Summer Meals Intern

Description

Our Mission

Our mission is to leverage the power of food to end hunger and build healthier communities.

Our Vision

We believe that the fight against hunger and the fight against poverty are one and the same. We envision a future in which food is recognized as a human right and every person is able to feed themselves and their families in dignity. Together, we work to create a more nourished, prosperous region. 

The Foodlink Way

Act With Compassion

Take Responsibility

Be a Team Player

Listen, Learn, Adapt   

Job Title: Summer Meals Intern

Department: Community Kitchen Operations

Reports to: Kitchen Programs Manager

Status: Hourly, Non-Exempt, Full-Time

Schedule: 9am - 3pm, M-F

Job Level:(1) Intern

Updated: May 2026

JOB SUMMARY

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP, also known as Summer Meals) provides meals during the summer to children

who eat free or reduced-price lunch during the school year. Foodlink’s community kitchen serves over 70 of these meal

sites throughout the summer, including the delivery of meals on the Mobile Summer Meals Truck which makes stops in

the City of Rochester at parks, libraries, and other areas that children congregate with the goal of providing nutritious

food to as many children as possible.

The Summer Meals Intern will work a 30-35 hour per week schedule from June to September. The Temporary Summer Meals Intern will work with the Community Kitchen team to provide administrative and compliance support for meal programs including summer camps, recreation centers, sports camps, and other sites and will report to the Kitchen Programs Manager.

This is a temporary, paid internship that offers valuable experience in public health, nutrition, and food service management. The intern will have the opportunity to work with a dedicated team and gain practical skills in administrative and compliance support. The position is ideal for candidates who are passionate about making a positive impact on the community through food and nutrition.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Daily travel to Summer Meals site locations within of Rochester and the surrounding area
• Monitoring and follow up, including being present for the duration of the meal or snack, communicating expectations to the partner site coordinator, interacting with the children, and completing necessary paperwork
• Learn and demonstrate strong working understanding of nutrition, food safety, and program implementation guidelines. Be able to communicate these courteously and with authority. 
• Manage program records and files including attendance records, meal counts, and other relevant documents.
• Assist all capacity and compliance efforts of the Kitchen program team, including maintaining consistent communication with sites and reviewing all documentation. 
• Assist administrative tasks at the Community Kitchen to enhance efficiency and streamline processes and procedures. 
• Represent Foodlink in a professional manner whenever interfacing with customers, donors, and volunteers.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

• High School degree or equivalent, Associates or Bachelor degree a plus.
• Minimum 1-2 years relevant work or volunteer experience. 
• Valid driver’s license with a good driving record.
• Customer Service experience.
• Basic math and record keeping skills.
• Exhibits a high level of attention to detail 
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Spanish is helpful
• Friendly, customer-oriented personality and a professional attitude and appearance at all times 

We are actively seeing a diverse pool of candidates for this position and strongly encourage applications from candidates of color.

SALARY AND BENEFITS  

This is a full-time position paid on an hourly basis, range starting at $16.00/hour (DOE). This position is not eligible for health benefits or paid time off (PTO). This position is eligible for New York State Paid Sick Leave, accrued at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 hours per year.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand and talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to use hands to handle or feel items such as documents. The employee is frequently required to stand and walk for long periods of time. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision and ability to adjust focus. Able to lift bulk objects or objects weighing up to 50 pounds.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a team member encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet Note: The above description is illustrative of tasks and responsibilities. It is not meant to be all- inclusive. Employees will follow other instructions and perform other related duties as required. 

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Foodlink is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. At Foodlink we believe that anti-hunger work is only possible with a commitment to removing barriers caused by systems of oppression that perpetuate hunger and poverty. We recognize that systematic injustice and bias disproportionately impact some identities more than others. 

Foodlink is actively working to center equity- the fair treatment of all people- in everything that we do so that everyone in our region has access to nourishing food that reflects and values cultural differences.

Foodlink is committed to listening and supporting solutions to hunger that are sourced from people and communities with lived/living experience of hunger and poverty, and to responding where inequities exist.

Foodlink is committed to taking great care to cultivate internal culture and practices that support diversity and inclusion. We embrace and encourage our employees’ differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique. We aim to foster an environment in which everyone feels a sense of belonging and understands their connection to the Foodlink mission. 

Foodlink employees have a responsibility to always treat others with dignity and respect. Employees are expected to always exhibit conduct that reflects our values and promotes equity and inclusion during work, and at work functions.