I’m in FL and this is a major health issue with the multiday events, especially with excessive leftovers at the oversold or poor attendance high rent events.  What do you think non-professional (licensed and unlicensed) food vendors are going to do with left-overs?
 
I’ve seen vendors keep bread and produce out unattended overnight for any critter to nibble on.
 
That said, it is perfectly safe to keep cold food on pleanty of ice in 5-day coolers for multiday events, with the temp monitored to make sure all meats remain below temp.
 
 

If you are going to use a cooler to store your food in, line the inside of the lid with Reflectix insulation (silver bubble wrap stuff) you can get at Lowes/Home Depot in the insulation aisle. Makes a big difference.
 
BTW, we don’t serve leftovers to our customers!  WE frown on it! We also take our cart “home” and did so at the only multiday event we have set up at. Our “home” is on wheels (RV) so we plan ahead to be able to put the cart next to us.

I only use dry ice when I need to keep items frozen, like shrimp.  Regular ice works fine otherwise. 

I have been reading the applications for lots of different festivals in California. One thing that seems to come up on the health department side is storage of food. Specifically overnight storage. Most of the applications state that the food has to be kept in an approved facility overnight at the right temp ect. Well I’m going to be in a temporary food booth and on the road. So my question is how do you professional temporary food vendors store your food overnight for a 2 or 3 day event? After all Ill be far from home and will virtually know no one. I need some ideas……Thanks

In the county’s and cities I sell in in So Cali (Orange, San Diego, Riverside, Los Angless) The health dept frowns on left overs being reused the second day by street vendors. You would need a NSF refrigerator to be able to cool the product in the safe amount of time.  For storing product that has not been cooked We use 5 day coolers and thermometers. We also freeze the meats that will be used the second day. This helps keep the temperature down in the cooler and keeps the ice expenses down. We keep the coolers in the  truck over night.  No mater how much the overnight security the festival has we now take all food to the truck every night. We lost $300.00 worth of tri-tip and ribs overnight form an event that had a fenced lot and all night security. what a morning to get in and find all of your meat gone cooler and all.  Lastly we have found that using the reusable Ice blankets form restaurant depot  realy helps in the coolers and the health dept realy likes that the blanket covers everything in the cooler
 
 

When we sold hot dogs and hamburgers out of our food booth we used the extreme 5 day coolers to store perishables. The burgers came frozen so we would put them on the bottom, cover with ice then the hot dogs on top. Even after two days the burgers would still be frozen. Same type of cooler for our non meat items, ice on the bottom and cheeses, lettuce, tomatoes, and condiments on top. We even used one for drinks because of how well the cooler worked.
Worst case scenario you may need to purchase a small NSF certified refrigerator to pass your HD rules. We are looking to purchase a 48” 2 – door unit for our trailer. You can purchase then as sandwich preps, under counter or worktops.  

We do a lot of multi day events and pull a 6×12′, single axel supplies (cargo) trailer with us.  It has a Roof Top AC that will pull the inside temp down a bunch for buns, bread, chips and the like.  It has racks for buns/bread along with 2 NSF fridges and a NSF freezer.  It has a generator bolted to the tongue in case power is not available or while we are on the road.  We also have racks for the tables, EZUps and stuff we need to set up.  It can be locked down tight and we have never had a problem.  We pull it with a Dodge Dakota or any 1/2 ton pickup.  When you want to do a temporary location, you’ve got everything you need there with you.
 
Mike S.

Has anyone used Dry Ice? I was considering it for a up coming event (2 days).

We’re setting up a box van to be our cook trailer tow vehicle, and it will have a 7×7 walk-in reefer built into part of the box. The box is 16′ so we will also have lots of ‘dry’ storage for any additional supplies, food, pans, etc.
We were debating whether to go ‘mobile refrigeration’ route, like a delivery truck would use, then decided to go the route the previous owner used – that is, install a 115v 3/4hp indoor reefer unit with a one-fan evaporator in the box. Since the whole box section has 4″ of insulation on all walls, ceiling and floor, we should easily hold at 40 degrees or less.
With 115v we can run on the road with an RV-style Onan built-in generator, or plug into any electrical service on location. Since few places have 220v this setup is ideal for any small event, even backyard catering!
The entire setup will cost less than $2,000 including install, since we are buying used stuff off eBay. I know guys who have that much just in ice chests!  🙂

We use the extreme 5 day coolers. One cooler is a dedicated ice cooler. We keep our bread inside our support vehicle (jeep) with the windows rolled up.  We don’t do multi-day event.