Keep Nutrition and Foodservice Safe Through Emergencies

Plan from consequences, not event names

Emergency planning begins with an all-hazards risk assessment and a business-impact analysis. Identify plausible internal and external hazards, then ask which consequences threaten foodservice: loss of potable water, power, gas, steam, refrigeration, ventilation, information systems, communications, supplier access, transportation, staff, safe space, or waste removal. Rate likelihood, severity, onset, duration, warning, geographic reach, existing controls, and recovery time. Define essential functions in priority order, such as safe hydration, infant or enteral feeding, therapeutic diets, allergen control, medications with food, meal delivery, temperature control, sanitation, and records needed to identify the correct recipient. For each function, state the maximum tolerable interruption, minimum safe service level, dependencies, manual alternative, resource owner, and recovery target. Plan separately for sheltering in place, evacuation, receiving evacuees, partial shutdown, and relocation. Coordinate with the organization's incident-command structure, emergency management, nursing, infection prevention, facilities, supply chain, information technology, security, public health, vendors, transport, and community partners. A hazard list without decisions, quantities, authority, and tested procedures is not continuity planning.