Apr 16, 2021

By: Chad Ross, Manager, Industry Relations and Adam Friedlander, MS, CFS, Manager, Food Safety and Technical Services, FMI

Each year, hurricanes, tornados, winter storms, floods, fires and a variety of other natural disasters take place, putting food, water and essential energy supplies at risk. Even during pandemics like COVID-19, retailers must consider how to keep workers and customers safe, while remaining operational to keep communities fed. The FMI team has curated resources to support the food industry in preparing, implementing and continuously improving natural disaster response plans.

Stay Informed

Storm Central

• All Hazards Consortium – This is a regularly updated storm center webpage for executive and operational decision makers across multiple states and industries who produce disaster management plans.

Food Assistance Information (SNAP & D-SNAP) 

Food Safety

• Food Safety in a Disaster or Emergency – Foodsafety.gov has information to share with consumers on how to keep food safe before, during and after emergencies, such as floods, fires, natural disasters and power losses.
• Emergency Action Plan for Retail Food Establishments – The Conference for Food Protection provides practical guidance for retail grocery and food service establishments to plan and respond to emergency situations that could impact food safety and facility operations.
• Food Emergency Regulator Pocket Guide – The Association of Food and Drug Officials created this guide to aid food regulatory programs in addressing common or unique situations that may require emergency responses by food regulators in the industry.

Store Status Form

Supply Chain Assistance

• American Logistics Aid Network – This is an industry-wide organization that exists to provide supply chain assistance to disaster relief organizations and other nonprofits.
• Commercial Routing Assistance – This service provides the latest information relevant to commercial organizations and drivers, state transportation officials and regulators, federal transportation officials and regulators, and trade associations who rely upon continuous vehicle movement to meet their mission.

In addition to Natural Disaster Guidelines, FMI has comprehensive resources on:

FMI is committed to helping our members navigate crises through a variety of crisis management services and we are available 24/7 to assist. Please email crisishelpdesk@fmi.org or use the FMI 24 Hour Crisis Support Hotline to contact the FMI team.