Rachel Doty
President
Supply Manager, Meridian Trading Co
Originally an East Coast urban dweller, where she was raised to appreciate hard work and community service, Rachel has made the Pacific NW her home for nearly 20 years, 15 of which have been immersed in the local food scene in Eugene, OR. Rachel’s interest in food systems stems from her love of cooking and eating, and her anthropological studies of the ways in which people interact with their environments and with plants. Rachel has played many roles in the local food system, including farmer, processor, cook, buyer, salesperson, importer, and supply chain manager.
A former board member for Lane County Farmers Market and current board member of the American Herbal Products Association, Rachel also volunteers with the Master Food Preservers of Cottage Grove, teaching classes in canning and other methods of food preservation for the home cook and gardener. Rachel is excited to be working with WFFC to improve access to local foods in our community.
Faye Sofranko
Vice President & Secretary
Manager of Education & Operations at Positive Community Kitchen
She brings deep roots and experienced entrepreneurship to the many community-focused roles she’s played along her journey toward decolonized food systems, including the launch of the Local Artisan Collective in St. Petersburg, Florida, to encourage local small businesses to cross-promote each other.
Raised in St. Petersburg, she called the city home until moving to Eugene in 2022. During her time in St. Pete, she explored culturally-diverse foods and blended that curiosity with her passion for canning and farming – bringing both to the community to connect people and places for the greater good.
Faye earned multiple Best of the Bay Awards in the Tampa Bay area, as well as national press, upon founding and operating The Urban Canning Co. The brick-and-mortar location sold her jams, pickles, beer mustards, and ferments and offered space to share her love of good food and education about natural food preservation. Today, Faye focuses on her love for teaching, using her collective experience to make tangible change in her community.
Hannah English
Programs Assistant
“I consider myself a lucky one. Growing up in a community surrounded by failing food systems, my family never went without fresh produce because of my Granny’s garden.” Hailing from the rural South, Hannah grew up alongside industrial agriculture, where farmers produce large quantities of a single product, then sell it to companies for processing and distribution worldwide. “It was tough, watching our grocery stores and small businesses shut down or get bought out. The irony is, we were an agricultural community full of farmers! So where was the food?” Each summer, Hannah and her sister would spend most of their time with Granny; they learned to garden, shell peas, crack pecans, cook, can, process corn, freeze what needed to be frozen. “Granny taught us 2 life lessons: 1) Don’t you dare waste a thing, and 2) If you want to do something, you better teach yourself how to do it. That woman had grit.”
When Hannah first moved to Lane County, she thought she’d be here for 4 months. “I came to study birds for the summer. I’m still here, 5 years later, because of the food. I’d never seen a food system like this one in the Willamette Valley! Multiple small-scale farmers working sustainably and responsibly, growing diverse crops and trying to keep it in the community. There’s so much hope, so much potential for great food systems to flourish here. I’m beyond grateful to finally be a part of that network.” Hannah hopes to expand secure food systems to rural communities across Lane County and beyond, focusing her attention on fresh, local produce.