Public Health

If you are holding an event:

• Contact the Environmental Health Division 262-636-9203 to determine if your event requires a permit.
• If so, they will provide you with a copy of the Transient Food Service Permit Application.
• Be specific and detailed when filling out the application. It will be reviewed, and follow-up questions and necessary changes will be discussed.
• Return the application along with all necessary fees (detailed on the application), to the Department of Customer Services, City Hall room 103.
• Non-Profit organization that show proof of the organizations 501(c)(3) status when applying may be exempt from permit fees.
• All food handlers must complete the Temporary Event Food Service Class offered by the Environmental Health Division detailing proper food service. This class is free of charge and can be completed online. In-person courses can be provided upon request.

Event Coordinators: Review the Temporary Food Service Event Requirements. This booklet contains procedures for setting up food service areas, cooking and storing food, and sanitizing work/service areas. Being prepared will ensure that the permitting process, as well as the event, runs smoothly and safely.

• Every temporary stand must have a roof and sidewalls. It can be built of wood, canvas, nylon, or plastic.
• Have enough room for all cooking equipment except for barbecue grills. Those may be outside the stand as long as they are blocked off.
• Areas used for extensive food preparation must be effectively enclosed or screened.
• The food preparation area may have a food pass-through opening or entry door.
• For booths not on concrete; sealed wood racks, plywood, or shredded bark should be used to control mud, dust, and water.
• Use pallets, crates, racks, or tables to keep all food and single-service items at least six inches off the ground.

• Cooking equipment: Grill areas must be separated from the public for a distance of at least 4 feet by using fences, ropes, or other means.
• Do not use barrels that formerly held chemicals or toxics as cooking devices. Enamelware equipment and utensils (i.e., older metal nesco cooker inserts) may not be used to prepare or store food.
• Provide a secure and level area for all propane tanks.
• Electrical power: Sufficient power must be available for all electrical equipment
• Sanitary services: Arrange for adequate trash, grease, and wastewater containers and service in and around the food stand.
• Do not empty grease and liquid wastes on the ground or street. Never dump grease or wastewater in to the storm sewers or on the grass at an event.
• Water: Have a sufficient supply of approved drinking (potable) water. Connections to city water must be made using approved backflow prevention.
• All hoses used for food preparation, handwashing, or utensil washing must be food grade (ANSI/NSF). If city water is not available, potable water may be brought to the site in a water buffalo or covered food grade water container.

• Warewashing: Equipment and utensils can be taken to an approved facility at the end of each day for warewashing. Adequate utensils must be provided and replaced with clean utensils at least every four hours. When water under pressure is not available on site, basins large enough to immerse utensils may be set-up for warewashing.
• Hot water: If hot water under pressure is not available, provide a means of heating water such as a coffee maker or heated in a container on the grill.
• Proper storage of cleaning aids: All chemicals must be used according to label directions and properly labeled. Store them away from food, equipment, utensils, and single service articles.
• Wiping cloths: Wiping cloths that are in use for wiping food spills shall be used for no other purpose and shall be stored clean and dry or in a container of clean sanitizing solution at the proper concentration.

• Hand wash facilities must be located in all stands where open food is handled or prepared and convenient to all employees. Grill areas that are separate should have a separate handwash facility.
• When water under pressure is not available, the hand wash facility shall consist of soap, paper towels, wastepaper basket, discard bucket, and a minimum 5-gallon insulated container with a free flowing spigot that is filled with warm water.
• Employees may not touch ready-to-eat foods such as: bread, lettuce, tomatoes, or cooked foods with their bare hands. Use gloves, tissues, tongs, or other utensils.
• Gloves and hand sanitizers are not a substitute for handwashing and may only be applied to hands that have been thoroughly washed.
• Employees must wear clean clothes and hair restraints. Smoking and eating are not allowed in food stands. Small children, visitors, and pets must not be allowed into food stands.

• All food operations need a hand wash station set up before any food processing can be done onsite.
• Food operations considered high risk will not be allowed to operate until inspected and the permit issued.
• To prevent short-term closure of a food service, operators should make sure that safe food handling practices and temperatures are implemented and followed.
• No food prepared at home is allowed.
• Food prepared off-site must be made in a commercial kitchen space permitted and approved by the Department of Environmental Health.