About
The Good Food Awards rely on the expertise of the pantry 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 pantry standard are and who will be judging this year.
Committee
Co-ChairsKelly LeCoy
Comm. Director at Real Food Real Stories – San Francisco, CA
Kelly is the Communications Director at Real Food Real Stories, a storytelling organization on a mission to humanize the food system. At RFRS, she uses all forms of media to connect the dots through story for eaters, farmers, chefs, and makers. Kelly has a diverse background in marketing and brand strategy, ranging from an incubator for culinary entrepreneurship to packaged food brands. She believes wholeheartedly in the power of story, through the shared lens of food, to change our world for the better. She loves that work spills over into life, but outside of food and marketing you can find her in a book, exploring California, or on her yoga mat.
Stacy Ladenburger
Director of Operations and Editor at GuildSomm – Oakland, CA
Stacy Ladenburger is the Director of Operations and Editor at GuildSomm, a nonprofit membership organization for wine professionals worldwide. Prior to this role, Stacy worked at grocery delivery startup Good Eggs and Oakland’s Ordinaire Wine Shop. She is also a writer whose work can be found at DelightfulCrumb.com and in past pages of Edible San Francisco and Edible Silicon Valley. Stacy has participated in the Pantry category since its inception in 2015 and is thrilled to move into the role of co-chair this year. A Michigan native who has lived in the Bay Area for six years, she is still smitten with California produce.
Deagon Williams, Consultant, Culinary Business Strategy
Carly Haase Duester, Bi-Rite Market
Dana Plucinski, Publicist, Food Photographer, Social Media Strategist
Standards
In order to be eligible for a Good Food Award, pantry entries must meet the following standards:
- Made in the USA or US territories.
- Made with a balanced objective of local, organic and highest-quality.*
- Made with transparency in supply chain.**
- Free of high fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients, including colors, flavors and preservatives.
- Made with rBGH-free milk, where milk is used.
- Made with domestic, non-petroleum based vinegar where vinegar is used.
- Free of genetically modified ingredients.
- Made with spices that are certified organic, Fair Trade or traceable to the farm level.*
- Made by a crafter that is an upstanding member of the good food community, oriented toward growing their business in harmony with a better food system.
*Ingredients that make up less than 2% of the product, such as spices, sugar or lemon juice, may be sourced from farther afield, or from a larger distributor.
**That is, an earnest attempt is made to verify the origin and production methods of the ingredient. If made with ingredients that are not grown domestically on a commercial scale, a farm-direct or certified organic source is sought out and documentation of this search, including notes on calling distributors, is provided.
Subcategories
Additionally, pantry entries must fit within one of the following subcategories:
- Pantry Sauces & Pastes (e.g., miso, sambal, curry paste, hot sauce, BBQ sauce)
- Salsas, Relishes & Chutneys (e.g., onion chutney, tomatillo salsa)
- Condiments (e.g., mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard)
- Flavor Bases (e.g., fish sauce, soy sauce)
- Maple Syrups
- Nut Butters
- Vinegars
Past Judges
Alison Kunetka
Director of Food Product Development, Williams-Sonoma
Gwyneth Borden
Executive Director, Golden Gate Restaurant Association
Jenn Burns
Relationship Manager, Pilot R&D
Ben Chesler
Officer, Imperfect Produce
Kitty Cowles
Founder, Cowles Agency
Michael de la Torres
Chef, MDLT Food
Scott Frank
Vice President of Sales, Rustic Bakery
Dava Guthmiller
Head of Vision, Noise13
Maren Ellingboe King
Editor & Food Stylist, Just Add Salt
Gretchen Giles
Principal, Gretchen Giles Professional Communications
Sana Javeri Kadri
CEO & Founder, Diaspora Co.
Kelsie Kerr
Chef/Owner, Standard Fare
Pei-Ru Ko
Founder & Director, Real Food Real Stories
Renee Frojo
Founder, Laurel Street Kitchen
Dafna Kory
Founder/Co-Owner, INNA
Sienna Mintz
Head of Restaurant Partnerships, Chewse
Tomas Solis
Chef
Karen Leibowitz
Co-Founder, The Perennial
Grant Carlson
Co-Founder & CEO, Ugly Juice
Neil Lick
VP, Food Division & Test Kitchen, Williams-Sonoma
Randall Owczarzak
General Manager, Alameda Natural Grocery
Madelyn Markoe
Partner, Media Noche
Patrick Crowl
Founder/Chairman of Fun, Woodstock Farmers Market
Jenny Rojas Cline
Assistant Grocery Buyer, Bi-Rite Market
Joyce Mallonee
Brand Manager, Mallonee & Associates
Dominic Phillips
Founder, DPEM | Event Marketing
Moti Phillips
Director of Marketing, California Farmers' Markets Association
Jason Saunders
Vice President/Financial Advisor , SKA Wealth of Raymond James
Erin Scott
Food & Lifestyle Photographer, Erin Scott Photography
Michael Molesky
Owner, Proprietor
Joyce Attar
Director of Operations, World Foods Portland
Natacha Stojanovic
Health Advisor , Botanica
Gibson Thomas
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Edible Marin & Wine Country
Susie Wyshak
Food Business Consultant, FoodStarter