Kitchen & Production Associate
Farm To Summit | Durango, CO
Full-Time | Year-Round
Monday–Friday | 9:00–5:00 with flexibility
Pay: Starting at $21–25/hour depending on experience
Come help us make the best backpacking meals on the market.
At Farm To Summit, we transform locally grown and "imperfect" produce into award-winning dehydrated meals and lattes that are packed with flavor, nutrition, and purpose. We believe food should taste incredible, support local farmers, reduce waste, and help people spend more time outside.
We're a small but rapidly growing food company based in Durango, Colorado, and we're looking for someone who wants to grow alongside us. This is a hands-on production role where you'll spend your days cooking, packaging, and helping create products that are now sold nationwide.
If you're looking for a positive workplace with predictable hours, a supportive team, and none of the chaos of restaurant life, we'd love to meet you.
Why You'll Love Working Here
- Starting pay: $21–25/hour (depending on experience)
- No nights. No weekends. Ever.
- Paid lunch breaks
- Paid company holidays
- Consistent Monday–Friday schedule
- Employee discount on Farm To Summit products
Benefits become available after 6 months of employment and include:
- 70% employer-paid health insurance
- 401(k) with company match
- Paid Time Off (PTO) accrual
What Your Week Looks Like
Every day is a little different, but responsibilities include:
Kitchen Production (~70%)
- Kitchen production will be roughly 70% of your typical day
- Wash, chop, weigh, and prepare ingredients
- Cook large batches of noodles, vegetables, and meals in a 40G tilt skillet
- Load, unload, and monitor commercial dehydrators
- Follow recipes, batch logs, and SOPs with accuracy
- Wash and maintain kitchen equipment and workstations
Production & Packaging (~30%)
- Packaging will be roughly 30% of your typical day.
- Apply labels to packaging
- Weigh and portion meals and latte mixes
- Package products with speed and accuracy
- Assist with production line setup and cleanup
- Help organize inventory and maintain an efficient workspace
Food Safety & Quality
- Maintain a clean, organized production environment
- Follow food safety and sanitation procedures
- Complete production records accurately
- Help ensure every product leaving our facility meets our quality standards
Who We're Looking For
Attitude matters more than experience.
We're looking for someone who takes pride in doing great work, enjoys staying busy, and genuinely likes being part of a small team.
Our ideal teammate is:
- Self-motivated and able to manage their own workflow. Much of this role is completed independently, so we're looking for someone who can prioritize tasks, stay organized, and keep production moving without needing constant direction.
- Highly organized with excellent time management. You can look at a list of tasks, determine what needs to happen first, and efficiently accomplish the day's goals.
- Always looking for the next productive task. If your station is finished, you naturally jump into dishes, cleaning, prep, packaging, or wherever the team needs help next.
- Adaptable and comfortable switching gears. Every day is a little different, and priorities can shift quickly in a growing business.
- Positive, energetic, and brings good vibes to work every day. A great attitude is one of the most important qualifications for this role.
- Comfortable working on your feet for most of the day
- Willing to tackle the less glamorous jobs—including dishes and cleaning—with the same attitude as everything else
- Detail-oriented and able to follow recipes, batch logs, and SOPs precisely.
- Reliable and shows up ready to work
- Adaptable in a fast-growing company where priorities sometimes change
- Open to feedback and always looking to improve
- Able to regularly lift up to 50 pounds
- Likes dogs (seriously...they're around.)
Previous experience in a commercial kitchen, food manufacturing, warehouse, or production environment is a plus—but it's not required. We can teach the skills. We can't teach work ethic, positivity, or a great attitude.
What It's Like to Work Here
We're not a restaurant.
There are no late nights, weekend shifts, or toxic kitchen culture.
Instead, you'll work alongside a small team that genuinely enjoys what we do. We value respect, accountability, kindness, and continuous improvement. Everyone pitches in, everyone is treated with respect, and no task is "below" anyone—including the owner. Every person on our team has a meaningful impact on our success.
The Rhythm of Our Business
Farm To Summit is a seasonal business, and our pace reflects that.
During the winter months, production is typically a bit slower, giving us more time for deep cleaning, organization, process improvements, and preparing for the busy season.
Spring, summer, and fall are a different story. As demand ramps up, production moves quickly and efficiency becomes essential. Some days you'll be moving from one task to the next all day long, while other days are more relaxed and focused.
We're looking for someone who enjoys both rhythms—someone who can appreciate the slower seasons while thriving in a fast-paced environment when it's time to go. Flexibility, adaptability, and a willingness to jump in wherever needed are key to succeeding on our team.
Physical Requirements
This is an active production position. You'll spend most of the day:
- Standing and moving throughout the facility
- Lifting bins and ingredients weighing up to 50 pounds
- Working around commercial kitchen equipment
- Performing repetitive food preparation and packaging tasks
- Maintaining speed while ensuring quality and accuracy
About Farm To Summit
Farm To Summit creates award-winning dehydrated meals using locally grown produce that might otherwise go to waste. By partnering with regional farms, we help reduce food waste while creating meals that fuel adventures across the country.
We're proud to be a woman-owned company built around great food, sustainability, and a workplace where people genuinely enjoy coming to work every day.
How to Apply
Please send your resume and a note about yourself and why this position interests you to [email protected] with the subject line: Kitchen & Production Associate
Tell us why you'd be excited to join the Farm To Summit team.
Farm To Summit is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome.
Pay: $21.00 - $25.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Paid training
Work Location: In person
