Food Service Worker

About This Role

This Food Service Worker position is within the Nutrition & Food Service at the VA Medical Center. This role works across various kitchen functions, including food preparation, dishwashing, storage, and serving, handling tasks from portioning food to passing trays. The position suits a candidate able to work in a dynamic environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve food cafeteria style by placing uniform portions of food on customers', patients', and residents' plates
• Break down and clean the station when assigned
• Set up dining room tables for service, place food and beverages on tables, and replenish items as necessary
• Return soiled trays and dishes to the dish room
• Deliver meal trays to the patients' bedsides and report the patients' comments and complaints to the supervisor or dietitian
• Prepare beverages according to the number of servings required
• Prepare fresh fruit, cold salads, dressings, sandwich fillings, cold sandwiches, and simple cold desserts in specified quantities
• Sort, wash, peel, and cut cold foods using knives or other equipment
• Provide assistance to cooks in the food preparation area, such as weighing, measuring, and assembling ingredients according to standardized recipes
• Prepare uncooked food items, such as sandwich spread and salad dressings
• Operate, break down, and clean all equipment assigned to food service and related areas
• Portion food items into standard serving sizes using the proper utensils and specified dishware
• Prepare boxed/to-go meals
• Select and place correct items on patient trays
• Read and interpret a regular or modified menu, individual diet cards, tray tickets, or patient selections
• Identify obvious discrepancies between the prescribed diets and the food items designated by the menu
• Decide what food items to serve for the most common diets
• Perform heavy-duty cleaning tasks throughout the food service and related areas
• Separate food waste, trash/recyclables from dishes, glasses, and silverware
• Unload food/tray delivery carts
• Store sanitized dishes, glasses, and silverware
• Scrape, soak, scour, and scrub cookware and utensils
• Move garbage cans when collecting and transferring trash from the work area to the disposal area
• Perform other duties as assigned to meet the needs of the Medical Center

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.