DIY Fest Food Vendor Rules & Permitting Info

NOTE: The registration/permitting process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on the inspector’s availability and workload. With this in mind, plan on getting registered a few weeks in advance of the DIY Fest! If you submit your paperwork with less than 12 days before the start date of the event, the Health Department will charge you a late fee.

Required Commercial Food Permitting

(for vendors selling made-to-order food/beverages)

  • Food trucks are required to have a primary food truck permit in one of the Utah counties to be in compliance throughout the entire state now. For example, if your food truck has a Davis County Health Department permit & is in good standing there, you can vend in Salt Lake County without any additional permits. You will need to bring a hard copy of your primary food truck permit with you to the DIY Fest. NO EXCEPTIONS!
  • If you are normally a food truck vendor who wants to operate outside of your food truck in a booth/tent, you will need to apply for a Temporary Food Booth Permit from the Salt Lake County Health Department (because your primary food truck permit is only applicable to the truck itself).  
  • For licensing questions, please contact the Salt Lake County Health Department – our contacts are Hayley Shaffer (385-468-3845 – HShaffer@slco.org) and Cole Dalton (385-332-1499 – cbdalton@utah.gov).
  • Cooking stations must be in compliance with the Salt Lake County Health Department’s guidelines.

  • All food trucks need to be registered with the local fire department. NO EXCEPTIONS! For questions, you can reach them at their main office by calling 801-256-2390.

  • Food Vendors assume all responsibility for safeguarding their products and securing general liability insurance for their doing business. The Utah State Fairpark REQUIRES a certificate of this policy listing Craft Lake City and The Utah State Fairpark as additionally insured for the event. This certificate should not cost Food Vendors an additional fee by their insurance company. Email festivalfood@craftlakecity.com with any questions.
  • Each commercial food vendor must have a hand washing station on-site at the event. During their routine on-site audit, the Health Department will shut down anyone who does not have a handwashing station, so this must be planned for in advance for all food booths & trucks at the DIY Fest.
  • All grease & liquids must be removed & disposed of off-site from DIY Fest grounds by the vendor.
  • If you would like to offer samples from your commercial food truck/booth, please call or email the Health Department (385-468-3845, healthfood@slco.org) for details on securing your event sampling permitting. Food prepared in a Commercial Kitchen that has been permitted by either the Department of Agriculture or the Salt Lake County Health Department can be sampled and may require a permit if it comes from a raw animal product. 
  • Commercial food vendors planning to sell sodas, bottled water or energy drinks at the DIY Fest must purchase these directly from the Craft Lake City’s Pepsi Representative. Our team will send you a Pepsi order sheet approx. 2 weeks before the event date. Special exceptions for handmade beverages may be made at the discretion of Craft Lake City staff.

Required Craft Food Permitting:

(for vendors selling pre-packaged food/beverages)

  • All craft food must be prepared and packaged in a commercial or cottage kitchen that has been inspected and approved by the Utah Department of Agriculture. You are REQUIRED to bring a copy of your Department of Agriculture permit with you & have it posted at your booth. You do not need any additional permits with the Salt Lake County Health Department to participate in the DIY Fest. For questions about kitchen certifications, please contact the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food at 801-982-2253. 
  • If you would like to offer samples at your booth at the DIY Fest, you must obtain a sampling permit from the Salt Lake County Health Department. You must have a license from the Utah Department of Agriculture in order to get a sampling permit. All food samples distributed at the DIY Fest must be pre-packaged. The Salt Lake County Health Department prohibits the distribution of samples of food produced in a Cottage Kitchen. Cottage Kitchen foods must be prepackaged, labeled, and sold solely for at-home consumption. For questions about sampling permitting, please contact healthfood@slco.org or 385-468-3845. 
  • At least one person running the booth MUST have a Food Handlers permit.
  • Each booth must have its own hand washing station if you are providing samples. 

