At any given giveaway held throughout the year there can be over 20,000 lbs of food present. Just like a restaurant or store, we take certain precautions to make sure that the food we are giving out is is not subject to time-temperature abuse, contamination or other food safety hazards. This summer, volunteers attended multiple training seminars regarding food safety and civil rights. At the seminars, volunteers listened to a speaker talk about the importance of civil rights and food safety at the giveaways and how to apply their knowledge. The volunteers then proceeded to take an exam about what they had learned.
We always want to make sure that our volunteers are handling food safely and make sure that the food our guests are receiving meets the same standards of a store or restaurant. In addition to the volunteer training, we are planning on releasing an online video series at the end of 2018 that will discuss the steps that our guests should take to make sure they're preparing and storing their food as safely as possible.