EX B SOP 05 RK FK Emergency Continuity of Operations Procedure.docx

REGIONAL KITCHEN | SOP-05 EMERGENCY / CONTINUITY PROCEDURES

SOP-05 | Regional Kitchen / Finishing Kitchen Emergency & Continuity of Operations Procedures Interim scenario-based COOP playbook for disruptions affecting production, rethermalization, distribution or service.

Document Control and Operating Principle

1. COOP Activation, Command and Common Response Recognize and report the disruption immediately to the manager/designated lead.

Protect people first and stop affected work when continued operation is unsafe or uncontrolled.

Protect food/product: identify affected product/batch/location and apply approved hold/control pending disposition when needed.

Assess service impact: affected menu/product, quantity, schools/routes, timing and duration.

Activate the communication chain and designated functional owners (food safety, logistics, facilities/equipment, staffing, procurement, leadership) appropriate to the event.

Select only approved alternate production/service methods. Document what changed, who authorized it and what records must accompany the alternate process.

Communicate revised instructions to affected RK/FK sites and transport/provider roles using established channels.

Track the event, decisions, product disposition, missed/changed service, recovery work and open corrective actions.

Before returning to normal operations, verify the failed system/process is safe and available; conduct after-action review for material events.

2. Finishing Kitchen Failure Trigger examples: inability to rethermalize/finish meals, refrigeration failure, insufficient safe storage/holding, major equipment loss, meal shortage or site-specific loss of service capability.

Immediate actions: stop unsafe/uncontrolled process; identify current product and service deadline; secure affected food; verify which equipment/utilities remain usable.

Decision path: determine whether another approved on-site method, alternate menu/service, nearby approved support, delayed service, or replacement delivery can meet requirements.

Communication: FK manager -> RK operations/logistics -> food safety/leadership as applicable; provide site, product, quantity, time remaining and exact capability lost.

Recovery: equipment/facility return-to-service evidence; replenish/replace product as authorized; reconcile waste/disposition; document site corrective action and retraining if needed.

3. Regional Kitchen Critical Equipment Failure Stop use of failed equipment and control area/product if safety or food safety may be affected.

Identify affected batch(es), menu item(s), remaining quantity and production deadline.

Use EQUIP/manufacturer/facility source to determine whether the unit can be safely reset/returned to service; operators do not perform unauthorized technical repair.

Evaluate approved alternate equipment, smaller batches, production resequencing, alternate menu/product or reduced process dependency.

Recalculate cooling/storage/packaging/dispatch impact before changing sequence.

Escalate when the failure threatens route/service commitments or creates a food-safety capacity bottleneck.

Document failure, temporary production plan, service impact, disposition and return-to-service evidence.

4. Electrical Power Interruption Stop affected powered equipment/processes safely; account for product in cook/cool/hold/storage stages.

Determine scope and expected duration through facilities/authorized source.

Keep controlled storage/holding equipment closed as practical while evaluating product condition according to approved food-safety plan.

Identify generator/emergency power capability only from approved facility plan; do not assume outlets/equipment are supported.

If interruption threatens approved time/temperature control, place affected product on hold pending authorized disposition.

Shift to approved alternate production/service/menu only after utilities/equipment/food-safety dependencies are reviewed.

Before restart, verify utilities stable, equipment safe/functional, sanitation/records adequate and product disposition complete.

5. Water Interruption / Unsafe Water Condition Stop activities requiring potable water, handwashing, cleaning/sanitation, food preparation or equipment operation when the approved water-safety requirement cannot be met.

Protect exposed food/equipment and identify any product/process already affected.

Confirm scope/duration and any boil-water or other public/agency direction through authorized sources.

Determine whether approved alternate water/service method exists under State/food-safety direction; otherwise suspend affected food operation.

Document affected product/equipment/sanitation and complete recovery cleaning/sanitation before restart as required.

6. Refrigeration / Freezer Failure Identify failed unit, time discovered, last known acceptable condition if documented, product list/lot/batch and affected quantity.

Minimize opening/movement until an approved transfer/assessment plan is ready.

Move product only to known acceptable alternate storage while preserving labels/traceability.

Use approved HACCP/product-disposition criteria to determine hold/release/discard; do not rely on appearance alone.

Escalate repair; mark unit out of service; verify return to stable operation before reloading.

Reconcile disposition/waste and update inventory/ordering/production impact.

7. Gas / Other Utility Interruption Stop affected equipment safely and follow facility/emergency procedures for suspected leak or unsafe condition.

Identify affected menu/process, batches and remaining alternate equipment capacity.

Do not improvise fuel/utility connections or bypass safety controls.

Use approved alternate equipment/sequence/menu where feasible and review resulting food-safety/capacity impacts.

Restart only after authorized facility/equipment clearance.

8. Vehicle Breakdown Secure vehicle/load and protect staff/public safety first.

Notify dispatch/logistics immediately with location, route, load, schools, product condition/monitoring and estimated delay.

Maintain food/transport controls and record condition while awaiting authorized recovery.

Determine alternate vehicle/load transfer only through approved logistics/food-safety process; preserve chain of custody and cart accountability.

Notify receiving sites of revised timing and any service adjustment.

Document breakdown, product/temperature condition, transfer/handoff and final route outcome.

9. Delivery Delay / Road Closure Identify affected route/stops and the earliest realistic arrival.

Review product condition/approved transport window and school service deadline.

Resequence stops or use alternate approved route only when safe and operationally authorized.

Notify affected schools with revised ETA and instructions; prepare alternate meal/service response if delay threatens service.

