's page. Cancel before they end and you pay nothing. 25 days free. Cancel anytime.
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