Good Food Awards recognize excellence in taste and sustainability

SAN FRANCISCO, California – The Good Food Awards – the first national initiative to recognize American craft food producers who excel in both taste and sustainability – kick-starts the fourth year o

SAN FRANCISCO, California – The Good Food Awards – the first national initiative to recognize American craft food producers who excel in both taste and sustainability – kick-starts the fourth year of its quest to find America’s best food producers. July 1 marks the official launch of a coast-to-coast call for entries of beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, confections, pickles, preserves, spirits, and (a brand new category) oils. A blind tasting with Paul Bertolli, Michael Bauer, Wall Street Journal Columnist Kitty Greenwald, and 150 other food movement leaders will determine this year’s 100 winners, who will be showcased in San Francisco at a special one-day Good Food Awards Marketplace at the iconic CUESA Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on January 18, 2014.

The awards epitomize the country’s Good Food zeitgeist, showcasing food crafters of all sizes who consciously root their business in the principles of taste, authenticity, and responsible production. With new business opportunities and national visibility directed at the Good Food Award winners each year, businesses report significant sales increases – in two particularly successful cases, winners reported increases of 400%. Since its inception three years ago, the awards have grown 40% annually, and 2,000 entries and representation from all fifty states this year are anticipated. A new partnership with Slow Food USA promises to accelerate this growth and speaks to shared values of supporting Good Food and the people who make it.

“In all corners of the country, community food systems are birthing new enterprises often paying homage to disappearing traditions. The Good Food Awards shares Slow Food’s passion to elevate the dignity of creative labor in food,” says Slow Food USA Executive Director Richard McCarthy.

“With the proliferation of Good Food around the country, we are especially focused on reaching out to historically underrepresented states: Mississippi, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, Alaska, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri. So many unique food traditions are just waiting to have a spotlight shined on them,” commented Good Food Awards Director Sarah Weiner.

In further Good Food news, the awards have answered a national call to honor the diverse oils being made right here on American soil from olives, nuts, seeds, and avocados. From Delicata squash seeds to rich southern pecans to the fruity extract of the tiny Mission Olive brought to California by Spanish missionaries, Good Food Awards is seeking out the best of this category that forms the foundation of a healthy, delicious kitchen.

From July 1-31, 2013, food producers are invited to enter in ten categories: beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, confections, oils, pickles, preserves and spirits. Winners – selected from each region of the United States – are chosen based on the sustainable production criteria for each category as well as the results from the blind tasting with 150 judges.

Further information, including how to enter, is available at www.goodfoodawards.org .

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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