The Community Food Systems Mentorship Program offers Network members the opportunity to work directly with a food systems expert to support their growth, learn best practices, and connect with seasoned food movement leaders.
Sharon Thornberry
Executive Director, Philomath Community Services
About Sharon:Â
Sharon has been a grassroots organizer, trainer and advocate for community food systems, rural communities, and anti-hunger work in Oregon since 1986. She grew up on farms in Iowa and North Carolina and was very active in 4-H and Girl Scouts. She was one of the first female members of Future Farmers of America. Her work experience includes food service, retail grocery, and union activities. In 1979, she was a homeless mom with two small children. Sharon served on the Oregon Hunger Task Force for 16 years. She served on the board of the Community Food Security Coalition for six years and served three years asÂ
President. She served on the board of Bread for the World and Bread for the World Institute from 2009 -2014 and 2016- 2021. The sum of her experiences have come together to make her a passionate and knowledgeable community food security and anti-hunger advocate.Â
She is the 2009 recipient of the Billi Odegard Public Health Genius Award from the Community Health Partnership of Oregon. In the spring of 2018 Sharon was awarded the Ecumenical Service Award by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. She worked for Oregon Food Bank for 25 years focusing on rural food systems and is the creator of “FEAST”, the nationally recognized community food systems organizing program. Sharon authored a chapter in Place At The Table, the companion book to the movie of the same name.
Sharon began work in The Columbia River Gorge in the fall of 2015 to redevelop a Regional Food Bank for Wasco, Hood River and Sherman counties. She has extensive experience organizing rural communities to build individual and community food security. The efforts of her seven years led to the opening of Columbia Gorge Food Bank and the expansion of hunger relief efforts in the region.Â
She relocated to The Dalles in August of 2017 to be more involved in the community. Before that, she had been a Philomath, Oregon resident for 32 years. She is an avid gardener and loves to share the cooking traditions learned in the farm kitchens of her youth with friends and family.Â
Sharon retired from Oregon Food Bank in July of 2023 and returned to the Willamette Valley. She began as the Executive Director of Philomath Community Services (PCS) on September 11, 2023. PCS operates multiple community service programs including a food pantry, low income gleaning program and community garden serving west Benton County and the surrounding region. The organization partners with multiple small farmers & Farmers Markets in the region. She is currently partnering with the region’s health departments to facilitate the formation of a regional community food system network.
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