Below are the guidelines the Northside Planning Council and FEED Kitchens have instituted for operating safely at FEED during the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the mission of FEED to provide a safe and clean facility for food production, we are, in many ways, at an advantage in executing these guidelines, but, to be effective, we need buy-in and cooperation from all of our members and staff. We already have high expectations for sanitizing and cleaning, have a facility with excellent air exchange especially when hoods are operating, and are already used to graciously sharing space. Being a shared-use kitchen that is available to members 24/7, we are also faced with some unique challenges that can only be overcome with full understanding and compliance of the protocols listed here:

  1. All entry doors will remain locked to the public. Members can access the facility by key card. There will be a sign on the doors instructing visitors to ring the doorbell.
  2. There will be a limit of 20 people in the building at a time. 
  3. Reservations for kitchen/equipment usage must be made 24 hours in advance. FEED staff will regularly check the Food Corridor calendar to gauge kitchen usage and reserve the right to ask members to move their reservation based on high usage.
  4. FEED will continue with no question/no charge kitchen reservation cancellations.
  5. As of March, 2022 face masks are recommended, but not required. FEED Kitchens reserves the right to change this at anytime.
  6. Members using the kitchens will adhere to strict sanitizing protocols before and after kitchen usage. All touched surfaces must be sanitized, not just table tops. This includes equipment handles and knobs and rubbermaid carts.
  7. FEED staff will regularly sanitize commonly touched surfaces. 
  8. There will be a limit of one group of people in a kitchen, cooler/freezer or conference room at a time. A “Group” is defined as 1-4 people who are working together and are already regularly exposed to each other.
  9. There will be a limit of 4 people working in a group at one time. 
  10. Dish room access is limited to one group at a time, with up to one additional person at a time passing through to get wares or sanitizer for less than one minute (wearing mask).
  11. Alto Sham; Tilt Skillet/Steam Jacketed Kettle reservations. These pieces of equipment can be reserved but must be accompanied with a Deli Kitchen reservation. Contact FEED Kitchens to take charge off of the Deli Kitchen reservation. Any exception to this must be approved by FEED Kitchens. 
  12. Offices. only staff members with desks in that room should enter the offices. Others should limit traffic or conversation in the room and stay at the door.
    1. Manager’s Office – Only two people allowed
    2. Shared Office – Only staff who work there regularly allowed in there: Amber, Lora, FEED and FEED Bakery staff
  13. The water cooler will be shut down and unavailable. Please bring your own water bottle. Bottles of water will be available at FEED Kitchens. We encourage reusable water bottles, but if you are using a plastic bottle, please dispose of it properly when done.
  14. Leaving out common plates of food for sharing will not be allowed.
  15. Outside of FEED usage, no other programming/meetings will be allowed at FEED. FEED has canceled group Information Sessions and replaced them with individual appointments. Until further notice there will be no group tours of FEED. Until further notice, no large volunteer events will be allowed at FEED. All groups limited to four people.
  16. FEED will continue to put out strong messaging about checking health, coughing into arm, washing hands, and maintaining social distance.
  17. Should you be diagnosed with covid-19 and have been at FEED Kitchens for any reason, please notify us of this reality so we can take proper steps to notify people and disinfect the facility.
  18. It is expected that even when staff are not present on nights, weekends, and holidays that there will be adherence to these guidelines.
  19. FEED will communicate any changes or updates to these protocols through a text broadcasting service that we have subscribed our members to.
  20. Failure to follow these guidelines will lead to dismissal from FEED Kitchens. If we feel that anyone is endangering the health of others at FEED, we reserve the right to refuse access to the building.
  21. Patience and grace for each other and ourselves should be practiced at all times as everyone navigates our new reality.