As the State of Maryland is moving towards Phase Two of COVID-19 recovery, Shepherd’s Table will test out a re-opening plan for the dining room on Monday, July 6th, with restrictions and precautions. There will be occupancy limits, social distancing guidelines to ensure the safety for all of our meal guests, volunteers, and staff.
Our dining room will have limited seating of 30 meal guests at a time, with only 2 meal guests per table to ensure effective social distancing.
All meal guests must always practice social distancing and maintain 6 feet of distance from each other while standing in line to receive service. Everyone is required to wear face masks and apply hand sanitizer before entering the dining room, including staff and volunteers.
For meal guests, face masks can only be removed while eating. Each meal guest will have 15 minutes to eat and dispose of any waste. Once the dining room is cleared, staff and volunteers will wipe down all tables and chairs with a commercial grade disinfectant before the next group of diners is seated.
Residents of Interfaith Works’ homeless shelter and 4th-floor permanent supportive housing program will be served in the dining room first.
Starting Monday, July 6th, hours for the Meals Program are as follow:
- Brunch: 10 AM – 11 AM
- Dinner: 5 PM – 6:30 PM
This week, we will test out the re-opening plan during brunch only. The dinner meal will continue to be served outdoors. All meals will be served in to-go containers outside of our building, with disposable utensils and beverages in disposable cups. Meal guests that want to take their meal with them, or eat it outdoors, are most welcome to do so. Meal guests receiving to-go meals outside are still required to have face masks on and must maintain 6 feet of distance at all times per usual.
Shepherd’s Table management will continue monitoring the situation and continuously evaluate if serving meals in the dining room is worth the safety risk. We may pivot back to outdoor dining only if we feel that the safety of staff, volunteers, and clients, is in jeopardy.
We thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation as we re-open with a focus on service and keeping our community safe.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Director of Operations, Haile Gebregziabher, at [email protected] or 301-585-6463 X206.
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