Safe, Nourishing, Accessible Community Kitchen (S.N.A.C.K.): A Community Kitchen Manual for Public Health Emergencies

Abstract

Objective: The project aims to develop a community kitchen manual for public health emergencies. Participants: The officers and members of the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Kababaihan ng BASECO served as community respondents for this project. These eight women were in charge of the community kitchen operations, particularly the feeding program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Implementation: The whole project comes in three phases. The design stage was executed in phase one of this project. The phase one also focused on the development of manual content based on available literatures and considered the interviews conducted with respondents. Discussion: The manual contains guidelines on food safety and meal preparations. Based on the interview, the proponents identified specific contents that must be included in the guidelines, as compared with the need to improve current operations of the group’s community kitchen. Looking at the activities of the community, the proponents indicated the food flow guidelines to ensure a safe, nourishing and accessible community kitchen (S.N.A.C.K). Conclusion: The designed community kitchen manual may be of use to lay groups putting up community kitchens, since there is no existing manual in the Philippines. However, phases two and three must be conducted to validate its usefulness and accuracy in the field. Keywords: Community Kitchen, Public Health Emergency, Food Security, Food Safety, Nutritious Meals, BASECO