Erin Primer is the Director of Food & Nutrition Services at San Luis Coastal Unified School District located in the Central Coast of California. As a native Californian, she is passionate about fresh, local, high quality ingredients to serve to students. She brings over 20 years of experience in the foodservice industry, ranging from high quality catering to hospitals, universities, and K12 schools. In her current role, she operates a financially fit, self-operated, farm-to-table school meal program. San Luis Coastal was the first district in California to reach Silver Certification in Eat Real Standards and has been recognized by state and national school board associations for their local food focused meal program.

With two children of her own, she cares deeply about providing students with quality food options and ensuring a healthy school environment. Erin is an enthusiastic Farm to School advocate and believes in educating youth about how food gets to their plate, while building respect for the greater food system and procuring local food.  She constantly develops and tests new recipes that fit dietary needs while managing to establish food contracts with local farmers and vendors. Her professional and personal life crossover tremendously, from growing tomatoes at home to picking blueberries with her family, where she can connect with sources of fresh produce. Erin’s son and daughter are an inspiration for her to challenge and ignore adult assumptions about the way kids interact with food, and this ultimately pilots her vision of positively impacting students with healthy food choices.