Shelter Cook - Community Assistance Network

The Emergency Shelters mission is to provide a safe, clean, and supportive community which helps stabilize homeless women and families by promoting self-worth, providing linkages to community resources, and encouraging personal responsibility. The Assistant Kitchen Manager supports this mission by providing oversight to the shelter kitchen during weekend and holiday hours (including covering three meals per day and snacks). It is a part-time position (30 hours per week) and reports directly to the Kitchen Manager who reports directly to the Shelter Manager.

Job Purpose: Under the umbrella of CAN, the Homeless Shelter’s mission is to provide a safe, clean, and supportive community which helps stabilize homeless men, women, and families by promoting self-worth, providing linkages to community resources, and encouraging personal responsibility. The RA is responsible for enforcing the Shelter Resident Guidebook and assisting in providing a safe, clean, and supportive environment.

General Duties:

• Prepare high quality and nutritious meals for homeless residents (including children). This includes maintaining a ServSafe Certificate and preparing meals in accordance with all MD health and safety requirements.
• Preparing and serving meals and snacks on schedule and in accordance with the times outlined in the Shelter’s Resident Guest Handbook. This includes following the direction of the Kitchen Manager and adapting to variances in shelter donations.
• Assist volunteers in preparing and serving meals and ensuring their efforts also meet all health and safety requirements, as mandated by Maryland law.
• Work closely with other shelter staff to ensure residents carry out their chores/duties with a certain level of quality, ensuring dishes are washed and the kitchen is clean according to all shelter and state standards.
• Accept appropriate donations and assist with the inventory control of food and supplies donated on weekends. This includes dating, storing, and stocking food appropriately.
• Maintain a safe, secure, and healthy environment by establishing, following, and enforcing sanitation standards and procedures, complying with legal regulations. This means all tables and food preparation areas must be cleaned, wiped down and sanitized daily. Cleanliness ensures no germs are transferred to the food -which could result in a customer becoming sick or ill.
• Provide guidance and direction to residence in a courteous and respectful manner; understanding residents come from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and educational levels and a cornerstone of the shelter is to encourage personal responsibility.

Requirements

Minimum Skills/Qualifications:

• Minimum: High School Degree or equivalent.
• ServSafe Certified in Maryland.
• Self-starter; effective interpersonal skills; ability to work under pressure.
• Experience working with homeless or at-risk populations is preferred.
• Computer literacy and proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Valid State of Maryland driver’s license and transportation is preferred.

Benefits

At CAN, we believe every employee should have the resources to be their best. As part of our overall rewards, we offer benefits programs designed to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle including health, dental and vision insurance. We also offer other benefits like paid time off, financial and savings programs, 401k employer matching, and access to our employee assistance program and other discounts.