Food Service Worker

Veterans Health Administration • Fort Wayne, IN

21d • Onsite

About The Position

This Food Service Worker position is within Nutrition & Food Service at the Northern Indiana Health Care System (NIHCS), serving facilities in Marion and Fort Wayne, Indiana. The role supports patient meal service and food preparation, including preparing and portioning foods, assembling and checking diet trays, delivering meals, preparing nourishments, maintaining inventories, and sanitizing equipment and work areas. The Fort Wayne schedule is full-time with hours to be determined. The Marion schedule is full-time, Wednesday through Sunday, 5:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The position is identified as Wage Grade 4, with Position Description PD99836S.

Food Service Workers perform light to moderate physical work and may also handle heavy tasks such as scrubbing large cooking utensils and pushing heavy carts while moving supplies. The work involves continuous standing and walking, frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending, and lifting or moving objects up to 20 pounds frequently without assistance and objects over 40 pounds occasionally with assistance.

Applicants must meet federal employment conditions, including U.S. citizenship unless an exception applies, suitability for federal employment, and applicable Selective Service registration. Selected applicants must complete onboarding and serve a one-year probationary period. VA Health Care Personnel must receive the annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an approved exemption; employees with an exemption must wear a face mask. The position has no education qualification requirement. Relevant experience may be paid or unpaid, including qualifying volunteer work.

Requirements

• Demonstrate training or experience of sufficient scope and quality to perform the work; no specific length of training or experience is required.
• Provide detailed resume descriptions supporting the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the position's duties.
• Meet the screen-out requirement of being able to perform the work without more than normal supervision, including routine independent work, judgment, planning and organizing, and supporting or guiding lower-grade employees.
• Demonstrate relevant job elements: dexterity and safety; interpreting instructions and specifications; materials; technical practices; using and maintaining tools and equipment; and work practices.
• Meet federal employment suitability requirements and U.S. citizenship requirements, except where appointment of non-citizens is permitted under VA policy.
• Meet Selective Service registration requirements for males born after December 31, 1959.
• Complete required pre-employment onboarding and identification requirements; selected applicants in testing-designated positions are subject to urinalysis for illegal drug use.
• Serve a one-year probationary period.
• As VA Health Care Personnel, receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain a medical or religious exemption; wear a face mask if exempt.

Responsibilities

• Set up the assigned tray-line station with the correct supplies and food items.
• Deliver meal trays to patients' bedsides and report patient comments and complaints to a supervisor or dietitian.
• Prepare beverages according to required serving quantities.
• Prepare fresh fruit, cold salads, dressings, sandwich fillings, cold sandwiches, and simple cold desserts in specified quantities.
• Assist cooks with food preparation, including weighing, measuring, and assembling ingredients according to standardized recipes.
• Portion food into standard serving sizes using proper utensils and specified dishware.
• Check diet trays assembled by lower-grade workers for completeness, correct food temperatures, and suitability for prescribed diets; identify obvious discrepancies between prescribed diets and menu items.
• Provide patients with basic information about modified diets and available nutrition services.
• Prepare individual and bulk nourishments and supplemental foods and beverages for patients.
• Follow directions and standardized recipes to assemble, measure, weigh, or mix ingredients for basic formulas and supplemental feedings using sanitary techniques.
• Determine ingredient quantities needed to achieve required yields and convert between metric and standard measurements.
• Take nourishment inventories, stock items using first-in, first-out procedures, and replace expired items.
• Label and distribute individual nourishments.
• Sterilize equipment and sanitize work areas.
• Use a computer terminal to record and retrieve recipe, menu, and inventory data and produce reports.
• Perform other duties as assigned to meet the needs of the Medical Center.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package; specific benefits depend on position type and should be confirmed with the hiring agency.
• Annual leave accrual may be credited for qualifying job-related non-federal experience or active-duty uniformed military service, if requested and approved before appointment; approval is not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed