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Food Purchaser Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Urban Strategies LLC

Food Aide

Phoenix, AZ · On-site

Receive food purchases & rotate inventory based on the first in, first out[KS4] [LD5] [KS6] (FIFO) food safety inventory rotation method. * Manage and optimize the use of assigned kitchen resources ...

SNF Healthcare

Food Service Director

Deptford, NJ

Is responsible for food purchase, production, and timely service of meals; * Ensure excellence in service and quality of products; * Create and lead presentations at client meetings; * Develops ...

Complete Care, Inc.

Food Services Director

Vernon, CT · On-site

$60 - $80/hr

Responsible for food purchase, production, and timely service of meals * Directs and supervises all dietary functions and personnel * Hires, orients, trains, counsels, disciplines, and when ...

SNF Healthcare

Food Service Director LTC

Princeton, NJ · On-site

Is responsible for food purchase, production, and timely service of meals; * Ensure excellence in service and quality of products; * Create and lead presentations at client meetings; * Develops ...

Ebenezer

Food Service Supervisor

Burnsville, MN · On-site

$24.08 - $34.01/hr

Purchasing and receiving food, supplies and equipment. * Orders food, supplies, and equipment as needed for department and others. * Assures that food, supplies and equipment are checked in upon ...

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Food Purchaser information

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$11

$27

$43

How much do food purchaser jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 9, 2026, the average hourly pay for food purchaser in the United States is $27.09, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $20.67 and $31.73 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a food purchaser?

To succeed as a Food Purchaser, you need strong negotiation abilities, knowledge of food safety standards, and experience with supply chain management, often supported by a relevant degree or purchasing certification. Familiarity with inventory management software, procurement platforms, and vendor management systems is typically required. Attention to detail, effective communication, and problem-solving are crucial soft skills for building reliable supplier relationships and managing unexpected challenges. These competencies ensure cost-effective procurement, consistent food quality, and uninterrupted operations in food service or production settings.

What are some common challenges faced by food purchasers when managing supplier relationships?

Food Purchasers often encounter challenges such as fluctuating prices, inconsistent product quality, and delivery delays when managing supplier relationships. To address these issues, they must communicate clearly with vendors, regularly assess supplier performance, and negotiate contracts that include quality and delivery standards. Building strong, professional relationships with suppliers can help mitigate risks and ensure a steady supply of high-quality ingredients. Staying informed about market trends and maintaining a diverse supplier base are also key strategies for success in this role.

What is the difference between Food Purchaser vs Food Buyer?

AspectFood PurchaserFood Buyer
CredentialsTypically requires purchasing or supply chain certifications, relevant experienceSimilar credentials, often with additional industry-specific knowledge
Work EnvironmentWorks in food service, manufacturing, or retail settingsSimilar environments, focusing on procurement of food products
Industry UsageCommonly used in food service, hospitality, and retail sectorsOften used interchangeably, but sometimes more retail-focused
Search & Comparison IntentPeople compare to understand roles in food procurementOften searched together due to overlapping duties

Both Food Purchasers and Food Buyers are involved in sourcing and purchasing food products within similar industries. While their roles often overlap, Food Purchasers may have a broader scope including negotiations and supplier relationships, whereas Food Buyers focus more on selecting products and managing inventory. Understanding these differences helps employers and job seekers clarify job responsibilities and career paths.

How to become a food purchaser?

To become a food purchaser, candidates typically need a high school diploma or equivalent, along with experience in food service, supply chain, or procurement. Developing skills in negotiation, inventory management, and familiarity with purchasing software can improve job prospects. Some roles may require knowledge of food safety standards and certifications such as HACCP.

Is purchasing a stressful job?

Food purchasers often work under tight deadlines and budget constraints, which can create stress. The role requires strong organizational skills and attention to detail to ensure timely and cost-effective procurement, but stress levels vary depending on the work environment and workload.

What states have the most Food Purchaser jobs?

States with the most job openings for Food Purchaser jobs include:

What are popular job titles related to Food Purchaser jobs?

