Matt Rothe was raised on a large corn farm on the plains of Colorado. After graduating from Dartmouth College with a degree in Environmental Earth Science, Matt had hoped to join his father in the family business, but learned that the farm could not economically or ecologically sustain itself for another generation. Determined to stay close to his agricultural roots and to learn about sustainable agriculture, he took a position with Niman Ranch as their Director of Operations. While there, Matt played an instrumental role in growing its network of sustainable family farmers and gained an acute appreciation for the challenges and opportunities of today’s food system. Matt left Niman Ranch to pursue an MBA at Stanford where, after a brief post-graduation stint with a venture backed food start-up, he retuned to pursue his passion of providing education, creating awareness, and incorporating the practice of sustainable food systems. In his free time, Matt enjoys raising heritage breed chickens and heirloom vegetables on the Stanford Community Farm.

The Sustainable Foods Coordinator position began as a partnership between students from Students for a Sustainable Stanford and Stanford Dining. Several undergraduates were working as sustainability interns with Stanford Dining on projects like the dining hall gardens, turning waste oil into biodiesel, and reducing the use of disposables in dining halls. They realized that these efforts would be much more successful if someone could spend a more consistent amount of time on them and keep the institutional memory of previous projects and lessons learned. With the input of the Executive Director of Stanford Dining, they wrote a proposal to the Provost for Undergraduate Education at Stanford asking for two full time positions: the Sustainable Foods Coordinator and the Farmer Educator. The proposal highlighted the responsibility of a university to educate its students not only in a formal classroom but also in outdoor environments like gardens and in the places they eat. They also argued that food could be used as a great case study for learning about labor issues, climate change, nutrition, public policy, soil biology and more. After reading the proposal and listening to the students' presentation, the Provost agreed to fund one position, housed in Stanford Dining, for a two-year trial period.

After the two year trial period, Stanford Dining decided to fund the position full-time within its department. The decision was in large based on the successful creation of awareness, education, and impact by Stanford undergraduates Emmett Hopkins, the first person to fill the role, and subsequently by Erin Gaines, who continued to successfully expand the scope and depth of influence of the sustainable foods program on campus.

In addition, the School of Earth Sciences, the Earth Systems Program and the Woods Institute for the Environment all agreed in the Spring 2008 to contribute funding to create the second originally requested position: the Farm Educator. This position officially started in the Fall of 2008 and is working closely with the School of Earth Sciences and the Sustainable Foods Coordinator to expand hands-on educational opportunities for the Stanford Community.