 Emergencies – whether they be power failures, severe weather, supply chain disruptions, public health concerns or some other event that interrupts business – can hit any foodservice operation.
Regardless of whether you’re operating a restaurant or a dining room in an adult-care facility, crisis-readiness hinges on a few essentials: training your team, maintaining emergency food and water reserves, and ensuring safe food handling, hygiene, and service standards. As we approach the time of year when severe weather is more likely to pose business risks, here are a few areas to assess in case of emergency: 1. Staff training – This includes every team member, not just kitchen staff. Everyone should know how to unlock facilities, follow emergency menus, and perform unfamiliar roles with help from clear, posted instructions. Have regular drills and practice sessions so your team understands how to perform their emergency duties before a crisis happens. 2. Emergency reserves – After severe Midwest floods disrupted deliveries to foodservice operators in 2023, some operators avoided closures by tapping into their reserves and using pre-approved “low-labor” emergency menus. If you’re providing foodservice in a healthcare facility, federal guidelines may call for a three-day or even a seven-day supply of water and emergency food including shelf-stable and ready-to-bake items when staffing and equipment are limited. Establish clear plans to use in a range of scenarios. 3. Review of safety standards – Amid chaos, it’s especially important to maintain hygiene, correct temperatures, and proper service protocols to safeguard health and comply with regulations. Now is a good time to work with your kitchen team on a plan to maintain standards in a range of emergency scenarios. 4. Communication – Know how to contact the people you need to reach in an emergency and who is responsible for making decisions about key aspects of your operation. Assemble the names, numbers and email addresses of employees and disaster-support organizations. Have a business continuity plan that helps you proceed with food service when your utilities and staff are limited. If you’re working in senior living or adult care, maintain a current list of residents’ names, room numbers and nutritional needs  As extreme weather becomes more common, more parts of the country that haven’t historically seen many hurricanes, floods or other extreme conditions must plan for the worst. Having an updated emergency plan can help you to keep your employees informed and safe, as well as protect the food you have in your inventory. Ensure you have an accurate list of emergency contacts including the Red Cross and other public health authorities, utility companies, your plumber, rental equipment firms, and suppliers of water and dry ice, for example, and ensure that your employees have access to it. The same goes for your emergency supplies. Have flashlights, batteries, tarps, first aid supplies and other emergency supplies on hand for during and after extreme weather events. If your facility has lost power but it’s otherwise safe to remain there, you’ll want to protect your inventory from spoilage. Know which items should take priority for placement in an ice bath, for example, and what might be safe left alone in the freezer for 24 hours. If your staff has been relying on digital tools to track and log the temperatures of foods and appliances, ensure they know how to manage these processes manually so you’re able to save as much of your inventory as possible.
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