If you run a food production business in Oklahoma City, you already understand the risks. We operate in tornado alley, where severe weather—tornadoes, ice storms, and flooding—can disrupt operations with little warning. For food producers, the stakes are higher: refrigeration, regulatory compliance, and production uptime are all non-negotiable.
One local pasta manufacturer experienced this firsthand. After a spring tornado damaged part of their facility and knocked out power, more than $80,000 in perishable ingredients were at risk within hours. Although their data was backed up, they had no plan for restoring physical operations or fulfilling orders. The result? Delays, lost product, and lost business.
Generic recovery plans aren’t built for food businesses. A reliable strategy must account for industry-specific workflows, compliance requirements, and the realities of operating in a high-risk region like Oklahoma.
Why Food Businesses Can’t Use Generic Disaster Plans
Traditional disaster recovery frameworks are often designed for office environments, not production floors. For food manufacturers and distributors, downtime can trigger a cascade of operational and regulatory challenges, including:
- Spoiled inventory due to temperature loss
- Equipment requiring safe restart procedures
- Delayed or canceled orders
- Inability to meet health inspection requirements
- Disruptions in sourcing, processing, and delivery
For example, an Oklahoma ice cream manufacturer had robust IT backups in place, but no strategy to preserve product or manage their distribution schedule during a three-day power outage. Their plan simply wasn’t aligned with the needs of a food business.
What Really Matters When Disaster Strikes
Keeping Your Digital House in Order
Your recipes, customer data, inventory records, and compliance documentation aren’t just operational assets, they’re essential to continuity. A disaster recovery plan must ensure you can access:
- Proprietary recipes and production schedules
- Real-time inventory records to assess losses and needs
- Open customer orders and delivery timelines
- Regulatory documents required for reopening
Case Example:
After a small electrical fire, a local bakery’s on-site server was destroyed. Fortunately, their systems had been migrated to secure cloud backups. Within 24 hours, they were accepting orders from a temporary space, while a nearby competitor with no backups remained offline for nearly two weeks.
What works for most Oklahoma food businesses:
- Automated, encrypted backups that don’t rely on manual oversight
- Cloud systems are accessible remotely during facility downtime
- Routine restoration testing to ensure backups are functional
- Simple protocols for accessing critical business information during emergencies
Getting Your Physical Operations Back on Track
Digital recovery is critical, but so is restarting production safely and efficiently. Food facilities require detailed plans for handling equipment and infrastructure post-disruption.
What to include:
- A prioritized list of which systems must come online first (typically refrigeration and food safety controls)
- Step-by-step restart procedures for machinery
- Defined inspection and verification protocols
- Documented sanitation procedures to meet health department standards
Case Example:
A Mexican food manufacturer had clear, department-level shutdown and restart procedures. After a gas leak forced a facility-wide evacuation, they resumed production within hours thanks to a coordinated plan and staff training.
Keeping Products Moving—Even If Systems Are Down
Your customers don’t stop needing your product during a crisis. That’s why proactive food companies prepare to maintain fulfillment under challenging conditions.
Effective strategies include:
- Backup suppliers for essential ingredients and materials
- Pre-arranged alternative production facilities or co-packers
- Contingency distribution options
- Pre-drafted communication templates for customer updates
Case Example:
A specialty meat processor in Oklahoma developed cooperative agreements with two out-of-region producers. When flooding halted their operations for a week, one partner helped fulfill priority orders. Months later, they returned the favor, creating a stronger, more resilient supply network for both companies.
Creating a Recovery Plan That Actually Works
A disaster recovery strategy isn’t just a compliance checkbox, it should be a practical, well-communicated system that guides your business during disruptions. Here’s how to make sure your plan actually works when it’s needed most
1. Identify What You Can’t Afford to Lose
Start with honest answers to these questions:
- Which products absolutely must keep flowing to maintain your business?
- How long can different systems be down before the damage becomes severe?