Document delay cause, communications, receiving outcome and any corrective action.

10. Transportation Accident Prioritize emergency response and personal safety; follow applicable vehicle/incident reporting requirements.

Treat the load as controlled pending assessment if packages, carts, refrigeration, cleanliness or chain of custody may have been compromised.

Notify logistics/leadership/food safety as appropriate; identify load, batch, route and destinations.

Do not transfer or deliver questionable product without authorized assessment.

Activate alternate delivery/menu/service plan for affected schools.

Preserve incident/product/traceability evidence and document final disposition.

11. Transport Temperature-Control Failure Identify vehicle/load/route/time discovered and affected product.

Record observed condition using approved method; place affected product/load under hold/control as applicable.

Notify logistics and food-safety authority; determine whether product may continue, requires alternate refrigerated transport, or requires disposition under approved criteria.

If transferring, preserve identity, chain of custody and required monitoring.

Document downstream receiving instructions and final disposition; create corrective action for equipment/process failure.

12. Severe Weather / Hurricane / Island-Specific Disaster Use current DOE/State emergency direction and site closure/access decisions as controlling.

Assess staffing access, utility status, suppliers, roads/routes, RK/FK facility condition and product inventory.

Determine which meal-production/distribution activities can safely continue and which must be suspended.

Prioritize safe student meal continuity using approved emergency menu/alternate service methods and available products.

Coordinate vendor/delivery changes and preserve food-safety/traceability requirements even under constrained operations.

Provide concise status updates: sites affected, meals/products, staffing, logistics, food safety, decisions needed and next update.

After event, inspect facilities/equipment, reconcile inventory/disposition, restore sanitation, verify utilities, and document lessons/corrective actions before normal restart.

13. Staffing Shortage Identify absent roles and which critical tasks require specific qualification/competency.

Reassign only qualified staff to critical food-safety/equipment/material-handling tasks; do not solve a shortage by waiving competency.

Prioritize critical-path production/service work and defer nonessential tasks.

Evaluate approved simplified production sequence/menu/service plan if workload exceeds safe capacity.

Escalate when staffing level threatens safe production, required records, sanitation, route timing or service.

Document reassignment/operating adjustment and recurring shortage trend for staffing/readiness review.

14. Supplier Disruption / Ingredient Shortage Confirm shortage, affected ingredient/product, quantity, delivery timing and menu/production impact.

Check approved vendor/product/channel alternatives and current inventory.

Any substitute that changes allergen, nutrition/meal credit, recipe/yield, HACCP, equipment/process or contract requirement follows PROC-05/authorized approval before use.

If no approved substitute can support the menu, escalate for authorized menu/emergency meal decision.

Communicate approved change to production, FK sites, logistics and food-safety/training roles as applicable.

Document source/lot/approval and update production/order records.

15. Emergency Menu / Alternate Meal Service Use only an authorized alternate menu/meal approach that satisfies applicable program and food-safety requirements.

Confirm available product/quantity, preparation requirements, equipment/labor capacity and distribution/service feasibility.

Update production quantities, route/site instructions and required records.

Protect allergen/product information and traceability.

Communicate clearly which menu/site/date is affected and when normal menu resumes.

After event, reconcile inventory/cost/waste and document reason/approval.

16. Food-Safety Incident / Product Hold / Recall Cross-Reference

Immediately control suspected/affected product as directed; preserve identifiers and storage/condition.

Link school/menu/date -> FK receipt -> route -> RK batch -> ingredient lot/supplier -> other destinations.

Do not diagnose or speculate about causation in complaint response.

Use authorized internal/external notification path; preserve complete case file/corrective-action evidence.

17. Emergency Communication Matrix

18. Recovery / Restart / After-Action Review Confirm the initiating hazard/failure is controlled and the responsible technical/operational authority has cleared return to service where applicable.

Account for all affected product: release, rework only if approved, transfer, return, hold, discard or other authorized disposition.

Verify sanitation/food-safety records needed for restart are complete.

Verify equipment/utilities/transport capability and critical staff qualification.

Confirm current menu/order/route instructions with affected sites.

Close or transfer open corrective actions into TEST-03 / applicable mission tracker.

For material events, conduct after-action review covering what happened, what worked, what failed, communications, product/service impact, changes needed to SOP/training/tools and responsible owner/date.

Route approved procedural changes through SOP-01/DATA-02 and retrain/retest as required.

19. Tabletop / Exercise Minimum Set

Record exercise findings in TEST-02/TEST-03 or the applicable mission exercise log. Material lessons should be incorporated into SOP-05, training materials and operating processes before opening or the next applicable phase.

Source Basis and Supersession Regional_Kitchen_Turnover_Binder_DRAFT_v2.docx, Chapter 19.

Regional_Kitchen_Operational_Support_Contract_8-13-2026.docx, especially operational resiliency / Section 2.1.1.3 and final readiness package requirements.

LOG-01 through LOG-05 for logistics and disruption controls.

SAFE-01 through SAFE-05 and the existing branch Foodborne Illness Complaint Response SOP for food-safety incident/traceability controls.

TRN-01 through TRN-04 for staff qualification and emergency training; TEST-01 through TEST-04 for exercises/readiness; DATA-01/02 for document control.

Supersession rule: approved branch emergency/weather policy, final contractor COOP deliverables, executed transportation-service requirements, final HACCP/regulatory controls, manufacturer instructions and authorized incident-command direction supersede conflicting interim language. Preserve exercise/incident records when blank procedures are replaced.

School Food Services Branch | Interim Turnover Baseline - Not Final Policy