For Food Purchaser jobs, the most frequently searched job titles are:

Food Purchaser jobs near you
Infographic showing various Food Purchaser job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 69% Full Time, 30% Part Time, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 99% Physical, and 1% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $56,353 per year, or $27.1 per hour.

Director of Food Sourcing and Procurement

Tucson, AZ • On-site

Community Food Bank
See more jobs at Community Food Bankexternal

$74K - $102K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 22 days ago

Key responsibilities

  • Develop and execute annual food sourcing, purchasing, allocation, and procurement work plans.

  • Manage relationships with food donors, vendors, and industry partners, and oversee sourcing and purchasing activities.

  • Oversee allocation planning and product flow to ensure efficient distribution and minimize waste.

Job description

Function:
The Director of Food Sourcing and Procurement provides strategic and operational leadership for CFB's food sourcing, food purchasing, allocation, procurement policy, and procurement procedure functions. Working in partnership with the COO, this role contributes to strategy and is responsible for translating approved strategy into annual work plans, forecasts, performance measures, procurement controls, and cross-functional execution.
This position uses data, forecasting, market information, inventory trends, partner feedback, and community need to ensure CFB has the right mix, volume, quality, timing, cost structure, and distribution approach for food and essential products across the service area. The Director oversees assigned managers and staff responsible for sourcing, purchasing, allocation, procurement support, and product flow.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Data, Forecasting, and Work Plan Execution
  • Develop and execute annual food sourcing, purchasing, allocation, and procurement work plans aligned with approved strategy.
  • Use data and forecasting to evaluate product needs, sourcing trends, purchasing needs, inventory levels, product mix, partner demand, agency capacity, seasonality, market conditions, and service area priorities.
  • Establish goals, dashboards, evaluation measures, and reporting routines to monitor sourcing, purchasing, allocation, product flow, procurement compliance, and budget performance.
  • Forecast product gaps and recommend sourcing, purchasing, allocation, budget, or operational adjustments.
  • Prepare updates and recommendations for the COO, leadership, funders, donors, as needed.

Food Sourcing, Purchasing, and Donor/Vendor Management
  • Execute approved food sourcing plans across grocery rescue, produce recovery, manufacturers, distributors, growers, wholesalers, Feeding America, USDA commodities, regional cooperatives, and other food acquisition channels.
  • Build and maintain relationships with food donors, growers, vendors, regional food banks, industry partners, and sourcing networks.
  • Manage donor prospecting, stewardship, performance tracking, issue resolution, and donor recognition in coordination with Development.
  • Execute purchased food plans for CFB programs and food made available to agency partners through CFB's agency purchasing model.
  • Use purchasing as a gap-filling tool based on community need, partner demand, inventory trends, budget, market conditions, and forecasted gaps.
  • Monitor product mix, SKU selection, pricing, cost recovery, replenishment, vendor performance, inventory turns, agency demand, and budget utilization.
  • Represent CFB in donor meetings, food industry events, network meetings, trainings, tours, and presentations as needed.

Allocation and Product Flow
  • Oversee allocation planning and product flow for donated and purchased products across agency partners, mobile distributions, Resource Centers, programs, and other distribution channels.
  • Ensure allocation practices are consistent, equitable, documented, and aligned with product availability, partner capacity, program priorities, food safety requirements, and operational realities.
  • In partnership with cross-functional team members maintain allocation frameworks, guardrails, decision rules, escalation processes, and reporting.
  • Ensure perishable and time-sensitive products move quickly to reduce waste and maximize community impact.
  • Use allocation data to identify aging product, slow-moving items, capacity constraints, service gaps, and opportunities to improve distribution.

