JOB DETAILS

Cafe and Catering Associate

CompanyHouston Food Bank
LocationHouston
Work ModeOn Site
PostedJanuary 14, 2026
About The Company
🍏 Serving Houston and Southeast Texas since 1982, Houston Food Bank’s mission is to provide food for better lives. We provide access to 120 million nutritious meals in 18 counties through our 1,600 community partners of food pantries, soup kitchens, social service providers and schools. Filling gaps on plates, we have a strong focus on healthy foods and fresh produce. In collaboration with our community, we advocate for policy change and racial equity, and promote dialogue on ways to increase access to food and to improve the lives of those in our communities, including services and connections to programs that address the root causes of hunger and are aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability: nutrition education, health management and help with securing state-funded assistance. We are a resource for individuals and families in times of hardship. #HoustonFoodBank #FoodforBetterLives
About the Role

Description

**Must be open to working a flexible work schedule with varying hours (5am-10pm), days or shifts (including nights, weekends) **  


POSITION SUMMARY:

The Cafe and Catering Associate is responsible for catering the Houston Food Bank’s banquet services and managing the café registers. This position setups up tables and food service areas for catering events, manages the café cash registers by greeting and welcoming guests, collecting payments, and providing pricing information. This position ensures a warm and welcoming guest experience to all Houston Food Bank customers.


Adhere to PACT values. (Purpose: Using our strengths passionately to contribute to our mission. Accountability: Choosing to rise above one’s circumstances and demonstrating ownership to achieve results. See It. Own It. Solve It. Do It. Courage: Standing up for what’s right and acting. Transparency: Doing things openly and honestly). 


ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

  1. Reliable, consistent, attendance is a requirement. This position requires punctuality and dependable attendance to meet the needs of the business, including attending and taking part in meetings and presentations.
  2. Collects payments.
  3. Answers customers questions about goods or services.
  4. Helps customers find products and pricing information.
  5. Issues receipts, refunds, credits, or changes due to customers.
  6. Greets customers entering and exiting the establishment.
  7. Monitors and balances the cash register. 
  8. Calculates and records the total amount of transactions. 
  9. Resolves and or escalates any complaints from customers to the supervisor.
  10. Maintains a clean work area and maintains personal hygiene.
  11. Communicates with staff involved with scheduling catering clients regarding menu requests, and special delivery requests. 
  12. Prepares, assembles, and sets up catering requests for delivery.
  13. Delivers, set ups, and service catered events.
  14. Cleans up and returns catered events to pantries. 
  15. Maintains an “on time” delivery schedule for catered events. 
  16. Acts as the “Guest Services Contact” between catered event participants and HFB.
  17. Organizes and maintains all conference area locations including storage areas.
  18. Keeps all equipment services ready and inventoried.
  19. Participates in assignments/projects, which achieve the established goals of HFB and the client.


SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.


Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education/Experience:

  • High School Diploma from an accredited school or general education development (GED) certificate
  • 1 year of experience working in a kitchen or restaurant environment preferred


Certificates, Licenses, and Registrations:

NA


Special Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability needed. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. (For best performance, the job holder in this position would be expected to show the right knowledge, skills, and abilities in the listed areas.)

  • Knowledge of basic cooking and baking skills, culinary terms, commercial food service equipment & quantified cooking
  • Courtesy and tact in dealing with guests, co-workers, as well as others in the community
  • Ability to perform basic arithmetic, including the use of percentages
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Ability to work with a diverse population
  • Strong administrational, organization, and follow-through abilities
  • Strong internal and external customer interaction skills
  • Time management skills and the ability to multi-task


COMPLIANCE:

Carries out responsibilities in accordance with HFB policies.


REASONING ABILITY:

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but uninvolved written or oral instructions. Ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability needed. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. (For best performance, the jobholder in this position would be expected to show the right knowledge, skills, and abilities in the listed areas.)


COMPETENCIES:

Action-Oriented / Customer Focus / Drives for Results / Informing / Approachability / Learning on the 

Fly / Perseverance / Self-development / Listening / Peer Relationships / Integrity and Trust / Functional/Technical Skills


PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. While performing the duties of the job, the employee is required daily to analyze and interpret data, communicate, and remain in a standing or stationary position for a significant amount of the workday; and often access, input, and retrieve information from the computer and other office productivity devices. The employee must regularly move about the kitchen and around the facility, use hands, wrists, and fingers to grip, type, and write. The employee must frequently lift 25 pounds. The employee will need to have the average ability to hear horns, warnings, and alerts associated with a warehouse.  


WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The job is generally performed in a kitchen environment, the employee is frequently exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, strong food-related smells, and outside weather conditions. The noise level in the office environment is typically quiet, but the employee will be occasionally exposed to loud noise levels (e.g., horns, fans).


TRAVEL REQUIRED:

No travel is required for this role.


This role supports hours of operations at the Houston Food Bank facilities, as necessary, and may require flexibility (e.g., times of disaster, community events, company events).


*Is legally able to work in the United States.


Key Skills
Customer ServiceCash HandlingCommunicationTime ManagementOrganizationCooking SkillsProblem SolvingTeamworkMulti-taskingHygieneCateringFood ServicePunctualityFlexibilityAttention to DetailGuest Services
Categories
Food & BeverageHospitalityCustomer Service & Support
Job Information
📋Core Responsibilities
The Cafe and Catering Associate is responsible for catering banquet services and managing café registers, ensuring a warm guest experience. This includes setting up catering events, collecting payments, and maintaining a clean work area.
📋Job Type
full time
📊Experience Level
0-2
💼Company Size
622
📊Visa Sponsorship
No
💼Language
English
🏢Working Hours
40 hours
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