Overview of Emergency Readiness
Resources for School Food Service

The Kansas Food Code requires food service licensees “to immediately discontinue operations and notify the Kansas State Department of Health (or other regulatory authority) if an imminent health hazard may exist because of an emergency, such as a fire, flood, extended interruption of electrical or water service, sewage backup, misuse of poisonous or toxic materials, onset of an apparent food borne illness outbreak, gross unsanitary occurrence or condition, or other circumstance that may endanger public health.” 

·        A licensee need not discontinue operations in an area of an establishment that is unaffected by the imminent health hazard. 

·        Imminent health hazard is defined as “significant threat or danger to health that is considered to exist when there is evidence sufficient to show that a product, practice, circumstance, or event creates a situation that requires immediate correction or cessation of operation to prevent injury based on:  the number of potential injuries and the nature, severity and duration of the anticipated injury”.

The National Food Service Management Institute (NFSMI) recently developed a guide and forms that can be used to create an Emergency Readiness Plan.  These documents are available on the Emergency Readiness page of www.kn-eat.org.

The Federal government’s food safety information can be located at www.foodsafety.gov.  This website has links to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) websites.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, at www.ready.gov, encourages that “schools, day care providers, work places, neighborhoods and apartment buildings have site specific emergency plans”.  Parents are encouraged to ask if schools and daycare providers “store adequate food, water and other basic supplies”.  This same site links to guidance from the American Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency (www.redcross.org/disaster/safety/Foodwtr.pdf) titled Food and Water in an Emergency.  While this publication’s focus is on securing adequate food and water supplies at home for emergencies, this information could also apply to school food services.

Guidance used by military hospitals stresses the need for operational flexibility.  In an emergency, sponsors may have to cope with problems over which it has no control . . . such as disrupted or nonfunctional public utilities, communications, and transportation.  It suggests a need to:

·        Assess damages.

·        Determine if emergency power/light will be available, particularly with limited generator support.

·        Prepare for a change in sanitation capabilities (dishwashing and trash disposal).

·        Cope with uncertain deliveries from local vendors, especially bread and milk.

·        Maintain safe handling of perishable food supplies.

·        Prepare for changes in how accounting for meals is handled due to nonfunctional cash registers, patrons with limited cash, “refugees” seeking assistance, etc..

·        Anticipate increased demand on the supply of paper goods and other items (disposable gloves, bleach).

·        Train all staff as “key personnel” may not be able to work and “green recruits” may need to be used

School food service directors, who have actually had their schools used as emergency feeding sites offered some recommendations in a September 1997 article titled When Nature Turns Nasty, that appeared in the American School Food Service Association’s School Foodservice and Nutrition Journal.  When disaster strikes, food service staff should:

·        Cooperate

·        Keep records of food used and meals served. 

·        Assign someone to answer the phone and log all calls. 

·        Log all accidents with the name, address and phone number of the victim, as well as details of what happened.

·        Have volunteers sign in, recording name, address and phone number; these are good for Red Cross records as well as thank you notes.

·        Be flexible; counts may go up and down quickly.

·        Be willing to make decisions quickly; don’t be afraid to insist on important issues, like sanitation.

·        Be tactful and diplomatic.

·        Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

This ASFSA article cautions against schools turning the kitchen over to outside organizations.  The existing food service staff are the experts on how things work in that kitchen.  Equipment may get much harder use.  Outsiders won’t know the equipment, could easily get hurt, and may damage the equipment.  Outsiders won’t be as motivated as the existing food service staff to keep track of food and materials used.  The food service staff will need to work closely with the emergency management team.