- What regulatory requirements must you maintain even during a disaster?
- Which customers need to be prioritized if you’re operating at reduced capacity?
Case Example:
A local sauce manufacturer analyzed product performance and discovered that four SKUs generated over 80% of their revenue. Their recovery plan now focuses on getting those four products back into production first, reducing complexity, and maximizing financial stability during disruptions.
2. Create Realistic, Step-by-Step Response Plans
Your recovery plan should address a range of scenarios, from a minor outage to a complete facility shutdown:
- Document what happens if refrigeration fails, production halts, or communication channels go offline
- Build flexible workflows for relocating production or rerouting orders
- Include roles, responsibilities, and escalation paths for key staff
- Identify external vendors or partners you can activate if needed
Case Example:
An Oklahoma beverage company couldn’t afford a secondary production site, so they pre-negotiated co-packing agreements with a regional manufacturer. When a machinery failure interrupted operations, they maintained 60% production through this partner while repairs were completed.
3. Make Sure Everyone Knows Their Role
Even the best plan fails if your team doesn’t know it exists:
- Create simple, visual guides for immediate emergency response
- Assign specific recovery roles and make sure everyone knows their part
- Practice your most critical recovery procedures regularly
- Keep emergency contact information updated and accessible
Case Example:
A meat processor created wallet-sized cards for all key employees with simple recovery responsibilities printed on them. During a chemical spill evacuation, every team member knew what action to take immediately, speeding up both response and recovery.
4. Test, Learn, and Refine
A recovery plan isn’t one-and-done. It should evolve as your operations grow and new risks emerge:
- Conduct scenario-based drills at least twice a year
- Run tabletop exercises for leadership and on-the-floor simulations for operations teams
- After any real disruption or near-miss, perform a post-mortem to capture lessons learned
- Update documentation and retrain teams regularly
Case Example:
A bakery in Oklahoma City runs “disaster drills” twice a year, simulating different scenarios like power outages or supplier delays. As a result, when a water main broke last winter, their response was seamless, and they resumed production within six hours.
Technology That Makes Recovery Easier
You don’t need to invest in enterprise-grade infrastructure to implement smart disaster recovery tools. Focus on scalable, food-industry-appropriate solutions:
- Hybrid backup systems that keep copies of your data both on-site and in secure cloud storage
- Remote monitoring that alerts you to problems even when no one is on-site
- Mobile equipment that can be deployed quickly during facilities issues
- Emergency communication systems that work even when normal channels don’t
Case Example:
A local dairy processor installed automated temperature monitoring after a prior outage cost them thousands. During the next event, they received an alert within minutes, deployed backup power, and protected 100% of their inventory.
Is Disaster Recovery Worth the Investment?
It’s a common concern, especially for small and mid-sized producers working with tight budgets. But the math often speaks for itself:
- The average food manufacturer loses over $260,000 for every hour of downtime
- Most insurance policies cover physical damage, but not lost business opportunity
- Companies that recover quickly often gain market share that they keep long-term
- The cost of recertification after losing compliance documentation can be staggering
Case Example:
A small Oklahoma distributor invested under $10,000 in a practical disaster recovery setup. After a severe storm, they were operational in just two days, while competitors remained closed for over a week. They not only retained all accounts but gained three major clients who had previously worked with those competitors.
Let’s Build a Recovery Strategy That Works
At ANDGroup, we’ve helped dozens of Oklahoma City food companies develop disaster recovery plans tailored to their unique operations. We understand the pressures of regulated production, complex supply chains, and working in a high-risk region like tornado alley.
Let’s start with a walkthrough of your facility and systems. Together, we’ll build a plan that protects what matters most, your product, your people, and your ability to deliver, no matter what
Because in my experience, there are two kinds of food businesses in Oklahoma City: those who have faced a major disruption, and those who will soon. The difference between surviving and thriving comes down to preparation.
