Volunteers providing community food and food banks

This page has been set up to provide food safety guidance to those of you that have kindly given up your time to set up and run a community food bank, are preparing meals at home, or in a community centre or church.

Register a food business

You might not think that this type of activity is a 'food business', but anyone who stores, sells, distributes or prepares food for other people, whether for profit or not, must be registered with their local authority if they are doing so on a regular and organised basis. Registration is free and can be done online.

If you are in any doubt or are looking for advice, please contact our Food, Health and Safety Team - foodhygiene@northdevon.gov.uk.

Food Safety Advice

If you are cooking or donating food to your local community, it must comply with food hygiene law and be safe to eat. This means considering how the food will be delivered, stored and safely re-distributed to the community. This is considering points such as allergens, best before/use by dates or traceability and record keeping.

For further guidance on food health and safety, please visit:

Food Standards Agency's website

WRAPS website