When we talk about charter school safety, the premiere thing that comes to mind is physical security. Other issues at the forefront of this topic would be school bus safety, bullying, shooting, building safety, and the like. The school cafeteria food safety is usually not way up the top of the list.

Yet, the issue is still critical.  Any issue involving food can incorporate serious damage or injury to a person if it is contaminated. It’s not uncommon now to see food recalls involving salmonella or other bacteria-borne diseases.  Now, what if something similar happened at your charter school?

Then there is another aspect to school cafeteria food – nutrition. Without a doubt, school cafeteria food makes up a huge chunk of our children’s daily meals. Though they may eat breakfast and dinner at home, their lunch (which is an important meal to get them through the day) is eaten in school. How sure are we that they are getting nutritious food in school? How do we know that they are getting a proper meal away from home?

These are only some of the major issues involving school cafeteria food, with the bulk of the responsibility felt by school administrators.  Here are some guidelines to help in your cafeteria:

• Cafeteria workers should ensure your children’s food is safe to eat.
• Send cafeteria workers to classes or workshops to hone their food safety skills.
• Educate employees on food borne illnesses and the need to keep food at proper temperatures and stored safely.
• Ensure one worker on each shift at schools is serve safe trained.