What does a food clerk do?

Food clerks are skilled employees who work either in grocery stores or supermarkets to assist customers with their food needs. In grocery stores, food clerks are required to scan food items for their customers and process their purchases as well as ensure that they have found everything they needed. They must assist in the store's inventory management by organizing and storing food merchandise in the backroom. Food clerks must also use their product knowledge to assist customers with questions and maintain customer satisfaction.
Food clerk responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real food clerk resumes:
- Exemplify a model of excellent customer service in keeping with Publix's orientation towards ensuring customer satisfaction.
- Open the new Goshen Kroger and assist in recruiting and training new staff.
Food clerk skills and personality traits
We calculated that 24% of Food Clerks are proficient in Wine, Basic Math, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Listening skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Food Clerks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Wine, 24%
Wine Steward and order writer for liquor department.
- Basic Math, 22%
Handled cash with knowledge of basic mathematics and functions on the cash register.
- Customer Service, 12%
Recognized by management and customers for excellent customer service and possible promotion to produce manger.
- Taking Care, 11%
Maintain an atmosphere of friendly, enthusiastic customer service with an emphasis of taking care of the customer.
- Stock Shelves, 4%
Back to Construction TradeDuties:Night crew, stock shelves, checker (register), customer service, load/unload truck.
- Store Shelves, 3%
Transfer merchandise from storage areas to store shelves, often in large quantities.
"wine," "basic math," and "customer service" are among the most common skills that food clerks use at work. You can find even more food clerk responsibilities below, including:
The three companies that hire the most food clerks are:
- Meijer136 food clerks jobs
- ShopRite Supermarkets Inc.
111 food clerks jobs
- Village Super Market Inc.60 food clerks jobs
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Food clerk vs. Meat department associate
A meat department associate is responsible for addressing customer needs and offering product suggestions based on the customer's preference. Meat department associates ensure the safe storage of the products, carefully loading and unloading the items from the distribution trucks to the appropriate area. They also assist with product packaging, price labeling, inspecting quality, and eliminating products that do not pass quality standards. A meat department associate may also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, such as taking orders, processing payments, and updating sales reports.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a food clerk are more likely to require skills like "wine," "basic math," "taking care," and "store shelves." On the other hand, a job as a meat department associate requires skills like "food handling," "grinders," "fresh product," and "food safety." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Meat department associates earn the highest salaries when working in the retail industry, with an average yearly salary of $30,510. On the other hand, food clerks are paid more in the retail industry with an average salary of $33,240.The education levels that meat department associates earn slightly differ from food clerks. In particular, meat department associates are 2.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a food clerk. Additionally, they're 5.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Food clerk vs. Dairy/frozen associate
An associate food scientist is primarily responsible for developing new recipes for a company, ensuring quality and marketability. They are also responsible for improving existing recipes, performing support tasks for a head scientist, conducting market research and analysis, monitoring the progress of projects, and maintaining all recipes' data and records, including nutrition value and ingredients. Furthermore, there are instances when an associate food scientist must manage the packaging and storing processes of food, ensuring consumers' health and safety.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, food clerk responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "wine," "taking care," "store shelves," and "hot food." Meanwhile, a dairy/frozen associate has duties that require skills in areas such as "food safety," "cleanliness," "math," and "pallets." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, dairy/frozen associates achieve similar levels of education than food clerks. They're 0.5% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 5.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Food clerk vs. Associate food scientist
A stower is responsible for scanning a product and appropriately placing it to the right shelf for customer's consumption. Duties of a stower include inspecting the item for any defects and escalating damaged items to the supervisor ensuring adequately labeled products. Other responsibilities include operating essential store equipment, adhering to the sanitary standards of the working area, and assisting customers with their concerns and inquiries. A stower should have excellent time-management skills and the ability to multi-task, especially on working with a fast-paced environment.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from food clerk resumes include skills like "wine," "basic math," "taking care," and "store shelves," whereas an associate food scientist is more likely to list skills in "quality food," "quality standards," "ice cream," and "food service. "
Associate food scientists earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $47,462. Comparatively, food clerks have the highest earning potential in the retail industry, with an average salary of $33,240.When it comes to education, associate food scientists tend to earn similar degree levels compared to food clerks. In fact, they're 0.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Food clerk vs. Stower
Even though a few skill sets overlap between food clerks and stowers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a food clerk might have more use for skills like "wine," "taking care," "hot food," and "safety standards." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of stowers require skills like "pet," "pallets," "cleanliness," and "math. "
In general, stowers earn the most working in the technology industry, with an average salary of $32,580. The highest-paying industry for a food clerk is the retail industry.In general, stowers hold similar degree levels compared to food clerks. Stowers are 0.2% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of food clerk
Updated January 8, 2025











