Line Serving Training
Line Serving is Composed of Three Jobs
1. Serving food directly to
disaster victims and volunteers
2. Organizing food to be sent
out on Emergency Response
Vehicles (ERVs)
3. Organizing food for a driveby line
Requirements of Direct Serving
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Locating and setting up line
Cleaning up the area before serving
Organizing the line
Serving the food
Monitoring the serving line for safety
Cleaning up the line after serving
LOCATING AND SETTING UP THE LINE
•Easy access to
kitchen for cooks and
servers
•Flow leads to eating
area away from work
or storage areas
•Determine
placement of extra
food- must be on
pallet
Cleaning up the area
Get rid of clutter, wires, and hoses in
serving area.
Clean tables with detergent and warm
water
Sanitize with solution made of 2
tablespoon bleach to a gallon of water
-temperature less than 100° F.
Prevents evaporation and loss of
disinfecting qualities
Use test strips to verify strength
Organizing the Line
•Determine placement of food on table – example: clam
shells, entrée, vegetable, fruit or dessert, bread or snack,
cutlery
•Obtain necessary serving utensils: slotted spoons, solid
spoons, tongs, etc. with correct portion size
•Determine number of servers needed
•Obtain supplies from inventory: cups, plates, cutlery, napkins,
snacks, etc.
•Count number of meals served – server with clamshells
counts shells used
Monitoring the Serving Line for Safety
•Monitor and maintain food
temperature
•Keep the area clean – wipe up spills
immediately
•Keep area free of clutter
•Use only food from approved supplier
Cleaning up the Line After Serving
Take unused food to disposal or storage
area
Take dirty utensils to sanitation crew
Clean up area and restock for next meal
-get plates, cups, etc from inventory
crew
Organizing food for ERVs
1. Locate staging area
2. Be sure all food is ready before putting on
pallet
3. Monitor area for safety
4. Clean up area after ERVs have gone
Requirements for each ERV
Check with Red Cross or Salvation Army to determine
-how many meals for each ERV
- what time it needs to leave
-post this info for cooks in order of ERV departure
Insure that cooks follow the list
-This is the most important thing you can do
-If an ERV does not get the food on time, it results in a
bottleneck for the cooks and a blown schedule for the
ERVs
Determine number of Cambros needed by each ERV so order
will be complete
Drive-by Line
Bulk distribution
Individual meals
REMEMBER!
All food handlers must observe
the Health Department
regulations of the community in
which they are operating!
They can, and probably will,
inspect us.
PERSONAL GROOMING
Shower and shampoo
daily
Wear clean clothes –
short sleeves recommended
Wear an apron – it is
not a hand towel!!
Leave jewelry at home
No smoking within 25
yards of food preparation,
serving, and storage areas,
and propane –
better NO SMOKING
HAND WASHING
Frequent and thorough
hand washing is one of the
most IMPORTANT
ways to prevent the spread
of microorganisms and illness.
Hand Washing
•When you start to work
•After you use the restroom
•After handling raw food
•After touching hair, face, or any part of your body
•After sneezing, coughing, or blowing nose
•After eating, drinking, or smoking
•After cleaning or taking out garbage
•After touching anything that may contaminate hands
It is acceptable to have a container of soapy water or bleach water
available to dip hands in somewhere in the middle of the area when
changing gloves.
How to wash your hands
•Use warm water
•Wet hands and apply antibacterial soap
•Scrub under and around nails
•Rub hands together, up to elbows for at
least 20 seconds
•Rinse thoroughly
•Dry with disposable towel
•Use disposable towel to turn off faucet
and to open restroom door
Thermometers
•Use thermometers to make
sure of proper food
temperatures
•It is crucial to keep track of
foods’ temperature while it is
stored, prepared, and served
•Use only thermometers
designed for food usage
•NSF Label
SAFE Food Temps
•Cook - 180°F
•Hold – 145°F
•Cool – 40°F
•Freeze – 0°F
DANGERZONE!!!
RULE OF 4s
• Cold foods must be
under 40°F
• Hot foods must be over
140° F
• If between, use within 4
hours
• Remember
40 – 140 – 4
Between 40 and 140 for 4 hours – forget it!
Caps, Gloves, Aprons Required
Use vinyl or Nitrile gloves.
Latex gloves are not
allowed by the Red Cross
due to allergies and
sensitivities to Latex.
Change often: after
touching non sanitized
items and when wet with
perspiration
Beard Nets Required
Prevent Food Borne Illnesses
Food poisoning:
Salmonella, Shigella, E-coli, Campylobacter,
Staphylococcus, and other coliform bacteria
Hepatitis-A
Spread by:
Improper:
hand washing, cleaning procedures,
temperatures, and cooling
Food handler’s illness such as colds, flu, etc.
Food Safety mistakes do cause illness
Food Handling
Acceptable Foods
-Commercial
supplier
-Canned or frozen
-No home cooked
-No individually
donated
Food Handling
Menu is
planned by the
head cook
based on the
inventory on
hand.
The food is
obtained from
inventory
manager.
Cambros
•Insulated food container
•Use liner
•Label top with
•Type of food
•Meat, vegetable, fruit
•Date and Time filled
•Temperature of food
•Number of servings
•Size of servings
•Destination or ERV number
Always use liners
Work area must be cleaned and sanitized
Associational Trailers
• Prepare up to 5,000
meals daily
– Propane burners
– Grill
– Rice cookers
– Tilt skillets or
convection ovens may be
brought in
Unit One
48 foot trailer
3 tilt skillets
6 convection ovens
OTHER DUTIES
Remember the three rules:
Be flexible
Be flexible
Be flexible
There are times we need to work in a
different area, and we need to be willing.
Cooks are most often asked to assist in line
serving or in sanitation.
If you have the opportunity, ride in the ERV
with the Red Cross.
Dishwashing
• Sanitation team
• Power steamer
• Three sinks
Soap and water 110° F to 120° F
Rinse water 110° F to 120° F
Sanitize (bleach)
75° F to 100° F
1 tbsp. bleach per gallon of water
Immerse for 2 minutes
Devotions and Debriefing
• At the end of each day
– Everyone should attend
– Discuss activities of the day
– Discuss problems that occurred
– Mitigate stress by sharing concerns
• Look for ways that God has been at work in your life,
that of co-workers and victims
– Assignments for next day will be made
– Brief devotional
– Do not let this replace your personal devotions