Later this month hundreds of food producers and retailers will converge in Southeast Portland for the Good Food Awards, marking the first time the big event has happened outside of San Francisco.
The awards show is the marquee event for the Good Food Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that works nationally to support food and drink makers and independent retailers. The group focuses on companies that are making tasty products but doing so in a socially and environmentally responsible way, said Executive Director Sarah Weiner.
The big show is slated for April 21 at Revolution Hall, and about 600 people are expected. The host for the night is Elias Cairo, founder of Olympia Provisions, and the keynote is Anthony Myint, a restaurateur and co-founder of Zero Foodprint, which helps farmers adopt regenerative farming practices. It will also feature longtime honorary host Alice Waters, the legendary chef behind Chez Panisse, according to a news release.
The awards show is making its Portland debut because it is the new home of Weiner and a growing number of the foundation’s team. Oregon also has the second highest number of participants each year in the awards, after California. That’s an impressive showing, said Weiner, since the population here is so much smaller.
Weiner moved to Portland in 2018. The group has three employees, a board member and a contractor who are all based in Portland. It still has a handful of folks in California. Weiner made the move shortly after a smaller event in 2017 where she saw the warm reception she got and the strength of the food and beverage community here.
“I moved up here with no intention of moving the foundation activity here,” Weiner said. “Then all of these things just fell into place.”
Last year, the foundation added a Portland mercantile event, an industry trade show, to its existing New York City and San Francisco events. Portland saw 14 sponsors for the event. The two other shows, which have been running for six years, have only ever seen a high of six sponsors, Weiner said.
She knew the Portland community would support more.
“California has an amazing food community and agricultural heritage,” Weiner said. “What has so struck me in my experience moving here and working here is everyone, all the institutions out there, everyone is invested in the success of the makers and the farmers. We are all innovating toward how can we bend and flex to support all our small businesses.”
Each year the awards receives about 2,000 entries. A panel of 250 judges spanning industry experts, culinary professionals and some regular folks do a blind judging to pick the winners in 18 categories. To participate, companies have to meet the foundation’s business standards. This year, 38 Oregon companies are finalists in categories such as cheese, elixirs, pantry and fish.
Last year, winners included Cracker King, for its Rosemary & Sea Salt crackers; Hot Momma Salsa, for its Habanero Hot Sauce; and Revolución Coffee House for its Café de Olla.
Weiner is building relationships with other organizations in town and she has already found support from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Travel Portland and Travel Oregon. She is unsure if the foundation will move its official headquarters and registration out of San Francisco, but, that is mostly due to the process and paperwork involved.
Weiner is still a relatively new Portlander and says she would still have made the move if she was making the choice today. She noted that community decisions like passing the Metro tax for supportive housing gives her confidence that the community is committed to solutions and not just political whims.
She also had no reservations about bringing her biggest event here.
“It’s a hard time in a lot places. And having the support of the institutions we have has made it feel more accessible to take care of anything that might come up,” she said.
“My hope and belief is this could become our home and it can grow in impact and other events can grow around it,” she added.
