Food Preparation Workers
Hospitality and TourismO*NET 35-2021.00United States
Perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.
- Median annual earnings
- $35,173
- Projected change
- +1.5%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 912.5K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
72.2% of the workforce
Growing to 926.49K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What food preparation workers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware.
- Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items.
- Take and record temperature of food and food storage areas, such as refrigerators and freezers.
- Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas.
- Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage.
- Remove trash and clean kitchen garbage containers.
- Weigh or measure ingredients.
- Vacuum dining area and sweep and mop kitchen floor.
- Prepare a variety of foods, such as meats, vegetables, or desserts, according to customers' orders or supervisors' instructions, following approved procedures.
- Wash, peel, and cut various foods, such as fruits and vegetables, to prepare for cooking or serving.
- Inform supervisors when equipment is not working properly and when food and supplies are getting low, and order needed items.
- Assemble meal trays with foods in accordance with patients' diets.
- Stock cupboards and refrigerators, and tend salad bars and buffet meals.
- Use manual or electric appliances to clean, peel, slice, and trim foods.
- Portion and wrap food, or place it directly on plates for service to patrons.
- Load dishes, glasses, and tableware into dishwashing machines.
- Add cutlery, napkins, food, and other items to trays on assembly lines in hospitals, cafeterias, airline kitchens, and similar establishments.
- Place food trays over food warmers for immediate service, or store them in refrigerated storage cabinets.
- Prepare and serve a variety of beverages, such as coffee, tea, and soft drinks.
- Receive and store food supplies, equipment, and utensils in refrigerators, cupboards, and other storage areas.
- Mix ingredients for green salads, molded fruit salads, vegetable salads, and pasta salads.
- Make special dressings and sauces as condiments for sandwiches.
- Stir and strain soups and sauces.
- Scrape leftovers from dishes into garbage containers.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $25,547
- 25th percentile
- $29,736
- 50th percentile
- $35,173
- 75th percentile
- $38,573
- 90th percentile
- $45,821
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $35,173 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+1.5%average or slower
2025912,498 jobs
2035 projected926,494 jobs
13,996 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 72.2%
- Some college
- 22.4%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 4.2%
- Certificate
- 1.2%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Sandwich Artists32,054 postings
- 02Team Members18,682 postings
- 03Deli Clerks12,761 postings
- 04Restaurant Team Members11,306 postings
- 05Crew Members9,184 postings
- 06Restaurant Crew Members6,163 postings
- 07Kitchen Team Members5,056 postings
- 08Kitchen Staff4,960 postings
- 09Kitchen Leaders4,504 postings
- 10Meat Clerks2,878 postings
- 11Kitchen Assistants2,819 postings
- 12Service Team Managers2,298 postings
- 13Meat and Seafood Clerks2,221 postings
- 14Back of House Team Members2,170 postings
- 15Sandwich Makers2,103 postings
- 16Kitchen Helpers1,798 postings
- 17Service and Kitchen Teams1,633 postings
- 18Kitchen Crews1,283 postings
- 19Restaurant Staff945 postings
- 20Deli/Bakery Clerks863 postings
Top employers
- 01Subway17,633 postings
- 02Chipotle6,721 postings
- 03Wendy's4,626 postings
- 04Panda Express4,353 postings
- 05Kroger4,177 postings
- 06Taco Bell4,071 postings
- 07Casey's3,846 postings
- 08Love's3,535 postings
- 09Raising Cane's3,216 postings
- 10Arby's2,127 postings
- 11Panera Bread2,053 postings
- 12Albertsons2,014 postings
- 13Papa John's1,939 postings
- 14Sprouts Farmers Market1,616 postings
- 15Dunkin' Donuts1,507 postings
- 16Chick-fil-A1,180 postings
- 17Circle K1,156 postings
- 18Whataburger Restaurants1,135 postings
- 19ShopRite1,079 postings
- 20CAVA1,075 postings
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