Mass Feeding For Emergency Operations
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On this page:
Finding & Equipping a Mass Feeding Site
Food Safety
Garbage Handling
Sanitizing Your Cooking & Eating Utensils
Food Service Workers
Finding & Equipping a Mass Feeding Site
The ideal site for a mass feeding operation is a building already equipped with suitable food service equipment. Satisfactory sites might include a school lunchroom, a church, or a club facility where meals for large numbers of people can be safely prepared and served.
The site should include adequate refrigeration equipment, large ranges, sufficient work surfaces, adequate dish washing areas, and hand washing facilities.
Food Safety
Food can be kept safely at room temperature for periods of up to 30 minutes. Otherwise, keep all perishable food in refrigerators that can be maintained at 41° F. or colder.
- Do not serve potentially hazardous foods such as ground meat or egg salad sandwiches, chicken or other fowl, potato salad, and cream-filled desserts and pastries.
- Appropriate meal items include peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, smoked meat or cheese, hot soup, and canned or peeled fruits and vegetables.
Home-Prepared Foods
In general, do not serve home-prepared meals or hot dishes. Non-hazardous
foods like baked cookies, bars, fruit pies, or cakes are acceptable.
Drinking Water
If your water has been contaminated:
- Use only boiled or bottled water.
- Use only commercially packaged ice, from approved sources.
- Keep Hot Foods Hot - (140° F. or above)
- Keep Cold Foods Cold - (41° F. or below)
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Garbage Handling
Garbage should be disposed of frequently. If the local community disposal facility is not accessible, use a remote area for temporary storage. Be sure to clean these temporary storage areas thoroughly - and - dispose of your garbage properly when regular disposal facilities re-open.
Sanitizing Your Cooking & Eating Utensils
Disposable dishes and utensils should be used whenever possible. If that is not possible, clean your utensils in a standard three-compartment sink - or a sink equipped with three separate containers, which can serve as an improvised three-compartment sink.
Use the following procedure to sanitize your utensils
- Wash all items in the first sink, using a household detergent solution.
- Rinse in the second sink, using clean, warm water. Be sure to remove any detergent residue, to ensure that the final, sanitizing step will be effective.
- Sanitize your utensils in the third sink. Use a solution made with ½ ounce of ordinary laundry bleach, in a gallon of water. This will yield a chlorine concentration of 200 parts per million - which should be adequate to sanitize your dishes, even if the water you're using is contaminated.
Other Sanitizing Tips
- Make sure your dish washing water is clear, and free of sludge and sediment.
- Air dry all dishes and utensils.
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Food Service Workers
All persons volunteering to work in your mass feeding center should be properly oriented before they begin work.
Personal hygiene for food service workers
- Food workers should wash their hands frequently - particularly after using the toilet, or after handling materials or equipment that may be contaminated.
- Keeping yourself - and your clothing - clean is essential for all people who work in the mass feeding facility.
- People with intestinal or respiratory illnesses should not be allowed to work in a food service operation.
- No one with cuts, burns, or other skin abrasions should be allowed to handle food.
Supervision
If possible, your mass feeding operation should be supervised by
someone who has experience with large food service operations. Possible
candidates include school or institutional food service managers
- or people who have worked as cooks, employees, or managers in
large restaurants.
WASH YOUR HANDS THOROUGHLY
and do it often!
For
more information,
contact your MDH district office
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