How To Become A Food Supervisor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a food supervisor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Food supervisors are responsible for directing and coordinating the total operation of retail food operations, preparation, and service, as well as vending and catering for the assigned full-service campus. They plan, assign, and review work of assigned staff, adjusting work assignments as necessary to respond to fluctuating workloads. They also lead sustainability and recycling efforts at an assigned campus food services location, earning an average salary of $36,000 annually or $17 per hour.

Food supervisors are professionals who lead by example. They ensure that the best customer service is received by staff and clients by assisting with preparing and serving all meals and beverages to the customers. They maintain cleanliness and replenishing of vending machines and handle a variety of difficult situations using tact and diplomacy. They also analyze and understand kitchen equipment malfunctions while scheduling and overseeing equipment repairs.

Food supervisors typically hold an associate's degree in culinary arts or a related field. They are expected to have progressively responsible food handling experience related to an area of assignment and knowledge of cash handling principles and practices.

ScoreFood SupervisorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,414

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.1

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.86%

Asian 6.27%

Black or African American 10.90%

Hispanic or Latino 17.56%

Unknown 5.43%

White 58.98%

Gender

female 45.70%

male 54.30%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress Level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

5.0

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.5

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a food supervisor

Explore food supervisor education requirements

Most common food supervisor degrees

Bachelor's

36.3 %

High School Diploma

25.6 %

Associate

24.1 %

Start to develop specific food supervisor skills

Skills	Percentages
HACCP	18.17%
Problem Resolution	18.03%
Safety Training	16.02%
Safety Regulations	7.04%
Customer Service	6.55%

Complete relevant food supervisor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New food supervisors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a food supervisor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real food supervisor resumes.

Research food supervisor duties and responsibilities

Lead shifts while personally preparing bakery items and executing requests base on require specifications.
Maintain all food and beverage storerooms in proper condition to ensure cleanliness, freshness, and organization.
Inspect all storage and food services preparation areas daily to ensure proper handling and cleanliness standards are met.
Travel to find better products that utilize the companies finances better while still providing the best culinary experience for the customer.

Prepare your food supervisor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your food supervisor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a food supervisor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Food Supervisor Resume templates

Build a professional Food Supervisor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Food Supervisor resume.

Apply for food supervisor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a food supervisor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do food supervisors rate their job?

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Food Supervisor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

The most thing I would like to work stewarding supervisor is you will improve your English very well and also you meet new people and to know each other and get friends and then also you will have good relationships with the kitchen people.

Cons

Stewarding supervisor is the thing I don’t like is before the guest coming the kitchen people should be ready on time because if you late to deliver the food the service people blame you