Before the cowboys drive the longhorns through the streets, kicking off the Greeley Stampede, and before the first guest enters Island Grove Regional Park lured by the enticing aroma of grilled meats and sweet treats, county employees and event coordinators have been working together for months behind the scenes to ensure that all the turkey legs, funnel cakes and various foods on-a-stick are safe to eat so guests can leave with nothing but tasty memories.

The food safety process begins months before most Weld County residents are even thinking about the event.

“We start receiving the vendor applications for the Stampede as early as December,” explained Cassie Theisen, one of Weld County's Environmental Health Specialists who works on the food safety team. “We have a planning meeting with the vendor coordinator early on. We review their site plans for sanitary conditions, trash, water hookups, electrical, and hand washing stations.”

The early planning and collaboration means detailed meetings and real-time updates are shared between the county and event organizers.

“It's a lot of back and forth, and we have to all work together until we reach the point where all vendors are properly licensed and ready to serve safely,” Theisen said.

Each of the 30 to 50 food vendors at the Stampede must also submit a food license application detailing their menu, equipment, food handling plans and certifications. The plan review process is rigorous, with Weld County’s food inspection team holding vendors to the same standards as restaurants.

On the Stampede’s opening day, before the event opens to the public, the food safety team arrives at Island Grove in full force. Inspectors diligently work their way through the rows of food vendors to ensure that every vendor is thoroughly checked before serving their first customer.

Chris McDonald, a food inspector for the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment (WCDPHE), describes the opening day scene: “We all show up in our county polos, split up into groups and each take a section of the event and then kind of leapfrog from one booth to the next. We spend anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half (with each vendor), depending on the size of the setup and the number of issues we find."

Each inspection is quick, yet thorough, with inspectors like McDonald focusing on critical violations, such as the absence of handwashing stations or improper temperature controls. Any violations are noted, and vendors are given a chance to correct them on the spot so that by the time the gates open to the public, every food booth is meeting standards, something especially critical given the foot traffic throughout the Greeley Stampede.

“A food booth can serve as many people in a weekend as a restaurant might in a week," McDonald noted. “The goal is to work collaboratively with vendors, vendor coordinators and event staff to ensure a great experience for visitors.”

Both McDonald and Theisen fondly recalled working with vendor coordinator Ray Esola, who passed away last year. Esola was involved with the Stampede for over 20 years and had supported the food vendors since 2015.

“Every time we'd go out to the Stampede and see someone that needed something, like ice, Ray would come zipping in on his golf cart, saying, ‘How can I help? What can I do?’” Theisen said.

The job of inspectors doesn't end after opening night. They rotate throughout the event's two-week duration, with at least one inspector on-site for most days of the Stampede for continued oversight. By the end of the event, most vendors will have received at least two inspections. This strategic presence helps maintain high food safety standards throughout the entire event.

So, when visitors are at the Greeley Stampede this year and are ready to bite into that corn dog or barbecued chicken on-a-stick, they can be confident that every bite is not only delicious but also safe thanks to the unseen guardians of their gastronomic joy, the WCDPHE's food safety team.

The Weld County Fair Jr. Livestock Sale continues to be the premier sale where 4-H Club and FFA youth exhibit champion animals. In the next issue, learn about what the sale means to a three-time Jr. Livestock Sale grand champion of show lambs and learn how she’s continuing to leave her mark on the agriculture industry.