Food Service Worker
Veterans Health Administration
Posted: April 2, 2026 (2 days ago)
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Veterans Health Administration
Department of Veterans Affairs
This job involves working in a hospital kitchen to prepare simple foods, serve meals to patients and staff, clean up stations and equipment, and handle tasks like washing dishes or delivering trays.
It's a hands-on role in a busy environment serving veterans, ideal for someone reliable and comfortable with routine physical work who enjoys helping others through food service.
No formal education is needed, but showing practical experience in similar tasks will help qualify.
This position can work in one or more functional areas of the kitchen such as food preparation, dish and pot washing, dry and refrigerated storage and receiving, and the serviing area doing work such as portiioning cold food, dipping hot food, workin in the dish room and passing trays.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position.
Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume.
Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards.
SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire.
Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated.
The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements: Dexterity and Safety Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading) Materials Technical Practices Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment Without more than normal supervision Work Practices Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social).
Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.
You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week.
Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities.
Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.
Major Duties:
Set up assigned station with the correct supplies and food items. Serve food cafeteria style by placing uniform portions of food on customers, patients, and resident's 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 patient's bedsides and report the patients comments and complaints to the supervisor or dietician.
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 help to cooks in the food preparation area, such as weigh, measure and assemble ingredients according to standardized recipes.
Prepare uncooked food items, such as a sandwich spread and salad dressings. Operate and 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 and to go meals. Select and place correct items on patient's trays.
Read and interpret a regular or modified menu, individual diet cards, tray tickets or patient selections. Identify discrepancies between the prescribed diets and the food items designated by the menu.
Decide which food items to serve. 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 and delivery carts. Store sanitized dishes, glasses, and silverware. Move garbage cans when collecting and transferring trash from the work area. Work Schedule: 10:00am-6:30pm.
Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs.
Position Description Title/PD#: Food Service Worker/PD99920S Physical Requirements: Work is performed in kitchen areas where the steam and heat from cooking and dishwashing equipment often cause uncomfortably high temperatures and humidity.
Performs work requiring light to moderate physical.
May be required to perform heavy work, such as scouring and scrubbing large size cooking utensils and pushing heavy carts and trucks in unloading, storing, and delivering supplies.
Subject to continuous standing and walking, and frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending.
Frequently lifts or moves objects weighing up to 20 pounds unassisted and occasionally lift or move objects weighing more than 40 pounds with the assistance of others.
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