Honoring Sharon Thornberry – Friend of South Wasco Community
Sharon has been a grassroots organizer, trainer and advocate for community food systems, rural communities, and anti-hunger work in Oregon since 1986. She is retiring from the Columbia Gorge Food Bank on July 7, 2023, so SWA wishes to honor Sharon for her extraordinary support of the South Wasco community over the years.
Sharon’s work with the South Wasco community began years ago but gained notable traction with the facilitation of the F.E.A.S.T. event in March, 2020. Since that time, the local food system in South Wasco has strengthened considerably. We are continuing to build on foundations Sharon has left as a legacy in our area – everything from two new food pantries, the South Wasco Farmers Market, and contracting local growers to deliver fresh produce into our school, food pantries, and food education workshops. The ripple effect of Sharon’s friendship and support of the South Wasco community will be felt for years to come. The South Wasco community recognizes and thanks her for years of her service, guidance, and friendship.
Here is more about Sharon’s remarkable life:
Sharon 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 as President. She served on the board of Bread for the World and Bread for the World Institute from 2009 -2014 and rejoined the BFW Board in March 2016. The sum of her experiences has come together to make her a passionate and knowledgeable community food security and anti-hunger advocate. 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 has worked for Oregon Food Bank for the past 20 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 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 the last two years have led to the opening of Columbia Gorge Food Bank and the expansion of hunger relief efforts in the region.
She relocated to The Dalles in August of 2017 to be more involved in the community. On May 20, 2023, more than a hundred anti-hunger advocates and community leaders gathered at the Port of The Dalles May 20th, 2023 to celebrate the Grand Opening of the Columbia Gorge Food Bank warehouse and community food center. Located at 3525 Crates Way in The Dalles, the new, permanent home increases Columbia Gorge Food Bank’s food distribution capacity by over five times its previous facilities, opening a new chapter for communities facing hunger throughout Hood River, Sherman, and Wasco counties.
Source: Columbia Community Connection News, May 22, story by Rachel Van Kompenberg.
Prior to moving to The Dalles, Sharon was a resident of Philomath, Oregon 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. She continues her participation with the United Methodist Church which includes local membership and past service on the Bishop’s Task Forces on Hunger & Food Security and Childhood Hunger.
We here at SWA, and from the South Wasco community, give great thanks and appreciation to Sharon for her devotion and incredible assistance to the people of South Wasco County.
