Mobile Food Safety in Memphis—Meet BAC Fighter Jean Bridges!

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We Fight BAC, Inc. of Memphis, Tennessee is a program developed by BAC Fighter Jean Bridges.  Her program started as a USDA Summer Food Service Program, providing a daily meal and snack for Memphis’ disadvantaged children.

Latch-key Kids Need the Core Four

During this work, Jean and her team became concerned that the latch-key kids they were serving did not have even the most basic information about safe food handling. These youngsters were often responsible for preparing meals for themselves and siblings and were at great risk of exposing the entire family to foodborne illnesses.

Jean saw a desperate need for basic home food safety education for these kids…

Food Safety Pros Collaborate

Jean’s program now includes a donated 26-foot mobile teaching RV, staffeWe Fight BAC mobile RVd with trained food safety ambassadors (volunteers from the Memphis and Shelby County Health Departments and the Tennessee Food Safety Task Force). She is considering having staff become ServSafe-certified instructors and proctors as a way to help fund the outreach.

It’s All About Food Safety

The objectives of the “We Fight BAC” program are to:

  • Increase community awareness of food safety and prevention for low-income children and their families.
  • Decrease the many cases of foodborne illness that occur as a result of improper food handling and preparation by consumers in their own kitchens.
  • Educate children and parents about the four main principals of home food safety – clean, separate, cook and chill.
  • Promote USDA’s “Food Safe Families Campaign”
  • Increase exposure to Food Safety & Prevention websites, including:

We Fight BAC www.wefightbac.com

USDA Food Safety Education http://1.usa.gov/1tEYVOi

Partnership for Food Safety Education www.fightbac.org

Free Downloads are a Key Resource

We Fight Jean with ThermyBAC uses many of the free downloads available on the Partnership for Food Safety Education’s Fight BAC website, as well as those from government food safety education sites. She finds these free materials a valuable addition to her outreach.

Go BAC Fighter Jean! BAC doesn’t have a chance against your energy!

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