About
The Good Food Awards rely on the expertise of the pickles 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 pickles standard are and who will be judging this year.
Committee Chair
Rachel Perez
FOODMatch, Senior Regional Manager Specialty
Rachel has worked in specialty food across the country for over twenty years in retail, distribution and directly for manufacturers. She currently works for FOODMatch as Specialty Senior Regional Manager for the West. Rachel has served as a member of the board of directors and treasurer for American Cheese Society and as chair for the Judging and Competition. She lives in Oakland, CA
2026 Judges
Shannon Landis
General Manager, Andis Wines
Stacey Breidenstein
Owner, Groundwork Wellness
Dava Guthmiller
Founder, Noise13
Yolanda Burrell
Owner/Producer, Pollinate Farm & Garden
Meghan Manning
Event Producer
Standards
In order to be eligible for a Good Food Award, pickles entries must meeting the following standards:
- Made in the USA or US territories.
- Free of artificial ingredients, including colors, flavors and preservatives.
- Free of genetically modified ingredients.
- Made with domestic, non-petroleum-based vinegar, where vinegar is used.
- Made with ingredients that are foraged or grown:
- Locally.*
- With respect for seasonality.*
- Without the use of synthetic inputs, including herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers.
- 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
Subcategories
Additionally, pickles entries must fit within one of the following subcategories:
- Olives
- Vinegar-Preserved
- Lacto-Fermented
Kombucha can now be entered in the Elixirs category.