DALTON, Mass. — The Board of Health approved a 90-day variance for Pizza Trails Food Truck to get a food manager's permit during its meeting last week. 

 

Pizza Trails owner Jake Sweener plans to operate in Dalton, in front of Downswing's Indoor Golf Center, on select Thursday nights when the truck is not already scheduled for another event. 

 

"Most of our Thursdays are already booked, and it's a pretty rare thing. It's kind of like a fill-in for us to supplement our income," he said. 

 

Sweener can operate his food truck for 90 days, which will allow him to complete the food manager training while getting him through the busy summer season. 

 

The truck will only operate on the town line about four times a month for three hours, so paying the $300 for the training is counterintuitive given the limited time it will be at that location, Sweener said. 

 

He also emphasized that he has operated for the last four years in other parts of Berkshire County and in New York's Columbia and Rensselaer counties without needing the certification. 

 

Other areas permitted Sweener to operate with food handler permit and ServeSafe certificate and allergen and choke-safe certifications. 

 

Sweener said the food handler's permit and the food manager's permit are very similar to each other, so he would like to operate off the certifications he already has. 

 

The food manager's permit is a state requirement, which was confirmed with Berkshire Public Health Alliance, Health Agent Agnes Witkowski said. 

 

Board member Edward Gero looked up the requirements and found that "food workers in Massachusetts don't need a food preparation license or food handlers card. Although the state requires all food service businesses to have a minimum of one full-time certified food manager." 

 

It is unclear why other towns are not asking for the food manager's permit, but Dalton's board has to be consistent for all food trucks that operate in town, one board member said. 

 

The board understood Sweener's perspective but mandating that he get a food manager's permit is fair because it is required for all food trucks. 

 

The board is working on picking up protocols that went lax for a long time during the pandemic. The food manager's license is good for five years, so once Sweener obtains it, he can operate in town more often next summer, one board member said. 

 

The training can be done online and in person. Witkowski will send a list of in-person locations to get the training to Sweener. Once complete, he will email his certification to the board.