Afterschool Meals Matter

Paloma Perez Bertrand brings six years of experience in school nutrition programs to the San Diego Hunger Coalition in the role of Hunger Free Kids Director. In this position, Paloma will focus on expanding federal nutrition programs by providing technical assistance and support to school food services and community partners to ensure all children have year-round access to healthy food.
Paloma previously served as Child Nutrition Director for San Ysidro School District, where she was committed to bridging the gap between students and their access to local foods, bringing locally sourced fresh fruits and vegetables to school salad bars, and becoming one of the first districts to serve local, sustainable fish for school lunch. She believes that educating students to make smarter food choices contributes to building a more equitable food and health system.
Her background shows her passion for nutrition, including her work as a nutrition educator with the Network for a Healthy California and Research Assistant for the Dietetics bilingual program at California Polytechnic State University.
Paloma received her master’s in Public Administration from San Diego State University and a bachelor’s degree in Food Science & Nutrition from Cal Poly Pomona.