How to hire a nutrition assistant

How to hire a nutrition assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step nutrition assistant hiring guide:

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

What does a nutrition assistant do?

Post a nutrition assistant job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The nutrition assistant hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A nutrition assistant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, nutrition assistants from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of nutrition assistant salaries for various roles:

   Type of Nutrition Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Nutrition Assistant	A Nutrition Assistant makes sure that patients in a healthcare unit are fed according to their dietary needs. They assist in kitchen prep and cooking food.	$12-19
   Diet Technician	A Diet Technician identifies patients with nutritional risk using scoring guidelines and initiates referrals for dietetic assessment. They oversee food production or service and assist dietitians or nutritionists in food service supervision and planning.	$12-19
   Dietary Aide	A dietary aide is responsible for assisting food preparations and ensuring that the meals adhere to an individual's specific diet plans. Dietary aides must strictly follow sanitation standards and hygiene procedures to guarantee the safety and quality of the service... Show more	$10-16

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Food Service
   • Compassion
   • Food Intake
   • Work Ethic
   • Diet Orders
   • Patient Care
   • Food Handling
   • Food Preparation
   • Basic Math
   • Tray Line
   • Food Safety
   • Nutrition Services

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Coordinate all walk-through visible inspections to achieve overall cleanliness and order within each facility.
   • Initiate customer relations and assist patients with their dietary menu selections and restrictions.
   • Input children diet and cost via POS system.
   • Inform other DTR members and students of career opportunities and CEU events.
   • Attend conferences and trainings as required, maintain require DTR CEU's and portfolio.
   • Comply with HACCP guidelines and ensures proper washing and sanitizing of work areas and equipment.

   More nutrition assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your nutrition assistant job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A nutrition assistant 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 nutrition assistant in Nebraska may be lower than in Oregon, and an entry-level nutrition assistant usually earns less than a senior-level nutrition assistant. Additionally, a nutrition assistant 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 nutrition assistant salary

   $15.49hourly

   $32,229 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level nutrition assistant salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average nutrition assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Oregon	$42,952	$21
   2	Washington	$41,946	$20
   3	New York	$37,483	$18
   4	Minnesota	$37,253	$18
   5	New Jersey	$36,834	$18
   6	California	$35,150	$17
   7	Delaware	$34,364	$17
   8	Massachusetts	$33,679	$16
   9	Ohio	$31,917	$15
   10	Nevada	$31,192	$15
   11	Colorado	$29,847	$14
   12	Missouri	$27,200	$13
   13	Virginia	$27,100	$13
   14	Oklahoma	$26,531	$13
   15	Florida	$26,329	$13
   16	Kansas	$26,181	$13
   17	Texas	$26,175	$13
   18	Idaho	$24,696	$12
   19	Louisiana	$23,101	$11
   20	Tennessee	$22,587	$11

   Average nutrition assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$38,288	$18.41	1
   2	Mercy Corps	$37,419	$17.99
   3	CCI Health & Wellness Services	$36,847	$17.71	1
   4	Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center	$36,012	$17.31
   5	True Care Home Care	$35,393	$17.02
   6	Hackensack Meridian Health	$34,840	$16.75	10
   7	Baystate Health	$34,754	$16.71	1
   8	Huntington Hospital	$34,700	$16.68
   9	Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County	$34,626	$16.65
   10	San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance	$34,084	$16.39
   11	Springwell	$33,947	$16.32
   12	Wellpath	$33,916	$16.31
   13	University of Rochester	$33,725	$16.21	8
   14	Hoag	$33,608	$16.16
   15	New London Hospital	$33,605	$16.16
   16	Eastern Connecticut Health Network (echn)	$33,485	$16.10
   17	North Monterey County Unified School District	$33,437	$16.08	1
   18	Northeast Valley Health	$33,275	$16.00
   19	Clovis Unified School District	$33,254	$15.99	2
   20	Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium	$33,149	$15.94

4. Writing a nutrition assistant job description

   A nutrition assistant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a nutrition assistant job description:

   Nutrition assistant job description example

   Job DescriptionMcLean Hospital is a comprehensive psychiatric hospital committed to providing easy access to superior quality, cost-effective mental health services in the Boston area, Massachusetts and beyond. Since 1811, McLean Hospital has been a world leader in the treatment of mental illness and chemical dependency, research into the cause of mental illness and the training of generations of mental health care providers. McLean's multidisciplinary programs treat a broad range of psychiatric illnesses across the full continuum of care.
   
   Works as an integral part of the health care/food service management team of Eating Disorders Treatment Program.
   PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
   Prepares all meals and snacks for patients efficiently according to recipe specifications and allergy restrictions while preventing waste and adhering to budget. Correct weekly menu cycles from which patients choose meal, monitor the meal selection in accordance with Clinical Dietitian recommendations. Demonstrates the ability to ensure food, kitchen equipment and work surface sanitation standards are maintained.
   Assists in patient supervision of meals along with CRC staff; includes supervision in Cafeteria privileges, on restaurant outings, and special events planned by dept. for patient activities, e.g. bake sales to raise
   
   money for community causes chosen by patients as part of program Community Service group.
   Contribute to positive patient services by providing safe and high-quality food. Works in tandem with the Nutrition Coordinator and Clinical Dietitians on recipe development. Follow food storage standards according to regulatory agencies and best practices. Maintains all daily temperature logs for all refrigerators and freezers per Joint Commission of Accreditation of Hospital guidelines. Adheres to daily, weekly, monthly schedule for kitchen and food storage spaces. Performs all duties as assigned. Supervised by Nutrition Coordinator as delegate of Program Director. Must collaborate with Clinical Dietitians of the Klarman Center and other interdisciplinary staff. All McLean team members are expected to consistently demonstrate our values of integrity, compassion, respect, diversity, teamwork, excellence and innovation in their work activities and interactions.
   
   Qualifications
   Complete at least a 2-year Associate's Degree OR two years of a 4-year degree. Relative experience in foodservice, nutrition, dietary preferred. Degree need not be in Nutrition.; Degree in related area preferred but not required.
   
   Prior healthcare experience preferred but not required. MA driver's license for van during staff supervised restaurant outings.
   
   SKILLS/ ABILITIES/ COMPETENCIES REQUIRED:
   
   Requires competence in both written and verbal communication. Ability to organize and set priorities, ability to concentrate on details in a fast-paced environment. SERVSAFE certification preferred. CPR training, EPI pen knowledge preferred but not required.
   
   All employees must possess basic computer skills to use a variety of electronic or online systems for communication, clinical and administrative purposes.
   
   EEO Statement
   It is the policy of McLean Hospital to affirmatively provide equal opportunity to all qualified applicants for employment and existing employees without regard to their race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, ancestry, protected veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy or a condition related to pregnancy including, but not limited to, lactation or the need to express breast milk for a nursing child, or any other basis that would be in violation of any applicable law or regulation. Partner's Healthcare is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find nutrition assistants 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 nutrition assistants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level nutrition assistants 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.

   To find nutrition assistant candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit nutrition assistants, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   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 nutrition assistant

   Once you've selected the best nutrition assistant 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 also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new nutrition assistant. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a nutrition assistant?