Food Preparation Workers
Perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Service Orientation
- Time Management
- Speaking
- Coordination
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Food Production
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Psychology
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage.
- Portion and wrap food, or place it directly on plates for service to patrons.
- Place food trays over food warmers for immediate service, or store them in refrigerated storage cabinets.
- Weigh or measure ingredients.
- Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items.
- Receive and store food supplies, equipment, and utensils in refrigerators, cupboards, and other storage areas.
- Stock cupboards and refrigerators, and tend salad bars and buffet meals.
- Remove trash and clean kitchen garbage containers.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (69.5% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (34.4%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (56.4%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Food Preparation Workers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 65% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 87% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 77% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 98% of occupations compared | — |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Higher on time pressure than 54% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 99% of occupations compared | 68% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 94% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 56% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 2.78%
- Occasional contact with others: 4.26%
- Contact with others about half the time: 6.8%
- Contact with others most of the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Constant contact with others: 41.93%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 20.49%
- Important: 28.51%
- Very important: 7.55%
- Extremely important: 6.68%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2024
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 35.05%
- Very important: 41.3%
- Extremely important: 23.65%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2024
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 1.23%
- Very little freedom: 33.9%
- Limited freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Some freedom: 18.03%
- A lot of freedom: 5.56%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2024
Time pressure
- Never: 2.45%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 36.28%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2024
Conflict situations
- Never: 67.74%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 11.76%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 12.78%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 3.45%
- Every day: 4.26%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 44.98%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 30.79%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 13.98%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.99%
- Every day: 4.26%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2024
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 3.45%
- Fairly serious: 9%
- Serious: 65.11%
- Very serious: 18.21%
- Extremely serious: 4.23%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2024
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O*NET-SOC 35-2021.00 · SOC 35-2021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8