26-2-391. Permits for nonprofit food sales and food service at events; duration of permit; issuance of subsequent permits.

A county or municipality shall be authorized to issue permits for the operation of nonprofit food sales and food service at events sponsored by the county, municipality, or an organization. For any permit issued pursuant to this Code section to be valid, the event must be held on property belonging to the sponsoring county, municipality, or organization or on the property of a party that has provided consent for use of such property for such event.#

A permit shall be valid for:#

1. (1)

   A period of up to 120 consecutive hours and another permit shall not be issued to the organization holding such permit until five days have elapsed from the date of the expiration of the permit; or#

2. (2)

   A continuous period of up to 12 weeks between May 15 and August 15 and four additional weeks during the calendar year, which may be composed of nonconsecutive periods, coinciding with holidays during which local school systems are not in session, provided that all food items are provided free of charge and the organization does not receive funding from the United States Department of Agriculture to operate a food program.#

At the request of the county or municipality issuing a permit pursuant to this Code section or at the request of a county or municipality sponsoring an event pursuant to subparagraph (a)(5)(C) of Code Section 26-2-21 or subparagraph (2)(E) of Code Section 26-2-370, the county board of health shall:#

1. (1)

   Supply educational materials regarding food safety which may be provided to event organizers and the public; and#

2. (2)

   Conduct food safety inspections to ensure compliance with the provisions of Code Section 26-2-392.#

No fees shall be charged to an organization for the issuance of any permit pursuant to this Code section; provided, however, that the county board of health shall be authorized to impose a fee for inspections performed at the request of the issuing county or municipality. Such fee shall be fixed in a reasonable amount such that the proceeds of the fee do not exceed the total direct and indirect costs of conducting the inspection.#

For purposes of this Code section, an event may include the provision of food at a third-party location within the same county.#