Health and Safety Recommendations

Print the COVID-19 Resource Guide for Licensed Food Cart and Food Truck Vendors in Wisconsin

Health and Safety

Schedule staffing density to levels that allow a minimum of six feet of distance between all employees at all times. This includes both in the kitchen and in the mobile unit.
If an employee is symptomatic, do not allow them to come in to work. If they arrive at work send them home immediately (be aware of and use current sick leave and sick pay provisions). Disinfect all areas that person came into contact with.
If your operation has a sick leave policy that involves the accrual of hours, ignore the accrual and offer full sick leave benefits even to new employees under current emergency provisions. Currently, the contagion period after symptoms disappear is not known. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, any employee who has been positively diagnosed with COVID-19, or has shown symptoms should stay at home until:
1. That employee is free of fever (>100.4°F) AND/OR respiratory symptoms (for example, cough, shortness of breath) for at least three days (72 hours) without the use of fever-reducing medicine; AND
2. Seven days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

Source: WI Department of Health Services: When can a recovering COVID-19 patient return to work?

Additional resources

Food Industry Recommended Protocols When Employee/Visitor/Customer Tests Positive for COVID-19

Hold meetings remotely when possible. If in-person meetings are necessary, keep attendance at a bare minimum and hold the meetings sitting at least six feet apart from one another. Here are a few free web-based remote meeting and conferencing options:
- FaceTime group call (for iPhone, iPad, iTouch)
- Zoom
- GoTo Meeting
- ezTalks
- Skype
Create systems for contact-free exchange of necessary documents, food, and equipment. Rather than passing equipment or food to each other, one employee will set it on a table, step away, and allow the other to come pick it up. Pay checks and other documents are laid out on a table for employees to walk up to, one at a time, and pick up as necessary.
Monitor and enforce the following of personal hygiene and food safety protocols by all personnel per the Wisconsin Food Code.
Communicate hygiene and food safety protocols in all languages used by all employees both verbally and in print.
Ensure that hand washing stations are well-maintained, and that every worker has an adequate supply of soap and gloves to use as necessary.
Provide hand-sanitizing stations where hand washing sinks are not conveniently available.

Safety recommendations for customers and community:

Remove all physical menus. Printed menus are not necessary since there is no seating and are touched repeatedly so are a source of surface transmission of viral particles. Add additional menu boards to the exterior of your food cart or food truck or sandwich boards (if regulations allow) to reduce crowding.
Avoid cash when possible and switch to no-contact methods by avoiding on-site credit card payments. Even methods such as “Apple Pay” require some touching. Transition to online ordering for take-out and delivery orders. Try to Direct-message customers on Facebook/Instagram or text when orders are ready.
- If you can’t go online-only, encourage the use of contact-free credit card devices and have the point-of-sale (POS) operator step back from the device before allowing a customer to tap their phone or insert their credit card. (For more information, refer to Accepting credit card payments section below)
Offer contact-free pickup. Place ready-to-go orders on a table with the name of the customer who ordered it.
Post signage asking guests to maintain six feet of distance from the person in front of them while in line. Use signs or non-permanent markings (chalk, tape, etc.) on the ground to indicate spacing. Confirm with your city/town/village that using non-permanent markings is allowed.
Remove all condiment bottles, loose napkins, loose silverware, water bottles, and counter decorations. Anything that may result in more than one customer touching the same surface is a potential point of cross-contamination.

Source: Food Safety & Coronavirus: A Comprehensive Guide

NEW RECOMMENDATION (4/4/20) – Encourage your staff to wear cloth face coverings whenever they are outside their homes and when they are at work. People wearing face coverings are protecting others.

HEALTH & SAFETY RESOURCES