COVID-19: Charting New Pathways of Best Practices

By: Dagmar Farr, Senior Vice President, Membership and Education, FMI 

U.S. businesses and consumers have experienced the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic for over a month now. During this unparalleled time, we’ve witnessed an assortment of responses from state, federal and industry leaders.  

For example, most states have issued stay-at-home orders or other measures to deter people from making unnecessary trips outside of their homes in an increased effort to stop the spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its face mask guidance and now “recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies).”  

The food industry is doing everything possible to keep employees safe and maintain public health and confidence during this pandemic. As our industry rewrites its playbook on crisis response, retailers are using various tactics in their stores to implement important protocols of maintaining safe social distance. FMI has championed the use of these practices. 

To support our front-line heroes across the industry, we created brief, concise, business practices guides to help our members respond to the issues that are occurring in their stores. The purpose of these documents is to provide best practices and operational guidance that will help the food industry respond both appropriately and effectively to the ongoing public health crisis.  

Please use these resources as your companies continue to respond to the circumstances surrounding COVID –19: 

Guidance for the Food Industry: Coronavirus Outbreak | I. Best Practices and Planning for the Immediate Situation 

These short-term tips are designed to help address situations and concerns with your associates, your customers and the supply chain.  

Guidance for the Food Industry: Coronavirus Outbreak | II. Short-Term Best Practices 

This guidance covers recommendations for addressing the infected employee as well as other employees with whom he/she were in close contact.  

Guidance for the Food Industry: Coronavirus Outbreak | III. Suggested Business Practices 

The food industry continues to implement new practices to protect its workers and its customers as the outbreak’s disruption on society progresses by the hour. FMI compiled the following business practices to help the food industry respond both appropriately and effectively to the ongoing public health crisis. This document is the third in a series of business practice documents that FMI is producing for the food industry.  

I thank you for everything that you are doing to help ensure that the food supply, your associates and our industry remains safe and strong.