Updated 4/16/2020
Dear Little Wild Things Family,
The health and safety of our customers and team is our top priority at Little Wild Things. We have always been diligent when it comes to food safety, where infectious disease is a potential risk in food production. Our existing practices are in compliance with the D.C. Department of Health standards, and national guidelines including Good Agricultural Practices. Due to the recent spread of COVID-19, we are taking the following additional measures to keep you and your microgreens safe. In addition, as of 4/2/2020, we’ve prepared a COVID-19 Preparedness Response Guidance & Emergency Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) guidance to inform our daily operations and prepare for potential absenteeism.
- As of 3/14/20 our retail shop at 906 Bladensburg Rd. NE will be closed to the public to ensure the health and safety of our production area and team. We will continue to offer the option to order online and pick up your order from the cooler located at the top of the steps in our front entranceway (no contact pick-up) or have your order delivered. We are operating reduced pick-up hours as of 4/2: Wednesday-Saturday 10 am-4 pm to allow for staggered work schedules and additional remote work by employees.
- We are requiring team members to wash their hands and change their gloves more frequently as recommended by the CDC.
- We are emphasizing respiratory and hand hygiene as recommended by the CDC during staff meetings, with additional signage, and verbally throughout our production area.
- All team members have completed additional ServSafe training on no-contact delivery and pick-up best practices as of 4/1/2020.
- We are increasing the frequency of sanitizing and disinfecting surfaces throughout the workplace, in common high-traffic areas.
- We have provided additional hands-free soap, towels, food-safe wipes, and alcohol-based sanitizers throughout the production area.
- We are using gloves to accept payments and requiring hand-washing immediately after accepting payments.
- We are temporarily suspending reusable containers and will be delivered to our regular wholesale customers in compostable clamshells or produce bags until further notice.
- As always, we will be closely monitoring the health of our team members and instructing them to stay home if they experience any cold or flu symptoms or do not feel well. If a family member of one of our team members becomes infected with COVID-19 they must notify a supervisor and will be encouraged to stay home.
- Until further notice, we will not be shaking hands, providing samples, or engaging in other close contacts with team members or customers (farm visits and tours have been suspended).
- We are providing proactive cross-training of employees to maintain essential functions in the event that employee absenteeism increases, as recommended by the CDC.
- We will not be providing samples or self-serve utensils until further notice.
- We are suspending our Bring-Your-Own Container program for our Salad Share Program until further notice so that all produce is packaged on-site at our facility in a food-safe environment.
- We added a hands-free hand-washing station at the farmer’s market stand to allow for more frequent hand-washing (as of 3/27, we have temporarily suspended market participation.
We believe that nutritious, locally-grown microgreens and edible flowers contribute to a healthy lifestyle. We want you to know that we are doing everything we can to provide safe and healthy greens to support that lifestyle.
We will offer FREE community delivery on Wednesdays in Washington, D.C. for orders over $25. Please order online at www.lwtfarm.myshopify.com We’ve prepared a special collection of our most affordable products with the longest shelf life for those that may need to stay home for extended periods.
We will continue to monitor and adopt protocols recommended by the CDC and other applicable agencies.
We will send out updates via our newsletter and social media outlets as things change in this evolving situation. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at info@littlewildthingsfarm.com or 202-750-0695.
