Guidelines for School-sponsored Potlucks

Potlucks can truly mean pot luck for germs!

Most food borne illnesses have been shown to be caused by poor hand washing and food preparation procedures. Food borne diseases can cause symptoms such as:

•  diarrhea,
•  vomiting,
•  severe abdominal cramps,
•  headaches 
•  fever.

They are life threatening to many people especially young children and older adults.

There is a certain positive value of sharing homemade foods that is ingrained in American life, but it is not worth the possibility of disease. The Center for Disease Control recommends commercially prepared foods for parties and gatherings with the use of gloves for serving when food needs to be touched. Good hand washing (10 seconds of friction with soap) before serving food is vital to controlling the spread of disease. The variety of commercial caterers, bakeries, and delis allows for the wonderful ethnic exposure we enjoy and is safer.

Even if foods are purchased for parties, there are still guidelines and precautions:

Rule #1 Hot food must be kept hot! (140 deg. F.)
Rule #2 Cold food must be kept cold! (45 deg. F. or below)
Rule #3 Serve food with gloves (available in school cafeterias)

SUSD Health Services and San Joaquin Public Health Department recommend:

No home made food for classroom parties.
Avoid classroom food preparation if possible.
Avoid staff and/or parent potlucks using home made foods
Avoid students serving foods unless  supervised by trained cafeteria employees that insure the use of gloves.

By working towards these goals, we can still have fun and maintain our health!