Farmers market and pop-up booth food safety checklist (free template)

It's 6:40 on Saturday morning and the tent is up. Then someone asks where the hand-wash jug is. It's on the counter back at the café, next to the test strips and the spare thermometer. The inspector walks the market at 8.

A market stall or a pop-up is your café on a folding table, with none of the plumbing. This post covers the Food Code rules for a temporary stand, what Florida checks at an event, and gives you a packing list, a setup checklist, an hourly temperature log and a teardown list. For the marketing side of a market (which partners to approach, sales tax at events), see our post on community partnerships for a new café.

General information. Your state or local health department enforces its own edition of the Food Code, licenses temporary events its own way, and the market sets its own vendor rules on top. Section numbers and quotes below are from the FDA Food Code 2026.

What counts as a temporary food establishment

The Food Code defines one as "a FOOD ESTABLISHMENT that operates for a period of no more than 14 consecutive days in conjunction with a single event or celebration" (§1-201.10(B)). Your state's definition may differ: Florida's DBPR, for example, uses "an event of 30 days or less in duration where food is prepared, served, or sold to the general public and is advertised and recognized in the community" (DBPR: Guide to temporary food service events).

Ask your health department how they license a stall you run every Saturday.

The Food Code rules that change at a stand

Rule	What it says	Section
Water	Water for a temporary food establishment "need not be under pressure", and can come from "containers of commercially BOTTLED DRINKING WATER" or "closed portable water containers", among others	§5-103.12, §5-104.12
Floors	"If graded to drain, a floor may be concrete, machine-laid asphalt, or dirt or gravel if it is covered with mats, removable platforms, duckboards, or other APPROVED materials that are effectively treated to control dust and mud"	§6-101.11(B)(1)
Walls and roof	"Walls and ceilings may be constructed of a material that protects the interior from the weather and windblown dust and debris"	§6-101.11(B)(2)
Insects	If a temporary establishment doesn't have windows and doors, the openings are protected against insects and rodents, for example by "16 mesh to 25.4 mm (16 mesh to 1 inch) screens" or air curtains	§6-202.15(D)
Inspections	The health department "shall periodically inspect" a temporary stand serving unpackaged time/temperature-controlled food that "Has improvised rather than permanent facilities or EQUIPMENT" or "Has inexperienced FOOD EMPLOYEES"	§8-401.10(C)

Everything else still applies at the stand: hot food "At 57°C (135°F) or above", cold food "At 5°C (41°F) or less" (§3-501.16(A)), no bare hands on ready-to-eat food (§3-301.11(B)), food from approved sources, and nobody working while sick.

The 2026 Food Code also points to the Conference for Food Protection's Temporary Food Establishments Guidance, 2025, which it says "may also help event sponsors better understand the expectations of local regulatory inspectors" (Annex 2).

What Florida checks at an event

DBPR's guide lists the basics its inspectors look for, quoted here as published (DBPR: Guide to temporary food service events):

"A hand washing facility. This can be a food-grade container equipped with an on/off valve. The water has to come from an approved source", with "Soap and paper towels"
"Probe type thermometer, to check food temperatures"
"Sanitizer (properly diluted, unscented bleach may be used)" and "Chemical test strips (for measuring sanitizer concentration)"
"Ability to wash/rinse/sanitize dishes" and "Enough utensils to operate through the day"
"Overhead protection for food prep and dishwashing areas"
Protection for displayed food, "this includes 'sneeze guards' or similar protection for displayed food"
"A floor that prevents contaminants from reaching the food (removable mats, duckboards, etc.."
Food from approved sources: "Food prepared in a private home or under the Cottage Food Law is not allowed."

Do you need a separate license? The guide says "If you have a Hotels & Restaurants food service license you can operate one unit at a 1-30 day event". Vendors without one buy a temporary event license at the event after a passing inspection, and the guide lists the fees. Event sponsors notify DBPR at least three business days before the event. Check the guide for the current details before your first market.

The same guide reminds vendors: "Do not store food directly in contact with ice used for beverages." The Food Code says the same from the other side: ice that has cooled packaged food or drinks "may not be used as FOOD" (§3-303.11).

The packing list

Pack the night before, against this list, and tick it again as the van is loaded.

