For non-profits
Food safety guide
Food safety is a shared chain. Restaurants prepare and hold food safely, your team receives, transports and serves it safely, and GoodMarkets keeps the record. Here's what that looks like in practice.
Check temperatures
Hot at or above 135°F. Cold at or below 41°F. Reheat to 165°F.
Respect the 4-hour limit
Serve hot food by its use-by time. Throw out what's left; don't chill it for later.
Carry it safely
Insulated carriers and coolers, straight back to your kitchen.
When in doubt, decline
There's never a penalty for turning food down.
The food
Where does the food come from?+
Every listing is surplus from a restaurant or food business kitchen operating under its local health permit: food that was prepared but never served to a customer. Food from home kitchens and food that has been served to a customer are not allowed on GoodMarkets.
What does the restaurant tell us about each listing?+
Before a listing goes live, the restaurant records how the food is held (hot, cold, frozen or room temperature), when hot food was made, a use-by time, packaging, and which of the nine major allergens it contains, and confirms the food was prepared and held following the local food code. You see all of this before you claim.
What does the health grade mean? Does GoodMarkets inspect restaurants?+
The health grade is the restaurant's most recent grade from its local health department, as reported by the restaurant, with the inspection date. GoodMarkets does not inspect kitchens; inspections are done by the county or city. Use the A grade only filter if your organization only accepts food from A-graded kitchens.
Why does hot food disappear from the listings after 4 hours?+
Food safety codes limit how long hot food can safely go without temperature control to 4 hours. GoodMarkets applies that limit to every hot listing: the pickup window and use-by time end no later than 4 hours after the food was made, and the listing comes down automatically after that.
At pickup
What should we check when we pick up?+
- Temperature: hot food at or above 135°F, cold food at or below 41°F, using a clean probe thermometer.
- Packaging: closed, clean and undamaged.
- Match: the food and quantity match the listing.
- Condition: it looks and smells as expected.
What if the food isn't at the right temperature, or something looks wrong?+
Don't accept it. You are never obligated to take food you're not comfortable with, and there's no penalty for declining. Let the restaurant know, then mark the claim Had an issue with a short note, or cancel it, so the record reflects what happened.
How should we transport the food?+
Use insulated carriers or coolers: hot items together, cold items with ice packs, kept apart from raw foods and chemicals. Go straight from the restaurant to your kitchen, and keep the vehicle clean.
Storing and serving
How long do we have to serve hot food?+
Serve it before the use-by time on the listing, which for hot food is at most 4 hours after it was made. Keep it hot (135°F or above) until serving. Hot food that isn't served by the use-by time should be thrown out, not chilled for later, because it may already have been out of temperature control for its full safe time.
What about cold and frozen food?+
Refrigerate cold food at 41°F or below and keep frozen food frozen as soon as you arrive. Use it by the use-by time on the listing. Reheat cooked food to 165°F before serving it hot.
How do we handle allergens?+
Every listing shows which of the nine major allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy and sesame) it contains, plus any others the restaurant notes. Keep that information with the food and share it with guests the same way you would for any donated food.
Liability and records
Are we protected from liability?+
The federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects food donors and non-profit organizations that receive and distribute donated food in good faith from civil and criminal liability, except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. The Food Donation Improvement Act of 2022 extended those protections, and many states, including California, add their own. This is general information, not legal advice; your counsel can advise on your organization's specific situation.
What records does GoodMarkets keep?+
Every claim records the restaurant, items, quantity, pickup time, what you received and its condition. You can see all of it in your Receiving log and export it as a CSV for your own records, audits or reporting.
Who should we contact if there's a food safety problem?+
If anyone may have become ill, follow your organization's procedures and contact your local health department. Mark the claim Had an issue with a note and email us at support@goodmarkets.co so we can notify the restaurant and keep the record.
Before your first pickup
- ✓A calibrated probe thermometer and sanitizing wipes
- ✓Insulated carriers for hot food; coolers and ice packs for cold
- ✓A clean vehicle with space kept apart from chemicals and raw foods
- ✓Someone on each pickup with a food handler card or food manager certification
- ✓Refrigerator and freezer space ready before you claim
- ✓A way to reheat food to 165°F, if you plan to serve reheated food
Permit and certification requirements for charitable feeding programs vary by city and county. Your local environmental health agency can tell you exactly what your kitchen needs.
This guide summarizes widely used food safety practices based on the FDA Food Code. It is general information, not legal or regulatory advice. Where your local health code or your organization's own procedures are stricter, follow them.