Safe Service Allegheny
Food service safety involves everyone: public health officials, the food service industry, and customers and patrons, too! Everyone needs to do their share.
The Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association (PRLA), Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD), and the service-industry led Safe Service PGH have entered a new partnership to form Safe Service Allegheny. The collaborative effort will develop a Member Toolkit to assist with all aspects of guideline compliance and will provide resources to food and beverage-based businesses in Allegheny County.
Safe Service PGH was formed by food and beverage-based business owners and event-industry professionals to provide a professional community and access to resources and support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform provided a “pledge” for members to commit to follow safety guidelines set forth by the state and county. The effort also promotes a pledge for guests and patrons who are asked to commit to following the rules and supporting businesses who have made a commitment to safety. The PRLA PA Restaurant Promise has been integrated into the Safe Service PGH Member Pledge and aligns to give greater voice to industry professionals statewide.
“It made complete sense to merge our statewide PRLA PA Restaurant Promise initiative fully with the Safe Service PGH initiative and we hope to see this format take shape throughout the state. A majority of Allegheny County’s business owners are galvanized to do the right thing- and both large and small businesses have come together not only to commit to safety but to give greater voice to their needs and issues during this crisis,” says John Longstreet, President and CEO of the PRLA.
Longstreet continues, “The businesses in Allegheny County have shown leadership that we hope is mirrored in other PA counties so that this type of collaboration between County health & safety officials and business owners. It’s a commitment to safety and it’s also a way for business owners to be heard and hopefully start informing county and statewide policy so that we can all continue to operate safely.”
The Allegheny County Health Department is providing support and resources to members of Safe Service Allegheny through its COVID Field Response Team. The COVID Field Response Team provides ongoing education for food and beverage-based businesses, as well as monitoring and tracking of compliance.
“The Health Department’s Food Safety Program has found that overwhelmingly most restaurants in Allegheny County are doing a great job and following all food safety rules, and we’ve seen that COVID-19 mitigation requirements have been adopted by a majority of the establishments to keep their staff, customers and communities safe,” said Jim Kelly, the Deputy Director of Environmental Health. “The Health Department wants to make sure that restaurants have the resources they need to open and operate as safely as possible, and we’re happy to partner to provide educational materials.”
The ACHD will be providing updated guidelines and tips that can be found on the Safe Service Allegheny website. Once developed, a Member Toolkit will also be made available which will provide guidance on everything from staff training materials to communicating guidelines to guests and patrons.
“We are appreciative of this effort in Allegheny County which reflects the work being done by responsible food and beverage facilities in our community,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “This is a positive step for not only this industry, but also the residents of this county, and I commend these organizations for developing this initiative during what is a difficult time for restaurants and bars in our country. I’m hopeful that this effort will serve as a springboard for other businesses and organizations to work together to show how their industry can work differently and safely during this pandemic.”
There is no cost to be a member of Safe Service Allegheny. Businesses owners in the food & beverage, hospitality, and event industries can visit the website at safeserviceallegheny.com where they can digitally sign the Member Promise. New members will be contacted by a Safe Service Allegheny administrator to complete the membership process.
Safe Service Allegheny is prepared to collaborate with other counties in Pennsylvania and can be reached via email at info@safeservicepgh.com.
Safe Service PGH has also developed a Guest Pledge, which gives useful and humane tips for patrons to use as they do their share to address the current public health crisis.