Volunteers
First Nations Kitchen Operations Guidelines
Mission:
To serve indigenous food that is wholesome, healthy and organic in an atmosphere that is joyful, friendly, and welcoming. While the program is intended to primarily serve indigenous people in Minneapolis, the meal is open and inviting to the community.
Location:
All Saints’ Episcopal Indian Mission
3044 Longfellow Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55407
Serving Time: Sunday Evenings from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Contact Information:
Father Two Bulls 612-722-2342 (church)
Priest-in-Charge 612-791-1253 (cell)
Martha Allen 612-499-1173 (cell)
Kitchen Director firstnationskitchen@yahoo.com
Sponsorship, Donations and Volunteerism:
First Nations Kitchen (FNK) welcomes others to sponsor a meal through providing ingredients within the scope of our mission. Sponsorship may include memorial meals, food preparation, serving or providing funds for a meal.
Sponsors and volunteers will work with FNK Coordinator and Kitchen Manager to insure compliance with food safety regulations and established operational procedures. *For safety reasons all volunteers must be at least 14 years of age.
As the program expands other opportunities to participate will be available
Donations of particular items on the FNK “wish list” are appreciated, as well as donations of funds toward particular items. Please contact Angela Haugen at 952-463-6072 for more information. *We welcome suggestions but all donations of unsolicited items must be approved as storage space is limited and items need to be a good fit for our needs. Unfortunately, we are not set up to distribute used clothing but some items, such as warm hats, gloves, etc may be appropriate seasonally.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Training will be provided prior to participation and new volunteers will team with experienced staff.
In general, volunteers are needed for help in food preparation, set up for serving, meal service and clean-up and must sign up at least a week in advance. In the event of too many volunteers showing up we may ask those not on the sign-up sheet to only fill in if needed. All volunteers are welcome to call Martha Allen at 612-499-1173 anytime during the week or the church at 612-722-2342 after 1:00 pm on Sundays to see if we still need volunteers to help..
All volunteers are expected to be clean, know the “ABC” method of hand washing, wear aprons provided by FNK and to tie back or use a provided hair net for longer hair.
Food safety is a major consideration and guidance will be provided by staff. Kitchen and Floor Managers are expected to oversee volunteers and operations to insure safety.
Food Safety Rules:
ABC hand washing-
Turn on hot water, wet hands.
Soap hands
Wash well, scrubbing between fingers, including wrists, making sure nails are clean for a minimum of 22 seconds (time needed to sing the ABC song).
Rinse hands, dry with paper towel and use paper towel to turn off the tap.
Do not touch any un-sanitized surface (including one’s own face or clothing). *If you touch any surface which is un-sanitized, you must wash your hands again before serving anything.
Open Cuts:
Anyone with a cut or open wound must wash hands and also wear gloves provided by FNK.
Illness:
Anyone with a cold or cold-like symptoms (runny nose, sneezing) should not prepare or serve food. If you are ill, call Martha as soon as possible so she can find a replacement.
Standard Rules:
Volunteers will wear aprons and those preparing or serving food will also tie back long hair.
Anyone who handles used dishes, glasses, etc. must wash hands before handling food or service items. * We discourage servers from picking up used dishes, etc.
Second helpings will be given on clean plates or bowls only.
Specific Opportunities:
FOOD PREPARATION
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Volunteers may assist in cooking and preparing ingredients for a meal.
Wash hands.
Sanitize all working surfaces using spray bottle marked “Bleach” and a clean cloth, before any food preparation is begun.
All surfaces for meat preparation will be separate from areas for vegetable preparation unless washed and re-sanitized. Vegetables are washed only in the sink for that purpose. Ready-to-use vegetables such as salad ingredients are kept away from any meat being prepared.
Food preparation begins with item to be cooked. Ready-to-use items are prepared next. Cutting boards, knives or any other items used to prepare meat must be washed and sanitized before reuse to avoid cross-contamination..
4:00 PM
Salad Preparation should begin as cooking proceeds and volunteers are sometimes needed to help.
SET-UP 4:00-4:30
Wash hands.
