Selling food at fundraising events or public stalls

Selling food can add to your public event or support your group’s fundraising. Here are some additional points to think about.

The impacts of scaling up

Preparing food in larger quantities than you're used to can come with additional challenges.When scaling up, consider:

• Extra equipment.
• More volunteers.
• Additional time to make sure everything is prepared safely.

Serving food at public events may last longer than catering for meals at camp. This increases the risk to food safety. Make sure that:

• Food is kept hot or cold as needed.
• Food is protected from contamination.
• Serving utensils are regularly replaced.
• Food is served on a first-in, first-out principle and new food is not mixed with food already on display. 

Have a clear Food Hygiene plan that everyone follows

• Try to go cashless and use card payments like chip and pin or contactless. It's quicker and more hygienic
• Where using cash, have separate people handling money and food if possible.
• Everyone must wash their hands before handling open food.
• Minimise the need to touch food.Consider pre-packing food where possible, or use tongs to handle open food.

Have a clear Allergen Management plan that everyone follows

When serving members of the public, it is unlikely that you will be aware whether someone has any allergies.In these cases, it is especially important to provide written ingredient information.

• When food is donated by others, it must include allergen information.
• All food items, including home-made, must have details of the 14 key allergens that they contain or may contain.
• Keeping allergen-free food and serving equipment separate.
• Ask each client if they have any allergies.
• If you’re not sure about any ingredients, stop and ask.