San Luis Obispo’s former fire chief is now head of the SLO Food Bank.
Garret Olson says he has been with the food bank since March 30 in a fulltime but temporary position due to needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
He took the reins as CEO May 13.
“Garret retired as the Fire Chief for the City of San Luis Obispo in 2018 and started a consulting firm with another former Fire Chief, Rob Lewin. When the COVID-19 public health emergency impacted our lives, Garret and Rob donated their emergency management experience to assist several local non-profits, including the SLO Food Bank. Subsequently, Garret was invited to join the SLO Food Bank Team as the temporary COVID Emergency Operations Manager,” according to a post on the SLO Food Bank website.
The search for a new CEO began in January after the food bank said former CEO Kevin Drabinski left under a "mutual agreement.”
