COVID-19 has affected the way we work, socialise, and overall live. Events and group meetings of any sort were put to a complete halt in March, and has since heavily impacted the events and hospitality industry. Fortunately for NSW, the spike of covid cases dropped and has remained at a safe level, allowing regulations to ease and for people to return back to work to restore a sense of normality. With business offices beginning to fill up again, companies are deciding whether it is safe to organise group functions. This is a guide to assure you it is safe to do so, as long as you follow precautionary safety steps prior, during, and after an event, meeting, and staff lunch. 

Please keep in mind that the government regulations continuously update and we recommend to visit these websites below before going ahead with any group function. 

Below are some tips on organising:

  • An event
  • A meeting with catering
  • A staff lunch

AN EVENT 

An event takes more preparation in comparison to your average staff lunch or team meeting, so there are a few more precautionary steps to take in order to be covid safe.

PRIOR: 

  • Attendance & Supplies

First and foremost, make sure you are below the legal maximum amount of attendees on your list.

Ensure you pre-order sufficient supplies, and have more than enough for the day. These supplies will include tissues, hand sanitizer, and surgical face masks (if you wish). To be extra cautious, you may want to invest in a forehead temperature thermometer. 

We can help you organise these supplies if you need.

Organise a sign in sheet. This sheet will need to obtain all visitors, organisers and caterers details, such as their mobile number and email.

Communicate with your attendees continuously prior to the event to confirm that it is going ahead, and some of the precautions that are being taken to ensure it is COVID safe.

  • Catering

Depending on the numbers, catering can be organised in two different ways; shared platters, or individually packaged items. 

Single Serves
Since March, we have seen a spike in the increase of individually packaged items purchased, as this is a safe and efficient way to order catering per person.

Popular items include:

 

Sandwich, Salad and Sweet Pack 
Wrap, Salad and Sweet pack 
Salad Bowls 

 

To view our entire individually packed range, click: Here

Single serve items can also have a label with the dietaries and the name

 E.g Adam.F Gluten Free. 

Shared platters

If you would like to go ahead with shared platters, we recommend assigning people to serve the food, and have disposable tongs so people are not touching the same tongs.

Alongside catering, we can also provide:

  • Hand sanitiser 
  • Individually packaged serviettes and cutlery 
  • Face masks 
  • Tongs 
  • Signs for platters

 

  • Back up plan

Designate an area where someone can self isolate if they begin to show any flu-like symptoms, and organise a plan to safely transfer this person from the venue to a health facility.

DURING: 

  • Highlight where there are supplies, bins and other bathrooms to wash hands. 
  • Encourage washing hands and/or hand sanitising.
  • Inform attendees to not stand too close to each other when standing. 
  • If seated, try to have the placed a safe distance apart, in accordance with the regulations at the time.

AFTER: 

  • Retain all collection personal info from participants for at least one month. 
  • If a person was isolated and suspected of Covid-19, all attendees should be notified. You should contact the health authorities immediately if you find out before the health authorities find out.

Organizing an event doesn’t need to be stressful, just well organised. Follow these steps to ensure you are Covid Safe. If you need any assistance, feel free to contact us on (02) 9252 1982 or email us at orders@feedwell.com.au

CATERED  MEETING 

If you’d like to host a meeting with catering, it’s important to follow these steps to ensure it is as safe and smooth as possible. 

PRIOR

Sanitise the room

It’s essential to sanitise the room in which you are holding the meeting, to get rid of any germs from previous groups. Place a hand sanitiser clearly in the room so it is visible and accessible to attendees. Try and book a room that is big enough so all attendees can be spaced apart.

Sign in sheet

If you have people attending the meeting that do not work in the building, prepare a sign in sheet so you can record their details, or have reception organise it for you. 

If anyone is feeling unwell before the meeting, insist they cancel and stay home. 

Catering

A simple, hassle free, and safe way to order catering is to order from the single serve menu. These items are individually packaged, and can be labelled with staff names and dietaries if requested. Popular items that are frequently ordered from customers holding meeting are:

 

The Brownie and Muffin Pack 
Tropical Fruit Cup 
Grazing for 1 

Shared platters are also being ordered. We can provide tongs and gloves, and cutlery,  so a staff member can handle the food safely and disperse between attendees, or each attendee can use their own tongs.

DURING

  • Highlight where the bathrooms, bins, and sanitisers are located.
  • Encourage washing hands and/or hand sanitising.
  • Emphasise no hand shaking when greeting and for the farewell. 
  • Ensure all attendees who do not work within the building have documented their full name, email, and mobile number. 

AFTER

  • Sanitise the room after everyone has left. 
  • If a person was isolated and suspected of Covid-19, all attendees should be notified. You should contact the health authorities immediately if you find out before the health authorities find out.

STAFF LUNCH 

If operated safely, staff lunches can still go ahead in the office as they are a great way to maintain staff interaction. To read more about why a staff lunch can bring a team together, click: Here

PRIOR: 

Check for attendance 

Before covid, the majority of staff would be working from the office, and the attendance for staff lunches was often high. However, if your office has the flexibility of working from home, it would be a good idea to create an invite via email so you know roughly what the attendance will look like, and to ensure you don’t over order resulting in food wastage. 

Catering

Health and hygiene has been at the forefront of people’s mind during this time, and many businesses are looking towards more nutritious and healthy meals for their staff. 

Popular meals we’ve seen ordered often are:

 

Sandwich and Salad Packs 
Salad Bowls 
Fruit and Muesli

 

With staff lunches, it’s common for it to be held in the main kitchen, or a common area, with an array of shared platters where staff can come and select what they would like and serve themselves. This doesn’t necessarily have to change, however instead, organise 2-3 designated ‘servers’ to wear face masks, gloves, and use tongs to serve the food to the staff. This will prevent the sharing of germs from using the same utensils. Alternatively each staff can have their own pair of disposable tongs so they can grab items from platters.

An alternative to shared platters is the individually packaged items, such as the salad, sandwich and sweet pack. This way each person receives their own lunch without having to choose from a shared platter with others. 

Sanitisation

Ensure there are enough hand sanitisers available for staff to use. 

DURING

  • If the staff lunch occurs in a common room, encourage staff to sit or stand with distance between others.
  • Encourage all staff to sanitise before and after eating. 

AFTER

  • If the office does not have cleaners, clean up the common room with sanitiser to avoid the spread of germs
  • If anyone begins to feel unwell, notify all attendees to monitor their symptoms for 14 days. 
  • If a person was isolated and suspected of Covid-19, all attendees should be notified. You should contact the health authorities immediately if you find out before the health authorities find out.