MGA’s Dining Services will reopen dining facilities in Fall 2020 and will have operations that adhere to CDC guidelines, local/state guidelines, as well as follow the ServSafe National Restaurant/Dining Association COVID-19 Reopening guidelines.
Camelot Court and GA Dining Hall Changes
No self-service will occur and all meals will be prepared for each student at each station in the dining halls. All meals will be prepared in a to-go fashion and each student will have the option to sit in the socially distanced layout of the dining hall or take their meals to go. All meals will be served with disposable cutlery kits and individualize condiments as needed. All salads and any other typical buffet item such as desserts will be individually packaged for grab and go style. In addition, one entrance and one exit will be indicated through signage in each dining hall creating only one flow of traffic.
FAQs:
- With limited seating where can I eat?
- If all seats are taken, all meals are being prepared to-go so you have the flexibility to take meals out of the dining hall to eat where you prefer.
- How does the all-you-can eat style of the dining hall work if I am taking my food to-go?
- It is recommended that if you are not sitting in the dining hall, that you pick up meals from the stations you would like a meal from and take it to-go.
- Who can I sit with?
- It is recommended that you only sit with your roommates at meal times, otherwise, to socially distance in the dining halls
All Dining/Retail Location Changes
What are our policies, practices and guidelines regarding disinfecting surfaces in food service facilities?
- Follow all CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting facilities found here
- Thoroughly detail-clean and sanitize entire facility, focus on high contact areas that would be touched by employees and guests
- Frequently disinfect surfaces repeatedly touched by employees or customers such as door knobs, equipment handles, check-out counters, and grocery cart handles, etc.
- Avoid all food contact surfaces when using disinfectants
- Do not place items on tables such as condiments, dispensers on tables – provide these items in small packages rather than bottles, etc.
- Between seating’s, clean and sanitize tables
- Remove items such as unwrapped straws and other items from self-service drink stations
- Make sure hand sanitizer is readily available to guests
- Sneeze guards placed at bars and buffets where food is being served
- Dining staffing will be adjusted to adhere to cleaning schedules to be sure all proper cleaning protocols are followed.
- Provide hand sanitizer for guests to use
- If a dining patron starts to feel sick while in dining facility, the immediate response is to ask the patron to exit dining facility and self-isolate and make contact with health clinic on campus; follow all protocol for disinfecting and cleaning entire dining facility
What are our policies, practices and guidelines regarding social distancing in these facilities?
- Place a limit on number of individuals that can enter dining facility at a time determined by social distancing capacity; will still allow visitors/guests in dining facility
- Update floor plans for common dining areas, redesigning seating arrangements to ensure at least six feet of separation between table setups
- Limit table seating to no more than the established maximums approved as recommended by the CDC or approved my local/state government
- Post signage at the entrance of dining areas that states no one with a fever or symptoms of COVID-19 is to be permitted into dining area
- Limit contact between dining employees and students and always require dining employees to wear face coverings
- Place physical barriers such as partitions or Plexiglas barriers at registers/POS stations
- Post signs reminding students of about social distancing while moving about dining areas
- Try not to allow guests to congregate in dining areas that normally have high traffic while waiting for food – design a process to ensure guests stay separate while waiting to be served. This process can include floor markings, outdoor distancing, etc.
- Limit the number of employees at each food station/work station – employees should be staggered.
What are our policies, practices and guidelines for employees who staff these facilities?
- Per existing FDA Code requirements, employees who are sick should remain home.
- If an employee becomes ill or presents signs of illness, the operator should identify signs during a pre-work screening and follow the business’s established policies on when the ill employee is allowed to return to work. At a minimum, however, follow CDC guidelines – tell the employee to self-isolate for ten days from the onset of symptoms and be symptom-free for three days without medication.
- Pre-screening of tracking employees’ temperatures will be conducted
- Employees will be required to wear a mask
- Train all employees on the importance of hand washing and hand sanitizers; give instruction to avoid face touching hands to face.
- Use gloves to avoid bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.
- Stagger workstations and schedule to avoid high volumes of employees in one workspace.
- If an employee tests positive for COVID-19 and has worked in the dining facility the facility will be shut down and involve facilities on cleaning entire dining facility before reopening. MGA is training multiple Facilities’ staff in COVID-19 cleaning and disinfection practices as demonstrated by the National Guard and in accordance with CDC and GDPH protocols. These rapid response Disinfection Teams will be available to travel to any campus for emergency and/or large-scale cleaning and disinfecting as needed.
What are some of the operational changes to be expected?
- All dining spaces will be configured and adjusted to comply with social distancing layouts and lines will be configured at each dining location with appropriate signage
- The main dining halls (Camelot Court and GA Dining Hall) will have a separate entrance and exit with appropriate signage
- All serve ware will be disposable including disposable plates, to-go boxes, cutlery kits, and cups (with lids and straws)
- No self-service; all meals will be packaged by food service employees with gloves and masks on
- No salad bar; prepackaged salads with salad dressing will be available
- All individual food items such as bakery items will be prepackaged for to-go only in dining halls
- No condiments on tables