Procurement Governance and Compliance
  • Maintain and implement CFB's Procurement Policy and Procurement Procedure in partnership with Finance and organizational leadership.
  • Recommend updates to procurement procedures, forms, tools, documentation standards, and internal controls.
  • Provide procurement oversight for food purchasing and capital needs, including vendor selection, quotes or bids, noncompetitive justification, contract routing, approvals, and required documentation.
  • Ensure applicable purchases follow procurement thresholds and comply with CFB policies, grant requirements, contract requirements, and applicable laws and regulations.
  • Maintain complete, organized, and audit-ready procurement files.
  • Coordinate with Finance on vendor setup, payment support, invoice documentation, capital review, fixed asset documentation, and separation of procurement and payment responsibilities.
  • Conduct periodic procurement file reviews to identify documentation gaps, approval issues, policy exceptions, vendor risks, and training needs.

Leadership, Budget, and Compliance
  • Develop and monitor department work plans, budget needs, performance measures, and reporting.
  • Coordinate across teams to align sourcing, purchasing, allocation, and procurement work.
  • Lead continuous improvement efforts that strengthen forecasting, procurement processes, donor and vendor management, purchasing workflows, agency purchasing, allocation practices, reporting, and cross-functional coordination.
  • Supervise and support assigned managers and staff through coaching, workload planning, performance management, and leadership development.
  • Support compliance with food safety standards, donor requirements, grant restrictions, USDA requirements, Feeding America standards, contract requirements, and applicable local, state, and federal regulations.
  • Support succession planning, cross-training, and documentation to ensure continuity of procurement, sourcing, purchasing, allocation, and forecasting work.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
  • Strategic thinking combined with strong operational execution.
  • Strong analytical skills and ability to use data, forecasting, and performance trends to guide recommendations and decisions.
  • Knowledge of food sourcing, food purchasing, procurement, donor development, vendor management, allocation strategy, product flow, and audit-ready documentation practices.
  • Knowledge of cost recovery, pricing strategy, landed cost, inventory turns, SKU management, vendor evaluation, agency demand planning, and financial stewardship.
  • Ability to develop and execute annual work plans, forecasts, dashboards, reports, and performance measures.
  • Ability to align procurement, sourcing, purchasing, and allocation practices with audit requirements, grant restrictions, internal controls, budget stewardship, operational capacity, and community need.
  • Strong negotiation, communication, relationship-building, planning, reporting, and problem-solving skills.
  • Ability to lead managers, build team capacity, and manage accountability across multiple functions.
  • Demonstrated commitment to CFB's mission, values, and service to diverse communities.

Minimum Qualifications:
  • Eight (8) years of experience in purchasing, sourcing, supplier performance management, supply chain, and inventory strategies & practices, including demonstrated competency in strategic sourcing.
  • Five (5) years of experience leading teams and managing staff.
  • Experience developing and implementing procurement, purchasing, sourcing, allocation, forecasting, or supply chain work plans.
  • Experience using inventory management systems, ERP systems, and reporting tools to support forecasting, purchasing, product flow, and data-informed decisions.
  • Experience with procurement compliance, competitive purchasing, contract documentation, purchasing files, audit support, or grant-funded procurement.
  • Experience managing vendor, supplier, donor, or food industry relationships.
  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Logistics, Agriculture, Food Systems, Finance, Data Analytics, Nonprofit Management, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
  • Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and SharePoint.
  • Arizona Driver's License with a clean three-year driving record.

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Experience in nonprofit, government-funded, or federally regulated procurement.
  • Experience working at or partnering with a food bank.
  • Experience with Feeding America, USDA commodities, food rescues, food allocation, or large-scale food donation programs.
  • Experience with food purchasing, vendor contracts, or cost recovery models.
  • Experience building dashboards, forecasts, performance reports, or operational models.
  • Bilingual in English and Spanish.

Physical Requirements:
  • Light Work - ability to exert 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects.

Expectations:
CFB is committed to providing employees with an environment in which the Core Values of Respect, Integrity, Accountability, Collaboration, Excellence, Innovation, and Social Justice are supported and encouraged.
CFB works diligently to maintain a culture of fairness, responsibility, trustworthiness and teamwork to advance our mission: We change lives in the communities we serve by feeding the hungry today and building a healthy, hunger-free tomorrow.
The CFB is a drug and tobacco free work environment.
CFB is committed to having a workforce that reflects diversity at all levels and is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants are considered for employment, and employees are treated during employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

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