On-Site DIY Fest Food Vendor Set Up

  • Food vendors must use their assigned load-in times and zone instructions, which are provided one week in advance of the DIY Fest. NO EXCEPTIONS. Anyone arriving after designated load-in time risks forfeiting their participation in the DIY Fest and other future Craft Lake City events.
  • Food vendors must be in their spaces one hour before the event starts on their designated participation day. Food vendors who are not in their spaces by this time will risk forfeiting their participation.
  • Food vendors may not leave the DIY Fest early unless given a specific exemption by Craft Lake City’s Executive Director prior to the event.
  • Food vendors must use their assigned spot and shall not overflow into adjoining areas.
  • Food vendors will not move any DIY Fest or Utah State Fairpark furniture (chairs, tables, garbage cans, etc.) for any reason without prior approval
  • No tape of any kind may be used on DIY Fest property (on light poles, rails, indoor or outdoor walls, etc.)
  • Every vendor’s display must be installed so as to provide access and visibility of any fire panel, pull station, visual audio device, and/or exit signs. Craft Lake City reserves the right to update any fire or safety regulations at any time.
  • Food vendors found using electricity onsite without prior authorization and payment will be charged immediately and/or asked to leave the DIY Fest. At no time may a food vendor make additions or modifications to electrical services. The venue and organizers do not assume responsibility or liability for electrical failures of any kind, for damage to equipment or property caused by drops or increases in power supply, low voltage, or power surges and shall not be liable for loss of profits or revenue, loss of use of equipment, cost of capital, or cost of equipment.
  • All equipment, extension cords, power strips, additional lighting, hand trucks, etc. are the food vendor’s responsibility. Only heavy-duty, three-prong, rubber or neoprene extension cords are permitted; ordinary two-wire extension cords are forbidden. Power strips are allowable but may not be “daisy-chained” by plugging one power strip into another.
  • All food trucks are expected to bring a generator with suitable power for their food service set up.

During DIY Fest

  • Food vendors may not sublease their spaces or sell items unrelated to those in their market application.
  • No alcoholic beverages may be brought in from outside the venue. Craft Lake City expends considerable time & effort into securing special event permitting to allow us to serve alcohol  on-site at the DIY Fest, and, due to DABC rules, any outside alcohol found on the event premises threatens to shut the entire DIY Fest down. Vendors violating this rule will be asked to leave by security.
  • Controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, and items prohibited by state or federal laws may not be produced, manufactured, dispensed, advertised or possessed at the DIY Fest.
  • The DIY Fest is a smoke-free environment. Smoking is allowed only outside the event. Re-entry is permitted with a hand stamp.
  • At the end of each DIY Fest day, the Food Vendor must pack out their waste and recyclable materials or dispose of recyclables in the identified recycling bins and place waste in the large dumpster garbage bins. Grease, oils, and gray water must be removed from the venue by the commercial food vendor each night and will not be allowed to dispose of on-site. Food vendors are asked to provide reusable or recyclable service ware.
  • No free stickers or decals may be distributed unless they are added to the bag of a paying customer’s purchase.
  • If selling knives or sharp objects of any kind, they must be boxed and sealed.
  • Craft Lake City reserves the right to require food vendors to remove or reorganize items in their space for safety or other concerns.

After the DIY Fest

  • Food vendors must use their assigned load-out times and zone instructions, which will be provided one week in advance of the DIY Fest. NO EXCEPTIONS. Anyone leaving before their assigned load-out time risks forfeiting their participation in future Craft Lake City events.
  • Food vendors must leave their spaces empty and free of grease, trash and debris. Market bins are for patrons only, and therefore food vendors must bring bins and/or bags for trash and recycling removal from their space. Food vendors are responsible for preventing grease stains in their vending area. 
  • Food vendors are responsible for filing sales taxes with the Utah State Tax Commission after the event. Craft Lake City provides vendor mailing addresses to the Utah State Tax Commission, and vendors can expect to receive their sales tax form via snail mail within 2 weeks after the Fest. For questions (or to request a replacement Special Event Tax Form should it not arrive), please contact the USTC at 801-297-6303 or specialevent@utah.gov. Reporting accurate sales tax helps Craft Lake City track the economic impact our events have on the local economy. Please note that Craft Lake City does not take any money from commission or sales of your products during the course of the DIY Fest.

COVID-19 Rules & Precautions

  • If any food vendor does not feel well, develops COVID-19 symptoms before or during the event, or if they come into contact with someone who exhibited symptoms/tested positive for COVID-19, the food vendor will be required to communicate this information to Craft Lake City immediately. Craft Lake City will then work with the food vendor to determine a safe solution that works for both parties.
  • The food vendor understands that Craft Lake City and the Utah State Fairpark will take careful precautions to create as safe an environment as possible at the DIY Fest. However, the food vendor assumes all risk associated with participation, and will hold harmless Craft Lake City, Eighteen Percent Gray, the Utah State Fairpark, DIY Fest sponsors, partner organizations, coordinators, venue representatives, event volunteers, contractors or employees, for any damage, loss, or theft to, displays or other personal property, or illness or injury to their person or associated persons, regardless of cause resulting from their participation in this event.
  • All food vendors are encouraged to provide cashless payment options to DIY Fest customers. This may include Venmo, credit card payments via Square, or other non-contact forms of payment.

General Venue & Market Rules

  • All food vendors are required to adhere to the rules that the venue has established for event food vendors. Failure to do so may result in removal from the event and may jeopardize your participation in future Craft Lake City events.
  • Laws of the city, county and state of Utah must be strictly adhered to at all times during the DIY Fest.

Thank you for abiding by all of our rules and regulations so that we may provide both a safe and fun event for the public!

test

Want to learn more about Craft Lake City? Check out our programming here!