To solve the problem of meal supplies for enterprises and institutions in Shanghai during resumption of work, the association recently cooperated with takeout network platforms to call for catering enterprises to ensure group food delivery services.

After releasing a list of food delivery services provided by 91 local catering enterprises (11 group buying catering enterprises and 80 catering enterprises with 1,724 stores), Shanghai Restaurant Cuisine Association has again called for more social catering enterprises to provide temporary food delivery services.

A new list carefully screened by the association includes 165 catering enterprises – 11 group buying catering enterprises and 150 catering enterprises with 3,006 branch stores.

The service is aimed at government offices, organizations, enterprises and public institutions in Shanghai, and includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. The method adopted is to implement unit meal ordering, by which the units in need of meals give orders to the catering enterprises by telephone, through app or on the Meituan and Eleme takeout platforms. The orders are delivered by the platforms' delivery services.

A food catering and delivery service convention was made by the association when the first list was released and it regulates the operational behavior of catering enterprises and takeout network platforms.

In addition, the convention requires participating catering enterprises to maintain market rules during the epidemic prevention and control period, eliminate price gouging and setting starting prices, and to choose the varieties and settlement methods according to the ordering units. Where meals are provided for more than 200 people per batch, the food operator shall obtain the business license of "group meal distribution meals" or "group meal takeout".

Catering enterprises without such licenses shall control the batch and quantity (a single meal provided by a store shall supply no more than 200 meal sets), and catering enterprises shall only use boxed meal packages. It is suggested that social local enterprises book meals from those catering enterprises one day in advance.

Set meals provided by a well-known restaurant in Shanghai [Photo/WeChat account: scofcom]