Kitchen Porter

Want to work in a kitchen with a regular schedule that doesn't include nights and weekends? Join the Ceres team and help to cultivate our youth leaders while delivering nourishing, healthy meals to those in need!

DEPARTMENT:      Culinary Operations

REPORTS TO:        Kitchen Manager

LOCATION:               Novato Kitchen

FLSA STATUS:        Regular, Part time, Non-Exempt

HOURS:                     24 per week

Typical shifts run during the following days/times (subject to change based on production needs and conditions): 

• Monday - Thursday 11:00am - 5:00pm or 12:00pm-6:00pm  
• Friday additional hours for admin and meetings as needed
• Occasional nights and weekends for periodic events.
  

Position Summary

The Porter is responsible for assisting the kitchen team to ensure the smooth operation of culinary production shifts. The Porter reports to the Kitchen Manager and works under the daily direction of the Lead Chef with adult and youth volunteers to execute food preparation, put away food orders, packaging, bagging, dish washing, and keeping a clean, orderly, well-maintained kitchen.

This role requires a fingerprint background check.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Maintains food safety and sanitation protocols in all aspects of work.
• Maintains a clean kitchen, helping to keep the kitchen neat and orderly during and between shifts.
• Properly washes and sorts soiled dishes, and preps foods as needed. Keeps dish area free of clutter and organized.
• Sets up dish stations, including dish machines and sinks.
• Maintains clean / dry floors throughout the kitchen and throughout the shift.
• Helps with deep cleaning and organizational tasks, including laundry, floor mats, and more as required.
• Assists in light food preparation, packaging, and bagging; supports in the execution of the daily cooking plan as determined by the Kitchen Manager.
• Receives deliveries; properly labels, rotates, and stores product.
• Supports adult production and youth shifts as needed: helps to set up and close shifts.
• Supports emergency food provision efforts when Ceres is activated by Sonoma County.
• Regularly reads and responds to Ceres emails daily.
• Ensures adult volunteers and youth are communicated with respectfully and oriented, helps them feel welcome and appreciated.
• Models Ceres’ culture and values; maintains an atmosphere of non-judgement and respect for diverse value sets.
• Attends Youth Program staff meetings and trainings.
• Regular, reliable, predictable attendance is required for all shifts and meetings.
• Other duties as required and requested.

Qualifications

• Food handler’s certification required.
• Past experience in a professional kitchen environment a plus, not required.
• Ability to stay calm and keep a sense of humor in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to perform basic computer functions using Microsoft Office.
• Ability to communicate warmly and clearly.
• Demonstrates a good awareness of self and an ability to self-assess.
• Ability and desire to be in a work environment that values working as a team, relationships and giving and receiving honest feedback.
• Commitment to Ceres Community Project mission, values, and operating principles.

Physical Demands / Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a staff member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand in a kitchen; use hands and fingers to operate various kitchen utensils and equipment; talk and hear to communicate with coworkers.
• The job requires regular chopping, lifting, cooking, and sorting.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements to ensure food safety standards.
• Moderate lifting of up to 50 pounds, bending, stooping, and climbing a ladder is occasionally required.
• The work environment is primarily indoors with occasional loud noise in the kitchen area. (ie. pots/pans banging, water running, multiple people talking at once, some music).
• Occasionally the employee is required to work out-of-doors representing Ceres at events.

COVID-19

Ceres is following the guidance and requirements of the health departments of Sonoma and Marin counties and the state of California. We have protocols in place for prevention of and response to COVID-19 and all new staff will be briefed on these in their onboarding. We need a commitment from all staff that they will abide by these protocols.

Operating Principles

• Heart Centered & Love Guided - We are committed to expressing love, trust, respect and integrity in our lives, work, and organization.
• Everything Matters - Nothing is left out. We work to have every action and choice lead to the greatest positive impact.
• Young People are the Future - Young People are intelligent, responsible, capable, creative, and caring, and must be central participants in shaping our collective future.
• Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive - We commit to championing policies and practices of social equity that build a diverse, inclusive, and healthy workplace and food system.

Ceres Organization

Founded in 2007, Ceres Community Project works to build healthy communities by restoring whole, organic and locally grown food to its place as the foundation of health, empowering youth, and connecting people in heart-centered ways to others and the earth.

Ceres Community Project's main program, Healing Meals for Healthy Communities, provides free and low-cost nourishing organic meals, nutrition education and caring support to people facing serious illness. All of the meals are prepared by teens that learn about growing, cooking and eating healthy whole foods and the connection between diet and health, develop life and work-ready skills, and discover their power to make a difference. The Healing Meals Program improves healthy eating behaviors among clients, teens and adult volunteers and educates the whole community about the link between healthy eating and the health of both people and planet. It also strengthens the social fabric of the community, another factor that is at the root of health. In times of disaster, Ceres is an emergency nutrition provider for our community.

In addition to operating three program sites in Marin and Sonoma counties, Ceres has trained 13 communities nationally to replicate our model. We are also active at the state and national level in advocating for policies that support equitable access to healthy food and health care, including reimbursement for medically tailored meals by insurers. For more information, please visit www.ceresproject.org.

Ceres Community Project is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions at Ceres are made without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin/ancestry, age, disability, marital & veteran status or any other status protected by laws or regulations.

Salary : $19