Lake City Wins Local Kitchen Award
Florida facility known for top-notch food prep
Kitchens rarely receive much recognition outside of the food they produce daily, but lately one particular CCA kitchen has been getting plenty of well-deserved appreciation for not only making three meals a day, but going above and beyond expectations in the process.
This fall, the kitchen staff at Lake City Correctional Facility won the “Clean Plate Award” from local Jacksonville, Fla., television station, WAWS Action News. The award was in honor of their latest quarterly health inspection, during which they received zero infractions. Typically, kitchens will receive one or two infractions during such an assessment, so to make it through an inspection with no cited infractions is a major accomplishment.
“It was a surprise for us because the TV station usually catches people with not-so-good health inspections, but we were chosen as one of the cleanest,” says Zach Myers, food service manager at Lake City. “It was a surprise to win, but not a surprise to do well in the inspection because our standards are very high.”
In order to consistently maintain those high standards, Lake City uses some time consuming, but effective tactics. Each day, members of the facility management team inspect each housing unit, including the kitchen. Then, every week department heads at the facility audit the kitchen as well, providing an extra perspective on the process. In addition to the typical systems and processes in place in the kitchen, staff also performs regular self-audits and self-inspections to ensure that everything in the kitchen is going well.
“It gives us another set of eyes so we stay on top of things. Cooperating makes us stronger,” says Myers. “We definitely expect to stay at this level or do even better.
“It can be a thankless job, feeding 900 guys three meals a day,” he adds. “We were really appreciative and happy to get a nice pat on the back.”
Dan Devers, assistant warden of Operations at Lake City, agrees. He believes that such recognition is important to developing and supporting a great kitchen team.
“The award instilled some pride in the staff, so now when you walk through the kitchen, instead of you having to point out any deficiencies, the staff can already tell you what they are and how they’re working to correct them,” says Devers. “It’s made them realize that what they do is more than just preparing food, and that’s what they’re striving for now.”
To view the original WAWS Action News listing, containing Lake City's perfect score, click here.
January 9, 2012