Nutrition Services Culinary Associate

Mesa County Valley School District 51

Job Location:

Grand Junction, CO - USA

Monthly Salary: $ 17 - 19

Posted on: 30+ days ago

Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

Position Type:
Nutrition Services/Nutrition Services Associate

Date Posted:
9/29/2025

Location:
Grand Junction High School

Date Available:
2025-26

Closing Date:
10/04/2025

Job Title: Nutrition Services Culinary Associate
Pay Program: Support Staff	FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Reports to: Culinary Manager Nutrition Services	Pay Range:CH 6 $17.57 - $19.97
Work Year:176 Days / 7 Hours

VISION: We Fuel Successful Learning.

SUMMARY: Operating under the general supervision of the schools Culinary Manager employee is a member of the schools culinary team working to create and serve scratch produced meals to the Districts students. Performs Highly technical scratch food production duties utilizing all components of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act and Nourish Colorado Scratch School Meal Initiative. Employee is charged with providing well-balanced nutritious meals per approved USDA & Live Well recipe & production records. Serving high risk populations school food service activities require the highest degree of customer service skills production & food safety practices.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Job Duties
Using highly technical scratch meal production techniques employees provide well-balanced nutritious and tasteful meals to students. Employee uses a wide range of commercial kitchen equipment including but not limited to food processors steamers kettles immersion blenders and convection ovens as part of the scratch cooking environment. Cooking skills required include basic cooking principles for prep work baking stove top and knife work. District follows United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standardized recipes maintains production records and incorporates Nourish Co. scratch meal training into employees daily responsibilities.
Serving prepared meals as part of the schools culinary team in a friendly tactful and professional manner employee must adhere to the schools established mealtime schedules and maintain compliance with correct portion size and correct USDA Offer versus Serve addition employee is aware of and follows the USDA Counting & Claiming procedures as part of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act.
Ensuring the health and safety of students and staff is paramount as scratch ingredients are used at each site including raw proteins and produce products employee must incorporate a high degree of food safety knowledge and procedures. Employee must be knowledgeable of and maintain compliance with all District Colorado Department of Education USDA state and federal laws statutes and guidelines. Employee is also responsible for monitoring proper food and equipment temperatures using Health Analysis Critical Control Point (HAACP) standards and when necessary taking proper protocols for foods outside the safe range.
Focusing on the highest hygiene and sanitation standards employee performs cleaning tasks including but not limited to; dishwashing cleaning and sanitizing all food contact surfaces used for preparation cleaning all non-food contact surfaces such as floors shelving walls windows kitchen restroom facilities laundering of linens and towels etc. Employee follows all health & safety Vector training.
Rotating and cross-training in all scratch meal production and serve stations within the kitchen employee is able to easily adjust and change assigned tasks to ensure food quality safety and customer service standards are met. Duties will include point of sale (POS) and time clock computer usage as well as cash handling and daily deposit some circumstances the employees will need to be utilized at other school locations. All nutrition staff are required to work one annual food open house event per year to help promote & market our healthy school meal program to parents & community.
Assisting the Culinary Manager employee uses First-In First-Out (FIFO) and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) guidelines to rotate stock and manage inventory.
Other duties as assigned

EDUCATION AND RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE:

High school diploma or equivalent required (Acceptable education will be at the sole discretion of the District) D51 student16 or>working towards diploma
Position requires conversational English language skills

LICENSES REGISTRATIONS or CERTIFICATIONS:

Criminal background check required for hire;
Current Mesa County Food Handlers Card required within 90 days of hire
A variety of lift tests including carrying liquids of up to 50# is required at time of hire with recertification every three years;
Attend and successfully complete all staff development training as required by law or as directed by the Director of Nutrition Services.

TECHNICAL SKILLS KNOWLEDGE & ABILITIES:

Basic written communication skills using English;
Oral bi-lingual skills English/Spanish are desirable;
Ability to learn and comply with components of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act;
Ability and passion for culinary training in order to develop and grow their role with the District;
Ability to manage multiple priorities with frequent interruptions in a timely manner;
Ability to maintain confidentiality in all aspects of the job;
Ability to work collaboratively within a team setting;
Ability to follow and comply with the current Colorado Department of Education and District policies and guidelines regarding food preparation delivery and storage;
Ability to communicate interact and work effectively and cooperatively with students and people from diverse ethnic and educational backgrounds;
Ability to recognize the importance of safety in the workplace follow safety rules practice safe work habits utilize appropriate safety equipment and report unsafe conditions to the appropriate administrator.

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT OPERATING KNOWLEDGE:

Operating knowledge of and experience with institutional food service equipment; ovens warmers mixers steamers kettles meat slicers food processors sectionizers and immersion blenders etc.
Operating knowledge of and experience with mechanical dishwasher and three compartment sinks
Operating knowledge of and experience with personal computers and peripherals
Operating knowledge of and experience with typical office equipment such as telephones copier fax machine E-mail etc.

Salary & Benefits:
View all salary schedules for the current school year at: Information regarding D51 Benefits can be found here:

Required Experience:

Position Type:Nutrition Services/Nutrition Services AssociateDate Posted:9/29/2025Location:Grand Junction High SchoolDate Available:2025-26 Closing Date: 10/04/2025 Job Title: Nutrition Services Culinary Associate Pay Program: Support Staff FLSA Status: Non-Exempt Reports to: Culinary Manager ...