Food Services Worker - Women's Shelter
Position Status: Vacant
Work Hours: 35 hours per week
Salary: $27.59 per hour (L3)
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Contract Start Date: June 22, 2026
Contract End Date: September 25, 2026
JOIN OUR TEAM
Join YWCA Toronto, where intersectional feminism, community voices, and social justice drive lasting change. We welcome women and gender diverse people of all identities into a workplace rooted in equity, collaboration, and inclusion
The Food Services Worker works within a collaborative, multidisciplinary team and is responsible for the planning and preparation of nutritionally balanced meals for program participants and their children. Along with their duties they acts as a resource to staff and clients for the planning and preparation of nutritionally balanced and culturally appropriate meals for program participants and their children.
ABOUT YWCA WOMEN’S SHELTER
Women’s Shelter in East York is a 25-bed emergency shelter supporting women and gender-diverse people, with or without dependents, who are fleeing violence. The program includes a Transitional Housing and Support Program that offers up to two years of post-shelter support to promote safety, stability, and long-term housing outcomes. Women’s shelters operate 24/7 and are grounded in feminist principles, trauma-informed and strengths-based care, harm reduction, anti-oppressive practice, transparency, and a spirit of inclusion. In addition to shelter accommodation, all programs provide nutritious and culturally diverse food, access to health care, crisis intervention, supportive counselling, individualized service planning, clinical and recreational programming, as well as opportunities to engage in advocacy.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Meets with program participants at the intake phase to:
- introduce and clarify her role, obtain information about their dietary/cultural food needs as well as any health pertinent information such as food allergies
- support participants to set goals related to food related needs
- Facilitates house meetings and workshops related to food, nutrition and cooking on limited budgets and monthly shelter menu
- Prepares a weekend evening meal plan
- Ensures that staple food items are stocked and available to program participants, including culturally diverse foods
- Ensures that the kitchen is managed in accordance with current Health and Safety standards ie Toronto Public Health and YWCA Toronto
- Maintains grocery supplies by ordering food electronically and over the telephone for delivery including, cleaning supplies and paper products within allocated budget or shopping
- Ensures that all areas are cleaned during and after meal preparation Washes dishes, pots, pans and other equipment used to prepare the lunch and dinner meals Monday to Friday
- Monitor for pests in collaboration with property services
QUALIFICATIONS
- A generalized education at the college level, including e.g. training/certificate in public health standards and general nutrition.
- Food Handlers Certificate required.
- 3-5 years directly related work experience
- Experience preparing culturally diverse meals for a multicultural environment
- Experience teaching nutrition and working with women in crisis
- Communication, interpersonal and problem-solving skills
- Computer literacy required
- Minimum travel will be required at times
- Demonstrated ability to multi-task in a busy environment
- Knowledge of a second language and/or culture would be an asset
Please note: A vulnerable sector police reference check is required by the successful candidate prior to hiring. YWCA Toronto is a unionized workplace. Staff are represented by CUPE Local 2189. This position is within the Bargaining Unit. Please indicate on your cover letter and email subject line if you are a YWCA Toronto Employee. For YWCA Toronto Employees, this position is secondable.
Posting Date: May 5, 2026
YWCA Toronto transforms lives. As the city’s largest multi-service women’s organization, we help women and gender diverse people escape violence, move out of poverty and access safe, affordable housing.
We work tenaciously to break down barriers that hold women and gender diverse people back from achieving equality.
Vaccination Policy: In accordance with YWCA Toronto’s COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, all YWCA Toronto employees, students and volunteers are strongly encouraged to obtain all COVID-19 vaccinations and booster doses as recommended by Toronto Public Health
Please note: A vulnerable sector police reference check is required by the successful candidate before hiring.
YWCA Toronto promotes the principles of anti-oppression and adheres to the tenets of the Ontario Human Rights Code. We encourage applications from women and gender-diverse people of all races, ethnic origins, religions, abilities and sexual orientations.
YWCA Toronto provides accommodation during all parts of the hiring process, upon request, to applicants with disabilities. If contacted, please advise us if you require any accommodation. While we thank all candidates for their interest, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
YWCA Toronto may use AI-supported tools to assist with parts of the recruitment process; all hiring decisions are made by people and guided by our commitment to equity and fairness.
YWCA Toronto is a Scent-Sensitive Workplace.