Pennsylvania Refrigeration Trailer Rentals

Rules, agencies, and roads in Pennsylvania

• The Department of Agriculture licenses mobile food facilities (food trucks, carts) annually and asks for plan review materials at least 60 days before selling; it responds within 15 business days. Anyone planning to operate a rented mobile kitchen as a licensed unit should allow for the state plan review period. Source
• A Temporary Event License covers fairs, festivals and similar events for up to 14 days at one fixed location; a Temporary Food Facility License is limited to 14 days per calendar year. Short-term kitchen and warewashing setups for events usually need the matching temporary license. Source
• Mobile and temporary food operations may be required to work with a commissary for food storage, warewashing or prep, and a commissary cannot be a personal-use kitchen or part of a private residence. A mobile kitchen or dishwashing trailer does not replace the commissary requirement where the Department imposes one. Source
• Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties are under county health department jurisdiction, so temporary and mobile food applications there go through the county health department rather than the state. Check which agency licenses a given site before ordering a temporary kitchen or cold storage for food service use. Source
• The Department of Agriculture's power outage guideline for restaurants and retail food facilities urges a written contingency plan, coolers on hand if an outage could exceed four hours, and contacting the local food sanitarian to judge food safety. Cold holding at or below 41 F during an outage is the goal, which is where temporary refrigeration can help. Source

Main roads

• I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike): Runs about 350 miles from the Ohio line to the New Jersey line near Philadelphia and crosses the Appalachians through four mountain tunnels.
• I-80: Crosses the northern part of the state for about 311 miles, from Ohio (Mercer County) to the Delaware Water Gap at New Jersey.
• I-81: Runs about 233 miles from the Maryland border near Greencastle to the New York border near Hallstead.
• I-95: Only about 44 miles in Pennsylvania, from the Delaware border near Marcus Hook through Philadelphia to the New Jersey border near Bristol.
• I-78: Connects I-81 in Lebanon County to New Jersey through the Lehigh Valley (about 75 miles).
• I-79: Runs about 183 miles from the West Virginia border in Greene County north through Pittsburgh to Erie.
• I-70: Runs about 168 miles from the West Virginia line in Washington County to the Maryland line near Warfordsburg.
• I-90: Short 46-mile stretch along Lake Erie from Ohio to New York through Erie County, in the lake-effect snow belt.

Events that raise demand

• Pennsylvania Farm Show (January): The week-long Farm Show in Harrisburg draws hundreds of thousands of visitors; 2013 was estimated at 585,000, and its food courts sell items like hundreds of thousands of doughnuts. A very large food-service event running in mid-winter depends on cold storage and high-volume dishwashing.
• Great Allentown Fair (Late August to early September): First held in 1852, it is one of the nation's longest continuously running annual fairs. Fairs bring many temporary food vendors that often need extra cold storage and warewashing.
• Battle of Gettysburg reenactment (July 1-3): Volunteers reenact the battle each year in July, narrated by National Military Park guides. Large summer crowds in a small borough can strain permanent food service and raise demand for temporary kitchens.
• AACA Eastern Fall Meet (October): Held in Hershey every October since 1955, often called the world's largest automotive swap meet. A multi-day outdoor event of this scale can use temporary kitchens and cold storage for food vendors.
• Steelers training camp (Late July to August): Latrobe hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. Camp crowds and team catering can add short-term food service demand in a small city.