The register › Food service
Food service
22 employers in the register hire in food service. Some roles in this trade are restricted by law regardless of who is hiring, and those are set out below.
| Employer | Based in | Work | What we read |
|---|---|---|---|
Ben & Jerry'sIce-cream manufacturer based in Vermont, owned by Unilever, with production plants in Vermont and a national retail scoop-shop network. | South Burlington, VT | ManufacturingFood service | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
Busboys and PoetsRestaurant, bookstore, and events venue chain in the Washington, DC and Baltimore region with about a dozen locations. | Hyattsville, MD | Food serviceHospitality | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
Butterball FarmsGrand Rapids, Michigan specialty butter producer serving food manufacturers and foodservice, with a workforce that includes second-chance hires. | Grand Rapids, MI | ManufacturingFood service | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
CAVAFast-casual Mediterranean restaurant chain with more than 300 locations nationwide, founded in Washington, DC. | Washington, DC | Food serviceRetail | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
Clif BarEmeryville, California maker of Clif Bar energy bars with bakeries in California and Idaho, now part of Mondelez. | Emeryville, CA | ManufacturingFood service | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
Dave's Killer BreadOrganic whole-grain bread bakery sold in grocery stores nationwide, with its main bakery in Milwaukie, Oregon; roughly one-third of its workforce has a criminal background. | Milwaukie, OR | ManufacturingFood service | VerifiedCompany statement, daveskillerbread.comRead September 3, 2026 |
DC Central KitchenWashington, DC nonprofit food-recycling and culinary-jobs program that runs a production kitchen and catering business employing people returning from incarceration. | Washington, DC | Food service | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
Eastside Fish FryLansing, Michigan restaurant and fish-chips stand on the city's east side that hires workers with records and other employment barriers. | Lansing, MI | Food service | VerifiedJails to Jobs, Second Chance Employers NetworkRead September 3, 2026 |
EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant InstituteCleveland fine-dining restaurant and culinary training institute that trains and employs formerly incarcerated adults in hospitality careers. | Cleveland, OH | Food serviceHospitality | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
Flowers FoodsPackaged-bakery company (Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread distributor network partner) with bakeries across the southern and eastern US. | Thomasville, GA | ManufacturingFood service | VerifiedSecond Chance Business Coalition member listRead September 3, 2026 |
Frontier Co-opIowa-based cooperative that processes and packages herbs, spices, and natural products, employing workers with records at its Iowa facilities. | Norway, IA | ManufacturingFood service | VerifiedJails to Jobs, Second Chance Employers NetworkRead September 3, 2026 |
Golden State FoodsIrvine, California-based processor and distributor of condiments, sauces, and meats for major quick-service restaurant chains, with facilities in several states. | Irvine, CA | ManufacturingFood serviceWarehouse and logistics | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
Greyston BakeryYonkers, New York bakery that makes brownies for Ben & Jerry's and supplies food companies, with about 125 full-time jobs staffed through open hiring. | Yonkers, NY | ManufacturingFood service | VerifiedCompany statement, greyston.orgRead September 3, 2026 |
Homeboy IndustriesLos Angeles nonprofit network of social enterprises, including Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Cafe, and retail merchandise, that trains and employs formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people. | Los Angeles, CA | Food serviceRetail | VerifiedCompany statement, homeboyindustries.orgRead September 3, 2026 |
Hot Chicken TakeoverNashville-style fried chicken restaurants in Columbus, Ohio that deliberately hire people with criminal records and people in recovery. | Columbus, OH | Food service | VerifiedCompany statement, themarshallproject.orgRead September 3, 2026 |
I Have A BeanWheaton, Illinois coffeehouse that intentionally hires men and women returning from prison as part of its mission. | Wheaton, IL | Food serviceRetail | VerifiedJails to Jobs, Second Chance Employers NetworkRead September 3, 2026 |
McDonald's USAThe largest US fast-food chain; most restaurants are independently owned franchises hiring locally. | Chicago, IL | Food serviceRetail | VerifiedSecond Chance Business Coalition member listRead September 3, 2026 |
MOD PizzaFast-casual pizza chain with more than 500 US locations; its MOD On program focuses on hiring people with criminal records and other barriers. | Seattle, WA | Food service | VerifiedCompany statement, modpizza.comRead September 3, 2026 |
Rhino FoodsBurlington, Vermont maker of cookie dough and filled-food ingredients for national brands, known for income-based hiring practices that include people with records. | Burlington, VT | ManufacturingFood service | VerifiedJails to Jobs, Second Chance Employers NetworkRead September 3, 2026 |
StarbucksThe largest US coffeehouse chain, with tens of thousands of company-operated and licensed stores. | Seattle, WA | Food serviceRetail | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
Tyson FoodsOne of the largest US food producers, operating meat and poultry processing plants mainly in the South, Midwest, and Plains. | Springdale, AR | ManufacturingFood service | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
Union Square Hospitality GroupNew York City restaurant group operating Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack's founding parent's hospitality operations, and catering businesses. | New York, NY | HospitalityFood service | Not re-confirmedFair Chance Business Pledge, 2016 White House archiveRead September 3, 2026 |
22 in food serviceThe whole register
What is restricted in this trade
These come from regulators and licensing boards, not from any employer on this page.
