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
Communications 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 membership organization and online publication 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. A Michigan native who has lived in the Bay Area for seven years, she is still smitten with California produce.
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, 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
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