Grove City College Inaugurates New Food Allergy Training Certification
- by Guest
Grove City College Cashier Cheryl Scheidhauer, Lead Café Supervisor and Safety Champion Peggy Ice, and Hicks Café Chef Sheila Jackson-Harden show off their FARECheck certificates
Food allergy training is an incredibly important part of keeping guests safe. Each year, teams redouble their efforts to improve their allergen training programs, refining their approach to handling food with the utmost care and providing transparent information to diners. Until recently, though, there wasn’t a formal way to recognize these efforts.
Now there is. Compass Group, Bon Appétit’s parent company, has partnered with the Food Allergy Research Education group (FARE) to bring training modules online and offer certification to accounts that pass. Accounts that achieve FARECheck certification may post this qualification in cafés and online, indicating that their policies, procedures, and training have been approved by FARE, the foremost leader in the food allergy space.
To be FARECheck certified, all hourly associates must complete an online food allergen training. In addition, all managers must be current with Bon Appétit’s required annual manager-level Food Allergen and Celiac Disease training, which was reviewed by FARE.
Retail Lead Supervisor Ed Cavelli takes the FARECheck training
The first Bon Appétit account to earn the new FARECheck certification was Grove City College in Grove City, PA. Operations Manager Lynna McNany shepherded all current staff through the online certification training program over the course of five days. After all team members were certified, the team added the FARECheck certification to its onboarding process to ensure that all staff remain in compliance with FARECheck guidelines.
To meet Bon Appétit’s own standards, associates at accounts with FARECheck certification must also complete Bon Appétit’s food allergy awareness training twice per year, in person.
Grove City College’s guests, and university representatives, are enthusiastic about the new certification, as it gives students and parents increased peace of mind. They can now be extra confident that students’ food allergies will be safely handled day in and day out.
—Submitted by Dayna Einheit, Nutrition Project Manager