Red Rabbit has compiled our own best practices based on 17+ weeks of service during COVID-19.  We have continued to serve tens of thousands of children and adults emergency meals every week. As you look to reopen your schools and daycares, we know that meal service, among everything else, will look much different going forward.

Below is an outline of what we have done to stay safe in our kitchen and how we are ensuring your food is safe when delivered to you, as well as research on the safest ways to serve your students.

HEALTH & SAFETY AT RED RABBIT 

IN THE KITCHEN

At the Red Rabbit kitchen, the safety of our staff  has always been a top priority.  During the first days of the COVID-19 shut down,  we overhauled the process and flow in our kitchen to adhere to general safety guidelines as outlined by the  CDC.  In addition to supplying all staff with masks, lab coats and temperature taking upon arrival we immediately:

• Quartered off areas of the kitchen to ensure that teams did not cross paths,  mitigating against transference of the virus.
• Hired two In-take professionals to manage entry point logistics for all staff and guests.
• Implemented a company wide alternative transportation system.   

Over the course of the last 3+ months we have rolled out a variety of procedures to further ensure the safety of our team. These measures include: 

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Kits -  every employee is supplied with an individually packaged bag that includes 2 masks, 4 gloves, and hand sanitizer to be used taken on their commute to and from work. 
• Surface disinfecting - we have hired additional cleaning staff to ensure all high-touch surfaces are disinfected every two hours
• Reinforced hand-washing policy - we have built into our work-flow schedule mandatory downtime to wash hands and clean stations
• Social distancing - clear marking on the interior and exterior of the building showing 6 feet intervals between all workspaces
• Temperature check- two dedicated staff people taking temperatures of all staff and guests each day when entering the kitchen
• Paid time off - increased time off for anyone who is sick
• On-going education- in addition to written communication and posters throughout the kitchen, we have a bilingual Health Professional speak to our teams remotely regarding safety and wellness.  

DELIVERY AND DISTRIBUTION

Our friendly drivers are on the front lines everyday, making sure your food gets delivered safely and swiftly. They are taking the following precautions to keep your communities and themselves healthy: 

• Have their temperature taken upon arrival to Red Rabbit
• Wear masks and gloves, and sanitize their hands before and after each delivery
• Are provided with sanitizing solutions to clean the interior of their vehicles
• Are given alcohol wipes to wipe down their cell phones before and after each use 

HEALTH & SAFETY AT YOUR SCHOOL OR DAYCARE

We have put together these recommendations based on recommendations released by the school and health authorities (such as Center for Disease Control and Learning Policy Institute) as well the best practices we gathered from partners serving meals throughout the COVID19 pandemic. Our research includes a comprehensive audit of schools around the world, as well as emergency providers here in New York City. 

mEAL TIME

We know mealtimes can be messy. Our tips below highlight ways in which you can keep both your children and staff safe, as well as keep your common areas and surfaces sanitary.

• Handwashing before and after meals
• Staff should wear gloves to handle any food, and couple glove changes with additional handwashing
• Eating in the classrooms, with students spaced apart from one another
  • Tip: Use an empty chair to separate students
  • Tip: For extra caution, you can use dividers and assigned seats in the classroom or cafeteria to further reduce risk, as they have done in Taiwan.
• Suspend the use of common areas, such as cafeterias and small playgrounds/gathering areas
  • Tip: If it is not possible to suspend the use of common areas, try to limit the extent to which students mix with each other, and particularly with students from other classes (e.g., stagger lunch by class, segregate lunch and recess area by class)
  • Tip: If it is not possible to suspend cafeterias, limit the number of students in the lunch line, and mark tables with socially distanced seating guidelines
  • Tip: Adjust your day so that all students eat in their classrooms
• Bleach/water solution used to wipe all surfaces after meals
  • Tip: A food safe solution that also disinfects is 4oz of bleach to 1 gallon of water. 
  • Tip: In order for a bleach solution to work - must let it sit for 5 minutes and there is no need to wipe 
  • Tip: Using a Lawn and Garden Sprayer (found  at your local hardware store) is a quick and easy way to ensure all surfaces have been properly disinfected.  
  • Tip: Set a timer for every 2 hours to ensure proper disinfecting is getting done

GENERAL HEALTH PRECAUTIONS

The health and safety of your entire community is everyone's number one priority. Training your staff and students to adhere to new policies will be essential to success.  We are happy to work with you to identify risks within your building, and create a systematic preventative approach reopening safely. 

• All teachers wear masks
• Higher student teacher ratio, limited cohort  (ex: 8 children per 2 teachers per room; 10 people in a room)
• Outside of students, teachers, and essential personnel, no one else enters the building. Many programs have been conducting drop-off and pick-up outside the daycare
• Temperatures are taken as each person  arrives, either in the car or before they enter the building, and continued health assessments are conducted throughout the day
• If anyone in the classroom cohort displays symptoms, everyone quarantines for 14 days
• Assisted handwashing is mandatory upon entering the building
• Limited toys are available at a time and are sanitized with a bleach solution during naptime and at the end of the day

Reach out to us to discuss your Covid Safety plan.