Sarah Akbari

Email: sarah.akbari@oregonstate.edu
Title: Klamath Grown Local Food Resources Coordinator
Organization: OSU Extension Service & Klamath Grown
Community: Klamath Falls
Population: 69,143
County Served: Klamath County

Meet Sarah Akbari (she/her):

A native Oregonian, Sarah received her undergraduate degree in Planning, Public Policy and Management with minors in Nonprofit Administration and Global Health from University of Oregon. She has recently continued her education by completing a Graduate Certificate in Nutrition Science for Communications Professionals from Tufts University. Sarah has experience in a variety of fields, including marketing and communication, health promotion and community engagement. In her free time, she loves to cook and try new recipes, enjoy the outdoors and be active, whether that is hiking, playing tennis or dancing.

Community and Organization:

Located in the south-central region of Oregon and bordering northern California, Klamath Falls sits on the southern shore of the Upper Klamath Lake, nestled in the Klamath Basin on the eastern slopes of the Cascades Mountains. Klamath County is known for its plentiful outdoor recreation, sunny and snowy climate, and population of over 350 species of birds that migrate through the region.

OSU Klamath Extension is part of the Extension Service that serves in all 36 counties in the state. They engage the people of Oregon with research-based knowledge and education that strengthen communities and economies, sustain natural resources and promote healthy families and communities. The mission of Klamath Grown is to cultivate a diverse and economically resilient food system within the Klamath Basin which supports their local food producers, promotes regionally-produced foods and increases equitable access for the community. As a new non-profit, Klamath Grown hopes to better support local producers and increase food access within the community.

Project:

One of Sarah’s main projects is to work on a campaign to promote local food to the community by creating a digital directory of local producers for Klamath Grown’s website and communicating with customers via social media and email newsletters. She is also conducting research and surveys that will seek to increase customer accessibility to local products and markets, as well as developing a system for regional procurement that benefits both producers and wholesale markets.