All tables must be cleared and sanitized using the spray bottle designated for this purpose and a clean cloth. Tables are arranged with 10 settings. Glasses and napkin-wrapped utensils are at each place. Each table will have a bowl with butter, a pitcher of water, one bread basket and a basket of condiments (salt, pepper, sugar substitute, sugar and creamers). Occasionally there are additional bowls of condiments to be placed on each table.
KITCHEN SERVICE
5:00 PM
Wash hands.
Serving plates and bowls are to be brought from storage room and set at window. Food is then set on counter in order of serving.
Prepared food is placed on plates or in bowls to be passed to Servers through the window. All surfaces, utensils, plates, etc. must be sanitized.
BEVERAGE SERVICE
5:00-6:30
Wash Hands.
Coffee is prepared prior to service and poured into carafes. Additional coffee may be made using the Bunn coffeemaker. Coffee and sometimes other beverages are offered from a cart at the beginning of the meal service at 5:30 PM. Carts are sanitized and clean glasses or cups are placed on the cart. Occasionally hot soup may be served in bowls dished up from the cart.
PLATE AND SALAD SERVICE
5:00-6:30
Wash hands.
Plated meals are passed through the service window to servers. Not everyone cares to have a salad, so ask each guest whether a salad is wanted. Orders are given, such as 2 salads, three meals. If a serving is for a small child, indicate so to the Kitchen Server. Seconds may be offered if available but a server cannot deliver another serving if a used dish is picked up. We discourage servers from picking up, unless there is a shortage of volunteers. Usually, there will be others to remove empty dishes. Salads and meals are taken to numbered tables assigned to each server. Second helpings are served only on a clean plate. If more people are waiting to be served, table clearers will sanitize table and the servers will re-set table they are assigned to serve.
TABLE CLEARING
5:30-6:30
If you see empty dishes, offer to clear them. If Kitchen servers have indicated there is plenty of food, please offer seconds. If seconds are wanted, inform the Server responsible for that table or area. Plates and bowls must be scraped using the available spatulas and should be placed in the top bin at the bussing station. Glasses may be stacked in the second shelf bin and later emptied into the vegetable prep sink. Flatware should be placed in the soapy bin next to the sink just inside the kitchen. If there are no guests at a table and no more to be served, dishes may be left on a table if all bins are full, until the dishwasher has caught up.
*If more people are waiting to be served, sanitize table after clearing. Servers will re-set table.
DISHWASHING
5:15-7:30
FNK uses the 3 sink method, the one on the right with hot soapy water for washing, the middle sink with hot water for rinsing and the sink on the left with hot water and a small amount of bleach for sanitizing. Each item must be washed using a clean cloth or green scrubber. Due to space limitations until all meals are served, some dishes may be stacked to dry on the wire cart and then placed on sanitized shelves. Anyone handling clean items must have clean hands. All items will be air dried. Flatware is laid out on clean dry cotton tablecloths to dry and covered after all are placed to dry.
CLEAN-UP
6:15-7:30
Wash tables as they are clear. Folding chairs are stacked against the walls. Sweep and mop floor using supplies from the utility room across from the bathrooms. Work progresses toward the kitchen, which is mopped last. Garbage is emptied, taking trash bags to the bins in back of the church.
SECURITY
5:00-6:45
The front door is to be locked by the person who will open the side door for guests. Guests are invited to wait in the back room until serving begins at 5:30. Once guests begin to arrive the front door has to be unlocked to comply with fire safety regulations. A sign will be posted on the front door to direct people to the side entry. If there are enough staff available, one person will man the door and a church member with safety training will be present in the back room.. Guests may use the bathroom prior to seating.
FLOOR MANAGER
4:30-7:30
The Manager is usually a FNK staff member and oversees set-up, assigning tasks to volunteers and is responsible for operations in the dining room, including directing guests to tables and filling in as necessary with service. The floor manager also coordinates with the kitchen manager to insure completion of all preparations for service.
KITCHEN MANAGER
1:00-6:30
A FNK staff member will assign tasks to those who are involved in food preparation and serving food from the kitchen. Entrees are placed in bowls or plated and salads may also be served from the kitchen.
Click on the icon below to download the Volunteer Signup Form
