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Process for investigating food quality complaints in shelters

1:09:41

133 sec

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The discussion focuses on the process for investigating food quality complaints in shelters.

Complaints are sent to the shelter operations team at DHS and relevant contractors or shelter staff
Responses to complaints are required and logged in the system
DHS nutritionist, operations staff, and contract monitoring staff are responsible for identifying trends in complaints
Julie Won emphasizes the need for a clear standard of food quality across all city-provided meals

Julie Won

1:09:41

Okay.

1:09:42

We had brought it up in the last hearing and it continues to be an issue with Regina's caterers food where it expires years out from the day that it is produced.

1:09:51

Who knows when my food was produced that I'm even being served?

1:09:54

That is an extremely extremely alarming problem.

1:09:57

I still don't understand what is the process for these complaints?

1:10:03

So now you're saying, okay we need to gather the data of feedback of people complaining and there's going to be an investigation.

1:10:09

Who is doing the investigation?

1:10:11

The seven people who are doing inspections?

1:10:13

Are those the investigators?

1:10:14

Is it Department of Investigations?

1:10:16

What is the process to make sure that there is clear accountability for these bad actors that continue to serve disgusting food?

Jill Berry

1:10:25

So so it's not the seven shelter inspectors, but when we receive complaints, they are sent to the shelter operations team at DHS along with either depending on whether they are a subcontractor then they are also sent to the shelter or if it is a direct food service provider, it would be sent to the team that oversees those contracts for follow-up.

1:10:51

All of the complaints that are sent out have to have a response to those complaints.

1:10:59

And then our nutritionist and our DHS operations staff and our contract monitoring staff are responsible for noticing whether there are trends across the board of complaints and following up on those.

Julie Won

1:11:15

I think it will be really important that we only serve food that our city employees will work, who work at city agencies will eat for lunch.

1:11:23

That will be the same food that we serve in Rikers, the same food that we serve in our nursing homes, the same food that we serve everywhere, so that people in shelters are not eating food that tastes like dog food.

1:11:35

Well, I think everyone should have a clear standard of food.

1:11:42

Exactly.

1:11:43

Which is why every single source of food that we're serving should be of a quality that everyone would eat.

1:11:49

I'm gonna pass it over to oh, chair Farias is gonna ask

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Concerns about unusually long expiration dates on shelter food

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Statistics on food-related complaints in shelters

Process for investigating food quality complaints in shelters

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