AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 35-2021.00
Will AI replace Food Preparation Workers?
Food Preparation Workers: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 31 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 31 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Food Preparation Workers, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Stir and strain soups and sauces. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Distribute food to waiters and waitresses to serve to customers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Take and record temperature of food and food storage areas, such as refrigerators and freezers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Weigh or measure ingredients. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Operate cash register, handle money, and give correct change. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Inform supervisors when equipment is not working properly and when food and supplies are getting low, and order needed items. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prepare a variety of foods, such as meats, vegetables, or desserts, according to customers' orders or supervisors' instructions, following approved procedures. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Distribute menus to hospital patients, collect diet sheets, and deliver food trays and snacks to nursing units or directly to patients. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Assemble meal trays with foods in accordance with patients' diets. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Stock cupboards and refrigerators, and tend salad bars and buffet meals. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Use manual or electric appliances to clean, peel, slice, and trim foods. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Portion and wrap food, or place it directly on plates for service to patrons. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Add cutlery, napkins, food, and other items to trays on assembly lines in hospitals, cafeterias, airline kitchens, and similar establishments. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Place food trays over food warmers for immediate service, or store them in refrigerated storage cabinets. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prepare and serve a variety of beverages, such as coffee, tea, and soft drinks. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Mix ingredients for green salads, molded fruit salads, vegetable salads, and pasta salads. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Receive and store food supplies, equipment, and utensils in refrigerators, cupboards, and other storage areas. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Keep records of the quantities of food used. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Make special dressings and sauces as condiments for sandwiches. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Scrape leftovers from dishes into garbage containers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove trash and clean kitchen garbage containers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Vacuum dining area and sweep and mop kitchen floor. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Wash, peel, and cut various foods, such as fruits and vegetables, to prepare for cooking or serving. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Package take-out foods or serve food to customers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Load dishes, glasses, and tableware into dishwashing machines. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cut, slice or grind meat, poultry, and seafood to prepare for cooking. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Butcher and clean fowl, fish, poultry, and shellfish to prepare for cooking or serving. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 31 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 31 of 31. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 6% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 6% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 94% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 893,600
- Median annual wage
- $35,320
- Middle half of earners
- $29,950 to $38,550
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- -3.4%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Fast Food and Counter Workers 75% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure17
- Cooks, Fast Food 71% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure21
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure32
- Cooks, Restaurant 68% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure20
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers 67% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure16
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Food Preparation Workers and AI
Will AI replace Food Preparation Workers?
Not on current evidence. None of the 31 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation reaches a task exposure of 60, the level at which JobRoute counts a task as handled by AI, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 16 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.
What is the AI exposure of Food Preparation Workers?
16 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 31 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 31 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Food Preparation Workers tasks can AI already do?
None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage, at 50 out of 100.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 6% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 94% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Food Preparation Workers, and what do they earn?
893,600 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $35,320 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -3.4% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Food Preparation Workers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/food-preparation-workers
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