Standards
Beer companies must meet the following standards for at least 50% of their product line:
- Certified organic, or meet at least four of the following eligibility criteria:
- Made with at least one ingredient (besides water and yeast) sourced within 150 miles. Malt will be considered “local” if sourced from a local maltster.
- Made with at least one ingredient (besides water) that is grown without the use of synthetic inputs, including herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers.
- Made by a brewery that has made concrete water recycling or other resource efficiency improvements in the production or delivery process in the last three years.
- Made by a brewery that engages deeply with its community by participating in a sustainably-minded guild; offering paid time off for employees to volunteer for causes they believe in; or otherwise offers substantial support to its community.
- Made by a brewery that prioritizes resource or consumer packing waste reduction through programs, such as mash repurposing, growler programs and container-related sustainability measures.
- Made by a brewery that proudly maintains one or more third-party accreditations embodying social responsibility and transparency.*
- In addition, all Beer entries must meet the following criteria:
- Made in the USA or US territories.
- 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
Apply to join by reaching out to membership@specialtyfood.com.