News photo by Kayla Wikaryasz On Tuesday, the dining room of Samantha’s on 2nd is prepped and ready for service.

ATLANTA — On Tuesday morning, the District Health Department No. 4 (DHD4) met at the DHD4 office in Atlanta to discuss public health updates since their last meeting on March 18. One topic they discussed was how food service establishments managed during the ice storm.

During the meeting, Kevin Prevost, environmental health director at DHD4, talked about challenges food service establishments managed during the power outages following the recent ice storm.

Prevost explained that in response to the ice storm and power outages, he had his sanitarians send out emergency action plan emails to food service establishments within the district, per DHD4 guidelines.

Prevost said that previously, the department handed out physical copies of the action plan, but as establishments have come and go, those copies could have gotten misplaced during transition.

According to Prevost, the restaurants managed as best as they could.

“Some facilities were open during the power outage, and they were supplying food … They were giving food away to people in the emergency,” Prevost said. “Bless them for that.”

Prevost stated that they will have to evaluate how some restaurants continued operating once power was restored.

“Some opened up immediately when the power came on … What food were they using? Did they get restocked … so there’s a lot of questions that come up with that,” Prevost said.

Prevost compared their recent communication strategies with communicating water boiling advisories to food service establishments.

“It’s the same sort of process when (food service establishments) are hooked up to municipal water,” Prevost said. “You get a boiled water advisory … Do they even know about it?”

Further, Prevost explained that in those emergency situations it falls upon DHD4 to ensure that food service establishments are informed.

Understanding that many counties were under pressure and dealing with an emergency following the ice storm, Prevost stressed the importance of being empathetic and talking with establishment owners.

“Don’t act like a normal government agent and go in there swinging big sticks,” Prevost said. “Talk to people.”

Prevost explained that his sanitarians will be following up with establishments and asking them how they managed during the power outages and what they did with their food.

“Did people come up with resourceful ways of protecting their food?” Prevost asked. “And some did. Some that I have already heard from … they came up with some good plans and they work.”

According to Prevost, speaking with food service establishments will give DHD4 an opportunity to educate establishments on what the proper procedures are in emergency situations when they may not have power.

“It’s a chance to not only see what they’re doing, but also evaluate whether or not we’re doing a decent job,” Prevost said.

One restaurant that took extra measures to ensure their food was handled properly during the power outages was Samantha’s on 2nd.

Samantha Steele, owner and chef of Samantha’s on 2nd in Alpena, said that she and her staff filled large containers with ice to ensure that produce stayed at the correct temperatures.

“Anything that had been cooked off was also kept on ice, with someone monitoring the cooler temperatures every couple of hours,” Steele said. “The items that I thought wouldn’t survive if they stayed in ice got donated.”

Steele was also one of many who helped cook meals at the Alpena Township Hall warming shelter during the widespread power outages following the recent ice storm.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.