cook

cafeteria worker

food service worker

general worker

cashier

POMPTONIAN FOOD SERVICE

This is the perspective of a Food Service Director for two districts located about 20 mins away from each other. You’re literally trading pay for work/life balance, and you need to be conscious of this when you accept an offer here. 

If you’re anything like me, you went into the food services field because you love cooking and wanted to be around food, only to quickly figure out that work/life balance is pretty much not a thing in any “traditional” place you’d be able to be a “chef”. Then you had kids and realized you needed a change of pace. That’s where this particular area of food services (meaning K-12 lunch programs) excels. My *typical* workday is from 6 AM - 2 PM, which gives me enough time to pick my kids up from school, which is nice. Of course, it’s still a “work until you are finished” job, but the work itself is extremely easy and not very time consuming if you have some experience in food services already, so it’s pretty rare to leave the office after 2 PM.

That said, the pay is about 20% - 25% lower than someone at the FSD level could be making running a restaurant… not to mention you literally don’t have a job for 6 weeks during the summer. You need to be able to plan your finances around this and make sure it makes sense to take this job, lest you find yourself in a bad situation and end up having to take a second job, at which point you might as well just work the stressful job at the restaurant anyway.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part are the hours and close proximity to home.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Working in a kitchen is incredibly physically strenuous! Repetive movements lead to chronic use injuries. Plus, often, the people creating menus are out of touch with the realities of school kitchen constraints, what is reasonably doable, what students really eat, and what workers are able to do given time constraints. Additionally, working on your feet all day without breaks is actually painful. We do not get paid enough for the damage our bodies incur.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
In the kitchen where I work, there is a strong team spirit, but also bonding over lack of recognition or care for our difficult efforts.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
6:20--Pull out carts, set up deli, wrap muffins, serve breakfast options, chop lettuce for deli in between breakfast periods, as well as prep other foods for lunch service, stock fridges, keep running log of inventory, wash-dry-put away pots and pans whenever I have a chance, prep and serve lunch, keep work areas clean and sanitary, stock fridges in between each of four lunch periods, end of day count/inventory, stock for next day, pots and pans as available --1:10-1:20 end work day.

I came in to work everyone would say good morning to each other, would talk to each other as we did our jobs.  We all tried to help each other when needed.  
I started out as part-time salad bar cashier working on a manual register.  As I worked up I learned other jobs and skills and gained hours.  I like working with the children during the lunches.  Some would laugh and talk to you.  Getting a shy child to smile and talk was very rewarding.
I did not work directly with Pomptonian, as the Monroe Twp. Food Director was our immediate boss.
We all worked together well, as many of us became friends outside of work. We would have parties or just go out to lunch.
Getting the opportunity to work your way up could be challenging as you would have to wait for someone to retire or leave to move up.
Working with children of every age group and watching the kids you know grow up, was the most enjoyable part. Making friends with other workers, that you did not know lived in the same town.

Working at Pomptonian was exactly what I loved to do.  I love to cook for people.  I would make different salads, chicken dishes and the teachers and administrative staff would love to buy lunch.  The entire school loved my soups - homemade.  I learned how to definitely be a team player, I always am, but working with 17 women can be challenging and each and every day I smile - I was the first one in so I saw who was in the right mood for the day.  I loved all of my co-workers.   The hardest part of the job was the physical aspect of the job.  So much lifting heavy trays, cases of food, the consistent movement of in and out of the oven.  My bosses were really nice - they did their best.  

I learned, looking in as an outsider, that you cannot treat people differently, all that work together in the same enviornment  should be treated as equals.  That's how I would approach each day.  Every job is important, every person is doing a job for the same company so everyone should be treated the same from the most senior to the newest person.

Don’t apply.  They will bait and switch whatever offer they give you.  First they will hire you for a specific location.  Will hire you for part time position then will say will have to give your hours to someone else and will give you option to travel to different school.  If you don’t take it because it is not convenient then you loose and ultimately you end up leaving the job.  They have problems with their quotas so it is open door policy if quotas are not met they lay you off with no explanation and will say you have to take travel position because we have to give your hours to someone else.  Don’t Waite your time thinking it is great hours when you have kids.  It is bait and switch.  Highest turnover.  You are lucky if they keep you for more than a month.  Will pick on you with smallest things.  Kids don’t get fresh food.  It is stale and cold.  Feel bad for the kids for having to pay for the cold mushy food

What is the best part of working at the company?
Seeing students and off for summer

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Unfair treatment  
Favoritism of certain employees 
Unprofessional district mgrs
Non-merit based raises
No recognition for being a good employee 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Unprofessional 
Too many people allowed to take off at will w/o consequences 
Lack of communication 
A lot of work only for a few good people and sockets eat all day and slide but get bigger raises because DM likes them

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
In early do my opening tasks 
Cover next job for missing employee 
Help next employee get work done on time
Do my tasks
Cover another missing employee
Cover phones for DM who starts daily 8:30-9:00

Do my tasks quickly in order to avoid being on click too late or there’s an issue

Learned how to work the cash registers.  Dealing with the students was enjoyable.  Most of co-workers were great to work with.   Management was really awful, no support for employees when someone complained about a manager at other schools, etc..management did nothing about problem. If one got a raise, it was 25 cents. How insulting as the employees worked really hard.  Had to always look busy even when it was slow and there was nothing to do No place for employees to park at some of the school sites.  Best part was being able to "float" to other cafeterias in school district to see how other managers supervised their cafeteria as they all did not function the same way;..

can be stressful at times, hard work, can get very hot working in kitchen with very little air flow.  
 so nice to see kids as they grow up and move on to their next school.  

What is the best part of working at the company?
Nights and weekends off. You work day shifts and have nights weekends and holidays off 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
They want you to always do more and more tasks and you never get paid for any extra time, For instance, I used to get an extra paid hour to clean the fryers twice a month, then I had 45 minutes, then a half hour. Now I'm expected to do that hob for no extra time worked.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Always in a rush to get work done on time because there are lazy people , who don't do their share of the work that needs to be done, but management is afraid to say anything to them

In the beginning the job was wonderful my 2 co-workers are great women’s we are still friends and in the beginning so was the manager until she started to bring her personal issues to the job taking it out on her employees. That’s the reason why I left the job I couldn’t take it anymore and wasn’t going to you don’t take your personal issues to the work place I had beginning to get physical sick working around her. Your company is great and I would love to continue to work for your company but not in the same school district where she work. Everyone new I was a very hard worker i love to work and I don’t mind taken order from a manager but the way she treats people’s is unexceptionable.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Cook 19 salaries reported	$17.51 per hour
Cafeteria worker 19 salaries reported	$16.02 per hour
Food service worker 21 salaries reported	$16.26 per hour
General worker 8 salaries reported	$16.49 per hour
Cashier 5 salaries reported	$16.00 per hour

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