Airport ramp, baggage, fueling, or terminal worker (SIDA badge) Restricted Working in the secure part of an airport takes a badge, and 28 listed offenses block it if you were convicted within the last ten years. The list runs from air piracy, murder, and espionage to armed or felony unarmed robbery, extortion, felony arson, distribution of a controlled substance, and any felony involving theft, burglary, willful destruction of property, aggravated assault, bribery, possession of stolen property, or dishonesty, fraud, or misrepresentation. It only reaches back ten years from the date you apply, so an older conviction does not count, and an arrest with no conviction is not disqualifying. The airport operator makes the call, must tell you the FBI record is why, must give you a copy of it if you ask, and must give you 30 days to correct it if it is wrong. 49 CFR 1542.209(d) · checked September 17, 2026
Any job at a provider that bills Medicare or Medicaid Restricted If you are on the federal exclusion list, Medicare and Medicaid will not pay for anything you do for a provider, which is why hospitals and nursing homes screen every role and not just the clinical ones. Exclusion is mandatory, and at least five years, for four kinds of conviction: a crime related to delivering care under Medicare or a state health program, any conviction for patient abuse or neglect including a misdemeanor, a felony conviction for health care fraud, theft, embezzlement, or breach of fiduciary duty, and a felony conviction for making, distributing, prescribing, or dispensing a controlled substance. A second qualifying conviction raises the minimum to ten years and a third makes it permanent. Other convictions, such as a misdemeanor drug offense or fraud against a government program that is not health care, are permissive, which means the Inspector General may exclude you, usually for three years, but is not required to. Exclusion is a payment rule rather than a hiring ban, so an employer that does not bill a federal health program can still hire you. 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7 · checked September 17, 2026
Non-clinical healthcare work while excluded (billing, IT, kitchen, HR) Exclusion is not limited to hands-on patient care, and the government says it reaches administrative, kitchen, IT, and management work at a provider that bills federal health programs. The Inspector General has said in writing that the payment ban covers services well beyond direct care, naming executive and leadership roles, human resources, billing and accounting, strategic planning, staff training, health information technology, and support work like preparing surgical trays, whether or not the work is separately billed. It applies the same way to employees, contractors, volunteers, and staffing agency placements, and it follows you if you change professions while excluded. The one opening the agency itself recognizes is work a federal health program does not pay for directly or indirectly, which is why cash-pay and non-billing employers are a real option. OIG Special Advisory Bulletin (May 8, 2013) · checked September 17, 2026
Nurse aide, CNA, or any job in a nursing home A nursing home may not employ you in any role if a state registry carries a finding of abuse, neglect, exploitation, mistreatment, or theft from a resident against your name. This is separate from a criminal record and separate from the federal exclusion list. A state survey agency enters the finding after its own investigation and a hearing, with no arrest, charge, or conviction required, and findings of abuse and misappropriation stay on the registry permanently. Only a neglect finding can be petitioned off, and no sooner than one year after it was entered. The same rule separately bars anyone a court has found guilty of those acts and anyone with matching license discipline in effect, and it reaches every individual the facility employs, not only aides. 42 CFR 483.12(a)(3) · checked September 17, 2026
School employee with direct contact with students Restricted No federal law decides who can work in a public school, so which convictions disqualify you and for how long is set entirely by your state. Pennsylvania shows the shape most states use: a permanent list plus tiers that expire. There, homicide, aggravated assault, kidnapping, sexual offenses, endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, and any felony under the state drug act bar you for life, while any other first, second, or third degree felony bars you for ten years from the end of your sentence, a first degree misdemeanor for five years, and repeat DUI graded as a first degree misdemeanor for three years. The rule covers cafeteria workers, janitors, bus drivers, and contractors, and it does not reach employees with no direct contact with children. Pennsylvania treats a felony drug conviction as a lifetime bar, which is the opposite of how federal child care rules treat it, so do not assume one state answers for another. 24 P.S. § 1-111 (Pa. Public School Code, Act 14 of 1949) · checked September 17, 2026