Market packing list · [event] · [date] · packed by [name]

Hand washing and cleaning

[ ] Hand-wash station: [gallon] insulated jug of drinking water with a spigot (on/off valve), a catch bucket, soap, paper towels
[ ] Sanitizer, measured for [gallons], and test strips
[ ] Three tubs for wash, rinse and sanitize, or the market's dishwashing area: [yes / no]
[ ] Wiping cloths and a sanitizer bucket
[ ] Single-use gloves, deli tissue, tongs
[ ] Trash bags, a lidded bin, a bucket for gray water

Food and temperature

[ ] Probe thermometer, and a spare: calibrated on [date]
[ ] Coolers with ice packs for cold food, [thermometers inside]
[ ] Hot holding: [insulated carriers / heated unit and power source]
[ ] Food from the café only, labeled with the item and the day made
[ ] Drinking water for the menu: [bottled / approved container]
[ ] Ice for drinks, bagged and kept apart from cooler ice

The stand

[ ] Tent or canopy, weights for every leg: [weight per leg]
[ ] Tables, table covers; mats or a platform if the ground is grass or gravel
[ ] Sneeze guard or covers for displayed food; lids for every container
[ ] Screens if you prepare food on site at a multi-day event
[ ] Menu board with prices and allergens; a sign with the café's name

Paperwork and payments

[ ] Food service license (or temporary event license fee), market vendor agreement, insurance certificate if the market asks for one
[ ] Card reader charged, phone charged, offline mode on; a cash float of $[amount]
[ ] First aid kit; the manager's and the café's phone numbers

The booth setup checklist

Booth setup · [event] · [date] · lead [name]

[ ] Tent up and weighted. Tables level. Mats down where the ground is bare.
[ ] Hand-wash station set up first, at the front of the work area: water, soap, towels, catch bucket. Everyone washes before touching food.
[ ] Sanitizer bucket made and tested: [ppm] ppm.
[ ] Cold food in coolers, off the ground. First reading taken: [°F].
[ ] Hot food at 135°F or above. First reading taken: [°F].
[ ] Display covered or behind the sneeze guard. Utensils for every item.
[ ] Drink ice and cooler ice apart, each with its own scoop.
[ ] Trash and gray water at the back, away from food.
[ ] Allergen list on the table; staff know which items contain what.
[ ] Card reader tested with a $0.01 sale or a test card.

Ready by: [time]

The hourly temperature log

Market temperature log · [event] · [date]

Time	Cold food item	Temp (41°F or below)	Hot food item	Temp (135°F or above)	Sanitizer ppm	Action if out of range	Initials
[8:00]
[9:00]
[10:00]
[11:00]
[12:00]
[1:00]

Out of range? Cold food above 41°F or hot food below 135°F: [move it to a colder cooler or reheat / discard it, as your procedure says]. If you hold some food under time instead of temperature, you need a written procedure and the time marked on the food; our time as a public health control procedure has the rules and a log.

The teardown and return list

Teardown · [event] · [date]

[ ] Cold food checked one last time: at 41°F or below goes back to the café cooler, labeled; anything above, or past its time, is thrown out. Note what: ……………………
[ ] Hot food: discarded, unless your procedure says otherwise
[ ] Gray water emptied into [an approved drain / the market's disposal point], never on the ground
[ ] Trash bagged and taken away or put in the market's bins
[ ] Tent, tables and coolers loaded; site left clean
[ ] At the café: coolers, tubs, jugs and utensils washed, rinsed and sanitized; hand-wash jug emptied and left open to dry
[ ] Sales and cash counted; card batch closed: $[ ] card, $[ ] cash
[ ] Notes for next time (what sold out, what came back): ……………………

Your market booth checklist

[ ] The health department asked how they license your stall; the market's vendor rules read
[ ] A hand-wash station, a probe thermometer, sanitizer and test strips on every packing list
[ ] Food made at the café, labeled, from approved sources
[ ] Coolers and hot holding that keep food in range for the whole market
[ ] Mats or a platform on bare ground; covers and a sneeze guard for displayed food
[ ] An hourly temperature log
[ ] A teardown list that ends with everything washed and sanitized back at the café

Where Mays fits

The lists as an on-demand checklist. Build a Market day template with the packing list, setup and teardown, set to Custom, which never runs on its own. On market day, add it to the list with Tasks → Tasks → Create Task → From Template, for the person leading the stand. See Creating a checklist template and Scheduling and assigning checklists.
Prep the day before. In the app, create a one-off task such as Pack the market van with a Due Date of Friday. See Creating one-off tasks.
The temperature log as a form. Under Tasks → Types, build a Market temps form with Temperature fields that have a pass range (for example 33–41°F for the cooler and 135–200°F for hot holding), so each reading shows In range or Out of range, plus a Number for sanitizer ppm. Every reading lands in Tasks → Data. See Building custom forms and Task Data.
Who's working the stand. Put Saturday market in the shift's Label and the address in Notes; staff see both in the app. See Building the schedule.

What Mays doesn't do: the time clock's geofence is measured from the store. Under Flag, a clock-in at the market is saved and marked Outside geofence; under Block, it's refused, and there's no exception for an off-site shift. Have the stand crew clock in at the café before they load the van, or keep the location on Flag. See Punch verification and geofence.

Pack it the night before, set it up the same way, log it every hour

A market stand passes inspection the same way a café does, with less to work with: a place to wash hands, a thermometer, sanitizer, food at the right temperature and covered from the crowd. Pack against a list, set up in the same order every time, log the temperatures every hour, and bring everything back to be washed.

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