A commissary letter is a short signed letter, or a health department's own form, in which a licensed kitchen confirms that a food truck uses it as its base: where the truck fills its fresh water, empties its wastewater and grease, washes its equipment, stores food and preps. Many health departments ask for one before they'll permit a food truck, because a truck's tanks and sinks are small and the food has to be prepared and stored somewhere approved. Below is what the letter says, a template, the visit log that backs it up, and what the commissary should agree to before it signs.
The short version
- The letter names the commissary, its permit, the truck and its owner, and the dates.
- It lists the services: water, gray water, grease disposal, cleaning, storage, prep.
- It says how often the truck reports to the commissary, as the health department requires.
- Both sides sign; some health departments supply their own form instead.
- The commissary keeps a visit log; inspectors may ask for it.
- Sign only for services you actually have room and equipment for.
- TaroStack keeps a truck's goods as theirs on the commissary's shelves. More below.
What the letter says
| Part | What it covers |
|---|---|
| The commissary | Name, address, its own food permit number |
| The truck | Business name, owner, vehicle and license plate |
| Dates | When the agreement starts and how either side ends it |
| Water | Filling the truck's potable water tank from an approved connection |
| Wastewater | Emptying gray water into an approved sanitary drain |
| Grease | Disposal of used cooking oil and grease |
| Cleaning | Use of the three-compartment sink and handwashing sinks |
| Storage | Cold and dry storage shelves for the truck's food |
| Prep | Kitchen time for preparing food, as booked |
| Frequency | How often the truck reports, as the health department requires |
| Signatures | Both parties, with names and titles |
Requirements differ by city and county: some want the truck at the commissary every operating day, some want a specific form, some want the commissary's permit attached. Ask the health department for its list before writing. This is general information, not legal advice.
The template
Shenandoah Commons Kitchen, a made-up shared kitchen in Harrisonburg, Virginia, I use in these examples, serves as the commissary for a food truck. Its letter, addressed to the county health department's mobile food unit permits office, says the kitchen, a permitted food establishment, agrees to serve as the truck's commissary from November 1 until either party ends it with 30 days' notice, and lists the services: potable water filling, gray water disposal into a sanitary drain, grease disposal into the kitchen's grease container, the three-compartment and handwashing sinks, one walk-in shelf and one dry shelf, and kitchen time as booked. The truck reports at least once each operating day, and the kitchen keeps a log of each visit. What commissary time costs a truck is in commissary kitchen cost.
The visit log
| Date | Arrived | Left | Water | Gray water | Grease | Cleaned | Truck | Commissary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2 | 6:30 | 7:40 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | SD | KM | |
| November 3 | 21:10 | 22:05 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | SD | KM |
The log is what makes the letter true: if the inspector asks whether the truck really uses the commissary, the commissary can show every visit. How a food truck plans around its commissary is in food truck business plan.
Before the commissary signs
- Capacity: the water connection, the gray water drain and the grease container can handle another truck.
- Hours: the truck's early mornings and late nights fit around the kitchen's other members.
- Storage: there's a shelf for the truck in the cooler and dry storage, rented, not borrowed.
- The agreement: the truck signs the kitchen's member agreement too: booking, cleaning, labels, insurance.
Get the template
Download the commissary letter and visit log. Two sheets: the letter, with example wording and the parts to change in brackets; and a visit log, with each visit's date, times, the services used and both sets of initials. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The letter promises the truck a cooler shelf; the cooler holds three trucks' and thirty members' food. A log of visits doesn't say what each truck keeps on its shelf, what's out of date, or what a truck that stopped coming left behind.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps a truck's goods as theirs on the commissary's shelves.
The truck's goods as theirs. With We make or keep goods for clients turned on, the truck is a client and its food on your shelves is its own: received at no cost to the kitchen, kept apart, counted where it sits, and released when the truck loads up.
A statement each month. The truck's monthly statement shows its goods you hold and how each moved, with the month's charges typed onto its order.
The truck's own stock. A truck that runs TaroStack itself can keep its own items, recipes and counts, with the commissary's shelf as a site of its own on Standard. How a food truck counts its stock is in food truck inventory spreadsheet.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| The truck's food in your cooler | A labeled shelf | Theirs, counted |
| What the truck loaded today | Not recorded | A release to them |
| The month's charges | A list | On their order and statement |
| What a departed truck left | Unknown | Their goods, by lot |
Keeping a truck's goods, with releases and monthly statements, is on Standard at $99 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.