Food Service Associate (Hospital)

101 Riverside Hospital, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 21,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Riverside Health is seeking a Food Services Associate to prepare and serve meals for patients, visitors, and staff. You will follow recipes, ensure proper portioning, and maintain strict food safety standards in a hospital setting.

Responsibilities include preparing salads and sandwiches, assembling patient trays per diet orders, and ensuring accurate, timely service while supporting a safe and clean work environment.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED (Preferred)
• 1 year Prior food service experience (Preferred)

Responsibilities

• Prepare and serve meals to patients, visitors, and staff according to recipes and production worksheets.
• Perform prep work such as slicing meats, chopping produce, and assembling salads and sandwiches.
• Assist with meal service ensuring proper portion control and accurate plate presentation.
• Follow therapeutic menus and diet orders, ensuring nutrition care meets physician guidance.
• Assemble patient trays according to diet orders and allergy restrictions.
• Maintain knowledge of food safety, sanitation, and infection control policies.
• Ensure proper temperature, quality, sanitation, and storage at key steps; use FIFO to reduce waste.
• Label and date products; inform supervisor of discrepancies.
• Demonstrate positive interactions with patients and internal customers; adapt to workload demands.
• Complete cleaning tasks and report when tasks cannot be finished.

Skills

Food service experience

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Allergen Awareness Certification

Food Handlers Card

Job description

Smithfield, Virginia Hiring Range $15.00 - $19.50/Hourly Actual pay is determined based on job-related factors such as relevant experience, education, credentials, skills, internal equity, and business needs.

Overview

The Food Services Associate is responsible for preparing and serving foods to patients, visitors and hospital team members. Will demonstrate knowledge of food safety and sanitation standards. Promotes and maintains safe work environment for staff as well as our customers.

What you will do

• Complete food preparation following recipes/techniques as designated on production worksheets and in compliance with regulatory guidelines and Food & Nutrition Services policy/procedures.
• Demonstrate the competence to complete prep work, including but not limited to slicing lunch meat, chopping fruits & vegetables, preparing salads and sandwiches.
• Complete meal service ensuring proper portion control and plate presentation.
• Demonstrate the ability to follow therapeutic menus to ensure patients receive consistent, competent, and quality nutritional care within their diet therapy guidelines and as ordered by the physician.
• Accurately assemble patient tray based on the patient/resident specific tray ticket or tray card (as applicable), ensuring accuracy to diet order and allergy restrictions.
• Maintain a working knowledge of food safety, infection control, and sanitation regulatory compliance requirements and Food & Nutrition Service policy/procedures.
• Consistently comply with temperature, quality, sanitation & storage at all key steps in the food production process.
• Actively use the FIFO (First-in/First-out) system to ensure that food items that are already in stock are used first to control food waste.
• Label & date all product according to policy and alerts management of any discrepancies to the norm.
• Demonstrate positive interpersonal relations with patients and patient families so that patients and their families perceive positive patient care from the hospital.
• Demonstrate positive communication with internal customers (physicians, team members, etc.).
• Demonstrate flexibility and reliability when meeting the needs of the customer.
• Demonstrate the ability to use time effectively and during periods of heavy workload, is able to aid other workers in the completion of their work.
• Ensure completion of all assigned cleaning tasks, as noted in job work flows and posted assignment sheets, prior to end of shift.
• Alert supervisor/manager when unable to complete tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED, (Preferred)
• 1 year Prior food service experience, preferably in a healthcare facility (Preferred)

Licenses and Certifications

• Allergen Awareness Certification - VA State - ANSI-approved Allergen Awareness certificate program within 180 Days (Required)
• Food Handlers Card (FH) - VA State - ANSI-approved Food Handlers certificate program within 30 Days (Required) or Food Protection Manager - VA State - ANSI approved Food Protection Manager Certification - VA State (Required)

If loving your work is important to you, consider a career at Riverside. By joining our team, you can make a difference in people's lives. Our mission is to care for others as we would care for those we love. We extend that sense of caring to every patient, resident and customer, as well as to each member of our team. We offer care at all stages of life, in hundreds of locations, giving you room to grow your career, along with great benefits and perks. At Riverside Health, your trust and safety are our top priorities.