Food Preparation Workers
Perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.
893,600 people do this job in the US. $35,320 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 3%
- 0%
- 97%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 3%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 31 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Prepare a variety of foods, such as meats, vegetables, or desserts, according to customers' orders or supervisors' instructions, following approved procedures.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Wash, peel, and cut various foods, such as fruits and vegetables, to prepare for cooking or serving.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Vacuum dining area and sweep and mop kitchen floor.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 33 min17 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Remove trash and clean kitchen garbage containers.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Receive and store food supplies, equipment, and utensils in refrigerators, cupboards, and other storage areas.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 29 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Butcher and clean fowl, fish, poultry, and shellfish to prepare for cooking or serving.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 33 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Stock cupboards and refrigerators, and tend salad bars and buffet meals.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Assemble meal trays with foods in accordance with patients' diets.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).