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-ChairsEllen Rawley
Founder at Ellen Rawley Creative & Strategy
Ellen Rawley helps producers launch and scale purposeful & profitable products by taking the guesswork out of product development and compliance. Before starting Ellen Rawley Creative & Strategy, she developed a jam line & olive oil beauty products for McEvoy Ranch. Her work has been applauded in leading magazines (Food & Wine, Oprah, Martha Stewart), distinguished by industry awards (sofi, Good Food), and snatched up by buyers in major grocery, spa, and e-commerce outlets.
Sharon Litzky
Jack of All Trades at Che Fico Alimentari
Sharon’s interest in the sustainable food movement started with a bite of pie. It wasn’t Sharon’s first bite of pie, by any means, but it was an enlightening slice. Her first job in SF found Sharon landing at Mission Pie, where the fire fueling her journey into the sustainable food industry was lit. Originally from Marietta, Georgia, Sharon has worked with restaurants in San Francisco for ten years. During that time, her passions expanded, leading her to spend time at farms and farmers markets working to bridge the gap between consumer and farmer and become more meaningfully involved with where our produce originates. Sharon looks forward to the day when we can all share a slice off pie together and is delighted to join the GFA team.
Bonnie Burgess, Nutrition Student and Consultant, Bauman College
Maddie DeWitt, Assistant Culinary Director, Good Eggs
Geronimo C. Ramos, Founder, Rooted Table
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, committed to equity, inclusion, and justice in all levels of their business.
*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:
- Pasta/Pizza Sauce
- Hot Sauce
- BBQ Sauce
- Dressing & Marinades
- Salt Cured & Oil Packed
- Pantry Sauces & Pastes (e.g., miso, sambal, curry paste)
- 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
Former Judges
Erin Scott
Food Photographer, Erin Scott Photography
Candice Jordan
Director of Marketing, Greenleaf Bay Area
Kai Hinson
Product and Sourcing Manager, Patagonia Provisions
Greg Dunmore
Co-Founder, The Japanese Pantry
Sam Mogannam
Founding Partner, Bi-Rite Market
Ron Tanner
VP, Philanthropy, Government & Industry Relations, Specialty Food Association
Ori Zohar
Co-Founder, Burlap & Barrel
Chris Bailey
Culinary Microenterprise Developer, Portland Mercado
Mary Richter
Culinary Director, Surdyk's Inc
Nitika Dhamankar
Director of Product Innovation, Kitchentown
Shireen Santosham
Chief Innovation Officer, San Jose Mayor's Office
Susie Wyshak
Food Business Strategist, Food Starter
Maya Wong
Associate Editor, Sunset Magazine
Annie Svigals
Portfolio Lead, Design for Food, IDEO
Dava Guthmiller
Head of Vision, Noise 13
Maya Wong
Assistant Editor, Sunset Magazine
Anna Castellani
Owner, Foragers Market
Asha Loupy
E-Commerce Manager, Market Hall Foods
Debbie Conti
Consultant/Buyer, D.Conti
Anthony Strong
Chef/Owner, PRAIRIE
Amani Ali
Director, Programs and Policy, Mandela Partners
Alison Acerra
Founder, Chief Strategist, Strategic Nutrition Design
Pat Flatley
Sales, Teranga Baobab
Karen Leibowitz
Executive Director, The Perennial Farming Initiative
Sana Javeri Kadri
CEO, Diaspora Co.
Thuy Tran
Co-Founder, Rooted Recipes Project
Phyllis Grant
Writer, Recipe Developer, Dash & Bella Blog
Allyson Holt
Vice President, Merchandising, Cost Plus World Market
Pei-Ru Ko
Founder, Real Food Real Stories