Sarah Himmelheber, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.

My Story

As a teenager, I worked at Bassett’s Original Turkey in the mall food court, and it was this part-time job that spurred my interest in community food security. Every night as I closed that kitchen, I threw away whole loaves of fresh bread, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and, of course, lots of turkey. Because I also regularly volunteered at a local soup kitchen, I was struck by the absurd simultaneity of food waste and hunger. I began taking these leftovers to a nearby shelter, and over the next 20+ years, my interest in food recovery has persisted and developed into my primary area of research and activism. In addition to community food security, I’m also interested in mental health, since much of my clinical practice centered on supporting people with severe and persistent mental illness. In the classroom, this has translated into research about how mindfulness and techniques from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy can support students in the field and throughout their careers.