Patricia “Sister Schubert” Barnes founded her bread company in her home kitchen using her grandmother’s yeast roll recipe and transformed the business into a national brand. Sister Schubert’s currently produces more than nine million rolls per day with distribution in each state in the country as well as abroad.
Barnes has become an icon and role model among entrepreneurs and philanthropists alike, as today she focuses primarily on charitable giving and civic engagement. She sits on numerous boards, including those of the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame, the Dean’s Board for the College of Human Sciences at Auburn University, and the Board of Trustees at Troy University.
An official culinary ambassador for the State of Alabama, a best-selling cookbook author, and a popular conference speaker, Barnes gives back on a local and global scale. As the company found success, Barnes made two promises to herself and to God: that she would care for children and feed the hungry. As a result, she founded Sasha’s Home, a first-of-its-kind orphanage in Ukraine, where children live in a loving environment with access to holistic care.
Closer to home, she directs bread deliveries to homeless shelters and food banks across the southeast region, along with shipments for relief efforts after natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey and the tornado that struck Tuscaloosa in 2011. In addition, she travels the country sharing what she has learned about building a business, spending much of each year speaking to women’s groups and entrepreneurs. In 1997, the United States Congress selected her as a Woman of Distinction. She was also the recipient of the Kappa Delta Woman of Achievement Award in 2016 due to her extraordinary achievements both in her career and community.
Barnes attended Troy University, Auburn University, and The University of Alabama. She and her husband, George, reside in Andalusia. They have three daughters: Charlotte Wilcox, Chrissie Duffy, and Laura Barnes; two sons: Evans and Alex; and seven grandchildren.
