The Philomath Community Gleaners program has entered a three-month hiatus as the group works to find new leadership after its two co-coordinators stepped down for family and health reasons, PCS Executive Director Sharon Thornberry said.
The pause — which took effect following the program’s final distributions on May 29 and 30 — affects about 80 enrolled households that had relied on the program for regular access to rescued food from grocery stores, farms and other sources.
Jennie Mikkelsen and Linda O’Dell, who had led the program as co-coordinators, issued a joint statement Tuesday saying the hiatus was a decision made by the gleaner membership itself.
“The PCS Gleaners program has recently begun a three-month hiatus to rest, reflect and regroup,” they wrote. “This decision was made by the Gleaner membership and the future of the gleaning group is up to the members to decide.”
Linn Benton Food Share, which provides oversight to gleaning programs in the two counties, supports the pause, as does Philomath Community Services, the parent organization under which the gleaners operate.
Board president Jodi Russell and Thornberry said in a joint statement that they remain committed to helping the program reorganize if new leadership can be found.
“We want to make it very clear that the board and staff of Philomath Community Services are committed to supporting the reorganization in three months if new leadership comes forward and the participants are available to operate the program,” they said.
The gleaners program is structured as a self-sufficiency model — it must be led and operated by low-income participants, not outside volunteers or staff, Thornberry noted.
The program’s day-to-day demands were significant. Members were required to contribute eight hours per month, and pickups — primarily from grocery stores across the Corvallis, Albany and sometimes Lebanon areas — happened year-round, typically early in the morning. Volunteers needed food handler cards, had to temperature-check collected products, and often used their own vehicles as program needs exceeded the use of the PCS van, Thornberry said.
“There was something every single day that needed to be picked up, dealt with,” she added. “And then you have to prepare for distributions and then you had to clean up from distribution. It’s a lot of work.”
Thornberry pushed back on a common misconception about what gleaning looks like.
“Most people who think about gleaners think harvest season — that’s what they think, but that’s not the way the gleaning program through Linn Benton Food Share runs,” she said. “It’s 52 weeks a year, 365 days.”
Thornberry noted that actual field gleans were rare last year — just a handful — with most food coming from store pickups or already-harvested produce.
Affected members have been connected to other PCS resources in the interim. For example, former gleaners can access Nancy’s Food Pantry twice a month with bread and produce available any time the pantry is open to those who qualify.
PCS is also expanding outreach for its Commodity Supplemental Food Program, a federally funded senior food box program for those 60 and older with incomes below 150% of the poverty line. The program currently serves about 16 households and had been primarily managed by the gleaners. Thornberry said PCS will now handle it directly and is actively recruiting additional seniors who may qualify.
The broader PCS operation is also grappling with funding pressures independent of the gleaners pause. Thornberry said the loss of USDA bonus commodities — phased out beginning about a year ago — has forced the food pantry to purchase protein at a cost of $3,000 to $4,000 per month.
As for the gleaners, Thornberry said PCS will reach out to former members in September with an email and public notice to see whether the group can reorganize. She said a small number of members have indicated willingness to help facilitate that gathering.
“We’ll see what we can do to reorganize,” Thornberry said. “September is our goal.”
In the meantime, community members who want to support the eventual restart can contribute through BottleDrop. Thornberry said funds collected through that program are being held in a dedicated account for the gleaners. The BottleDrop Corvallis Redemption Center is located at 1111 NW Ninth St., Corvallis. Bottles and cans can also be dropped off at PCS.
