About
The Good Food Awards rely on the expertise of the beer community to create the tasting, determine judges and set standards for the category. Read on to learn who has been integral to building the category, as well as what the beer standard are and who will be judging this year.
Committee
Co-ChairsCarly Hackbarth
Carly Hackbarth is a San Francisco–based food, beverage, and cookbook photographer whose work makes people say, “I want to eat/drink that!” With an extensive background in digital marketing, she partners with clients to create imagery that aligns seamlessly with their brand vision. Carly previously served as the social media manager for San Francisco Beer Week and the SF Brewers Guild, and she now leads The Proof Collective, a networking group for women in food. This is her third year chairing the Good Food Awards, and she is proud to contribute to the incredible local food and beverage community in San Francisco.
2026 Judges
Jennifer Breckner
Co-fDirector of Programs and Special Projectsounder & President, Culinary Institute of America
Todd Schrecengost
Senior Partnerships, RYZE
Allen Mort
Photographer, am2images
Brit Hartwell
Owner, The Goose & Fern
Dave McLean
Co-Founder & Brewer, Admiral Maltings and Hidden Splendor Fine Beer Co
Standards
In order to be eligible for a Good Food Award, beer entries must meet the following standards:
- Certified organic, or meet at least four of the following eligibility criteria:
- Made with at least one ingredient (besides water and yeast) sourced within 150 miles. Malt will be considered “local” if sourced from a local maltster.
- Made with at least one ingredient (besides water) that is grown without the use of synthetic inputs, including herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers.
- Made by a brewery that has made concrete water recycling or other resource efficiency improvements in the production or delivery process in the last three years.
- Made by a brewery that engages deeply with its community by participating in a sustainably-minded guild; offering paid time off for employees to volunteer for causes they believe in; or otherwise offers substantial support to its community.
- Made by a brewery that prioritizes resource or consumer packing waste reduction through programs, such as mash repurposing, growler programs and container-related sustainability measures.
- Made by a brewery that proudly maintains one or more third-party accreditations embodying social responsibility and transparency.*
- In addition, all Beer entries must meet the following criteria:
- Made in the USA or US territories.
- Made by a crafter that is an upstanding member of the Good Food community, committed to equity and inclusion in all levels of their business, as exemplified through integrating these practices:
- Creating a safe and healthy work environment where employees receive a fair wage, are safe and respected at work and have access to the resources they need to keep themselves healthy.
- Offering a diversity, equity, and inclusion training to staff members and/or leadership annually.
- Thoughtfully acknowledging the heritage of culturally-specific food on websites, packaging and/or marketing materials.
- If your company is Publicly-held, Owned/Partially-owned by publicly-held compan(y)ies, or has over $100 million in annual revenue, your company, as well as its parent company(ies), are required to meet additional criteria to become Good Food Qualified:
- Offer a minimum of 12 weeks of paid parental leave to all employees
- Have at least one woman, minority, or LGBTQIA+ representative on their Board of Directors
- Have a proven track record of prioritizing a safe and fairly-compensated work culture, with no violations in the area of wage or workplace safety in the past 5 years. This will be verified on the Good Jobs First Violation Tracker