Updated March 24, 2020
At Sugarsnap we are committed to help keep our employees, clients and community safe and to help decrease the potential spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Like everyone, we have seen tremendous disruption in our business and lives. And we are closely monitoring the situation and adapting our response as needed so that we can continue to provide you with outstanding (and safe!) food and service.
To that end, I want to share with you our efforts to take precautions, options you can consider with your events, our current catering offerings and our current approach should you decide to cancel or postpone events.
Precautions and sanitation
We take cleanliness and sanitation very seriously. We are following all recommendations from the Vermont Department of Health. This includes (but is not limited to):
* Washing hands thoroughly and frequently
* Sanitizing and deep cleaning
* Wearing gloves when handling food, when handling plates serving spoons and when delivering
* Not touching faces
* Avoiding all unnecessary social contact
In addition, here is a helpful post from Serious Eats that answers a lot of questions about coronavirus and food safety. We are staying updated on the science and all recommendations from the Health Department and CDC.
Meetings and Site Visits
We are currently not hosting members of the public at our facility. In addition, we are not doing site visits, face-to-face meetings or tastings. We are, however, utilizing online tools for video and voice consultations and meetings.
Our Current Catering Offerings
We have replaced our normal catering menus with a menu that is focused on individual, ready to serve meals (great for workplaces) and bulk packaging of meals (great for home). Order online here. And for more information, please visit our delivery page. We are also working to raise money so that we can use our staff and expertise to provide meal service for people experiencing homelessness at COTS’s Daystation.
Event Postponement or Cancellation
We understand that you may decide to postpone or cancel your event. Our agreement states that retainers are not refundable, however, we understand the challenges associated with this situation. Here is how we are handling event changes due to coronavirus concerns.
For all events that are scheduled before July 31
If you want to postpone or cancel, your entire retainer can be applied to a future event.
Normally, a nonrefundable 50% retainer payment is due 90 days prior to your event. We are temporarily changing this agreement for events through July 31. Instead, 25% is due 60 days prior to your event and 25% is due 30 days prior to your event. If the event must be cancelled or postponed because gatherings are not allowed, the entire retainer can be applied to a future event. However, if the event can be held, but you choose not to, the retainer is not refundable. Our goal is to have a retainer policy that protects Sugarsnap as well as provides our clients with some flexibility and more time to assess the situation.
For all events that are scheduled for August 1 or later
If you want to postpone your event to a non-peak day, you can transfer all of the retainer to the event. If you want to reschedule to a peak day, the retainer is not transferable. Peak days are all Saturdays from the middle of May until the end of October (except for July).
We will be updating our response to this situation as things unfold. Please don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your event, plans and concerns.
Abbey and the entire Sugarsnap Team