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Snacks

The winners in the Good Food Awards snacks category have met the highest standards of achievement with meticulously sourced, high-quality ingredients that have been thoughtfully prepared with the right snacking moment in mind. We consider these snacks the tastiest items to grab between meals! Whether it be through the crisp texture of a cracker or the unique flavor combination of a granola, snacks celebrate a diversity of flavor profiles and textures.

About

The Good Food Awards rely on the expertise of the snacks 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 snacks standard are and who will be judging this year.

Committee

Co-Chairs

Wendy Weiden

Consultant | Investor

Wendy Weiden is a food systems expert with a focus on using multi-sector strategies and collaboration to fuel innovation. Her passion lies with exploring the intersection of economic, social, and health benefits that come from more robust regional food networks and, more recently, in advancing novel, non-extractive avenues for underserved entrepreneurs (in food and elsewhere) to efficiently access capital. She also has experience developing private label and co-branded food products for several retailers. In addition to her consulting work, Wendy has taught courses on the food industry, entrepreneurship, and business strategy in both Masters and food-focused trade programs, and serves on the Boards of the Good Food Foundation and 18 Reasons.

Sandy Peterson

Retail Consultant

Sandy brings more than twenty years of experience identifying the trends and business opportunities that create successful food brands. As founding director of the Williams-Sonoma food development team, Sandy successfully created and launched 180 proprietary products, including The Original Peppermint Bark. Passionate about the stories, history and people producing authentic food, Sandy left her corporate career to help food artisans reach their full potential. She has advised on merchandising, marketing, and product development for Cowgirl Creamery, Fra’ Mani Handcrafted Foods, Long Grove Confectionery and McEvoy Ranch, among others.

Committee Members

Charlotte Albright
Sheila Middleton
, Retail & Marketing Professional
Vicky Kalish
Peter Perez, The University of North Carolina Press
Tim Shaw, San Francisco State University

2023 Judges

Jung Kwon

Assistant Professor, Oregon State University

Sam Mogannam

Founder, Bi-Rite

Jon Marsh

Owner, St. Kilian's Cheese Shop

Randall Owczarzak

General Manager, East Bay Natural Grocers

Amelia Rappaport

Partner, Woodstock Farmers' Market

Hugh Rosen

Grocery Director , Gus's Community Market

Mary Walsh

Co-Owner, Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery

Eleanor Jones

Buyer & Inventory Manager, Antonelli's Cheese Shop

Barney Rubin

Accelerator Program Director, Union Kitchen

Dwight Richmond

Director of Center Store, Town & Country Markets

Mary Dollinger

Executive Assistant, Palace Market

Regine Hooper-Campbell

Global Hospitality Strategy, Workplace, Airbnb

Liza Johnson

Communications Specialist, Postcard Communications

Samual Prutton

Senior Business Operations Manager, Modern Animal

Ren Guittard

Cheese Buyer, Good Earth Natural Foods

Erica Perez

Co-Owner, Oaktown Spice Shop

Ashley McIntosh

Consultant, Customer Success

Rachel Nelson

Girl Friday, Palace Market

Ellen Huynh

Analytics Engineer, Airbnb

Sarah Weiner

Executive Director, Good Food Foundation

Cynthia Shannon

Senior Partnerships Manager, Chronicle Books

Standards

In order to be eligible for a Good Food Award, snacks 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, palm oil and artificial ingredients, including colors, flavors and preservatives.
  • Made with rBGH-free milk, where milk is used.
  • Made with flours
    • That have not been bleached or bromated
    • Grown without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers.***
  • Free of genetically modified ingredients.
  • Made with spices that are certified organic, Fair Trade, or traceable to the farm level.*
  • Must include more than one ingredient or be created in such a way that an agricultural product has been transformed into a value-added snack. If product entered is a single ingredient transformed to a value-added snack, single ingredient must be grown without the use of synthetic 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:
    • 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.
    •  For the small percentage of Good Food community that operates on a significantly larger scale, meeting additional criteria related to board diversity, maternity leave and employment practices.*****

*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, a farm-direct or certified organic source has been sought and documentation of this search, including notes on calling distributors, is provided.
***Grains made grown with minimal synthetic inputs using IPM will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the type of crop and region of growth.
****Ingredients grown with minimal synthetic inputs using Integrated Pest management practices will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
*****Check if you are in the 2% of companies meeting the Good Food Foundation definition of large scale, and review the addition criteria on the Rules & Regulations page.

 

Subcategories

Additionally, snacks must fit in one of the following subcategories:

  • Cookies & Baked Goods (e.g. brownies, shortbread, macarons, sweet breads)
  • Jerky
  • Dehydrated Fruit
  • Popcorn (must be pre-popped)
  • Granola
  • Chips (e.g., corn, potato, veggie)
  • Crackers & Crisps (excludes graham crackers or other sweet cookie-like crackers)
  • Bars & Balls (e.g., granola, protein, energy)
  • Hard Pretzels
  • Snack Mixes (e.g., trail, nut, seed, or party!)
  • Puffs (e.g., cheese, quinoa, rice, veggie)