Welcome to Bear Creek United Methodist Church, Houston TX 77084

Food Service Ministry

Statement of Policy
The Food Service Ministry is intended for use as an optional support ministry to the various outreach and ministry activities of Bear Creek UMC. The areas intended for use include Bear Creek UMC’s two kitchens and all supplies and equipment contained therein. Food Service will charge only for the cost of goods to ministry areas that order food or paper goods. Any meals prepared through the Food Service Ministry (Sunday Fellowship Breakfast or Wednesday dinner) will be served at a rate to cover the cost of the food and services.

Food Service Oversight
The director of Food Service (the director) is directly responsible for all food service operations of Bear Creek UMC. This includes the planning and/or coordination with ministry areas for all food related services; the purchase of food, supplies and other consumable items; recruitment, training and supervision of volunteer food service personnel; and the inventory reconcilation, accounting, and management of Food Service activities.

Who May Use Food Service
Any group or ministry area that is recognized as a Bear Creek church-related organization or entity is able to use the Food Service Ministry.

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Scheduling of Food Service
If you would like to use the Food Service Ministry, you must submit the request when you schedule your event on the church calendar. All ministry area activities that require the use of Food Service must submit the Food Service Request Form to the director with as much advance notice as possible. With this form, you will be able to order your supplies and give basic info about your event to the director.

Ordering Food and Paper Goods
In order that the Food Service Ministry may effectively serve the congregation and its ministries, the following ordering procedures must be followed:

To help your ministry area plan for their event, a Food Service Expense Worksheet is available. It lists all items that are regularly stocked by Food Service. If you need items not listed on the worksheet, contact the director about availability and cost.

A ministry leader, using the Food Service Request Form, must submit requests for food service and paper goods. The form is available online or in the church office.

Food Service requests must be received by the director not less than two days prior to the Sysco order dates, which are posted in each kitchen and the church office. 

Your ministry leader will be contacted when your order arrives. It will be labeled and put in a designated area. It will be up to your group to move it to the appropriate location within 24 hours.

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Use of Kitchen Equipment, Supplies and Utensils
The Kitchen Usage Guidelines Form is available and will help your ministry area know what is expected from your group concerning the use of appliances, equipment, clean-up, etc. Each ministry area of Bear Creek UMC shall have at least one member of their group trained to use the BCUMC kitchen equipment. Training dates are scheduled once a quarter and are listed on the church calendar. It will be up to your group to have a representative trained.

Items may be borrowed for church-related events, and only by church sponsored ministries. To do so, you must fill out an Equipment Check-Out Form and submit it to the director. No equipment, utensils, or supplies shall be borrowed or removed from the kitchen without the permission of the director. The person checking out the equipment will be held accountable for the cleanliness, security and use of the equipment.

Food Service Activities in Classrooms
Groups including, but not limited to Sunday School classes, Bible studies, and choirs that meet regularly in classrooms, shall make prior arrangements to use paper goods or supplies from the church kitchens or staff lounge. Otherwise, you are expected to provide your own supplies and refreshments served in your classrooms. Each classroom has ample storage space for class supplies.

Covered Dish or Catered Events
Covered dish meals or catered meals may be scheduled in the Fellowship Hall or the Gym. Food may be prepared or warmed in the kitchen(s) only if the group has a trained person present. For your event you may bring your own supplies, or order supplies following the procedures listed above. Groups are expected to take home any leftover supplies they bring.

Retreats or Trips
Food or paper goods for ministry retreats or trips can be ordered from Food Service by following the procedures above.

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Setup and Cleanup
BCUMC does not have paid staff in the Food Service Ministry to help with setup and cleanup for on-site scheduled events. Therefore, use of volunteers from your ministry area will be necessary for setup and cleanup. Prior arrangements can be made to schedule setup and cleanup services with the Bear Creek UMC janitorial company. There may be a fee charged to your ministry area for this service. Contact the director to find out about such arrangements. The Room Setup Request Form should be used in conjunction with the Event Calendaring & Room Reservation Form when room setup services are required. Both are available for download and in the church office.

The director will supply various checklists to assist with setup and cleanup. You will receive this when your ministry area schedules an event in either the Fellowship Hall or Gym kitchen(s). These checklists will soon be available for download or in the church office.

The following is a list of checklists that will soon be available:
• Wednesday Evening Dinner setup & cleanup checklist
• Serving Lines setup & cleanup checklist
• Beverage Stations setup checklist
• Food Service cleaning schedule

Budgeting 
Funds to pay for use of Food Service can be acquired through the sale of meal tickets or through ministry or program budget allocations. The director will submit a monthly Food Service Charge-Out Form to the Finance Office summarizing the various Food Service charges by ministry area for that month. The Finance Office will bill each ministry area for goods used during that month through transfer of account funds. If no church account exists for a particular ministry area, that ministry area will receive an invoice and must submit payment to the Finance Office within 15 days.

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