How to hire a food handler

How to hire a food handler, step by step

Here's a step-by-step food handler hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a food handler job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new food handler
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the food handler you need to hire. Certain food handler roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect food handler also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents food handler salaries for various positions.

   Type of Food Handler	Description	Hourly rate
   Food Handler	Food and beverage serving and related workers perform a variety of customer service, food preparation, and cleaning duties in restaurants, cafeterias, and other eating and drinking establishments.	$12-18
   Kitchen Staff	The kitchen staff consists of preparation workers who execute several routine tasks as directed by chefs, food service managers, and cooks. These works should have the ability to follow cooking instructions and deliver well-prepared meals... Show more	$11-17
   Crew Member	Crew members assist in the overall daily operations of a business, including restaurants, hotels, resorts, and other industries needing a large workforce. Crew members' duties include attending on a customer's needs, processing payments, taking orders, and handling sanitation services... Show more	$10-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Basic Math
   • Customer Service
   • Math
   • Food Service
   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Food Orders
   • Customer Orders
   • Food Safety Procedures
   • Food Preparation
   • POS
   • Safety Standards
   • Food Products
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Customer Complaints

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Set up and operate point of sales (POS) cash registers, receive money and return proper change.
   • Record patient information to gain knowledge of special allergies and special diets to promote better safety and health management.
   • Enter orders into POS system, report daily sales to managers, conduct monthly inventory, and perform heavy cash flow.
   • Monitor and maintain cleanliness, sanitation, and organization of assign station and service areas.
   • Maintain clean work areas including display cases, walk-in coolers, fryers and other cooking equipment.
   • Prepare and serve food samples using small appliances such as microwaves, fryers, skillets, coffee makers and knives.

   More food handler duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your food handler job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A food handler salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a food handler in Mississippi may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level food handler usually earns less than a senior-level food handler. Additionally, a food handler with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average food handler salary

   $15.66hourly

   $32,581 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level food handler salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average food handler salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$39,413	$19
   2	Michigan	$36,257	$17
   3	Arizona	$35,564	$17
   4	Colorado	$34,687	$17
   5	California	$34,541	$17
   6	New Jersey	$33,471	$16
   7	Texas	$30,558	$15
   8	Nevada	$30,430	$15
   9	Georgia	$28,928	$14
   10	Illinois	$28,061	$13
   11	Oklahoma	$27,505	$13
   12	Virginia	$27,440	$13
   13	Alabama	$27,257	$13
   14	Florida	$25,754	$12

   Average food handler salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Syracuse University	$38,908	$18.71	1
   2	Cargill	$37,835	$18.19	12
   3	Community Housing Innovations	$35,149	$16.90
   4	University Medical Center of Southern Nevada	$35,054	$16.85
   5	Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York	$33,649	$16.18
   6	Live Nation Entertainment	$32,353	$15.55	19
   7	Tyson Foods	$32,165	$15.46	4
   8	BRC	$32,114	$15.44	2
   9	Compass Group USA	$31,709	$15.24	3,853
   10	Bennington College	$31,155	$14.98
   11	The Walt Disney Company	$31,005	$14.91	31
   12	PeopleReady	$30,866	$14.84	50
   13	Randstad North America, Inc.	$30,695	$14.76
   14	Automation Personnel Services	$30,264	$14.55	9
   15	House of Blues	$29,906	$14.38
   16	Carl's Jr. India	$29,550	$14.21	21
   17	Children's Home Society of Florida	$28,469	$13.69
   18	Police Athletic League	$24,111	$11.59	1
   19	Catholic Charities of The Archdiocese of Chicago	$24,041	$11.56

4. Writing a food handler job description

   A job description for a food handler role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a food handler job description:

   Food handler job description example

   Job Details:
   
   Come join the Team that is feeding American.
   
   Food Handler/Food Packager (General Laborer)
   
   Come join the Chicago Bruss Team and help make some of the finest fresh meat products available on the market. Applicants will be considered for General Laborer positions as a Food Handler/Food Packager in any department that may include, but are not limited to Top Butt Line, Bone-In Line, Ground Beef, Packaging, Marination and Distribution. As we produce the finest cuts of beef and pork, some positions may require the use of a knife and lifting up to 40 pounds. The production areas range in temperatures of 36 to 42 degrees to insure freshness and to prevent rapid deterioration.
   
   2nd Shift Positions: 2:00pm - 11:00pm (or later. Times may vary)
   
   At Tyson Foods, the safety of our team members is our top priority. For that reason, successful applicants for this position must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by their 45th day of employment. Successful applicants will need to show proof of at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on or before their start date.
   
   New benefits effective Jan 2022 include 1 week paid vacation after completing 6 months of full time employment, up to 20 paid earned time off to be used for personal or medical issues and education assistance upon coming probationary period.
   
   Relocation Assistance Eligible:
   
   No
   
   Work Shift:
   
   B Shift (United States of America)
   
   Hourly Applicants ONLY -You must complete the task after submitting your application to provide additional information to be considered for employment.
   
   Tyson is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, national origin, color, religion, age, genetics, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status.
   
   CCPA Notice. If you are a California resident, and would like to learn more about what categories of personal information we collect when you apply for this job, and how we may use that information, please read our CCPA Job Applicant Notice at Collection, click here.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find food handlers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any food handlers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level food handlers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your food handler job on Zippia to find and recruit food handler candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with food handler candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new food handler

   Once you've selected the best food handler candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new food handler. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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