San Francisco based Good Food Foundation does so, so many things. Support is the one word that comes to mind, but hardly begins to enumerate this multi-faceted organization and the impact they are having on helping America eat better. Their website says it best in their mission, that they exist of help the “passionate and engaged, yet often overlooked” food entrepreneurs who are being authentic and responsible “in order to humanize and reform our American food culture.”. Now that’s a big idea, but it takes follow up. The Good Food Foundation supports all those passionate and engaged people with five big, key programs that build incredible awareness for those folks. First is the awards program, a rigorous process by which the winners receive huge awareness and publicity. Second is the nearly 500-member guild, where membership is based on meeting high standards and is an amazing arena in which to talk shop. Fifty percent of American food dollars are spent in the grocery store, and the Merchants Alliance is where those store owners practice putting only the best food on their shelves. The Mercantile program is the grand trade show series, which includes the big NYC show and a Traveling Mercantile. These shows bring 350-800 retailers and media to meet with 200 crafters to show their stuff, each in the same size booth. The Fund program is a work in progress, to intensify innovative programs to unite crafters and merchants to keep good food in front of consumers. Their work has given immeasurable help to growers, ranchers, makers and merchants who buck the big corporate trend. How did this great effort get started? The Executive Director, Sarah Weiner (yes, there are three Sarah’s on this episode; try not to get confused) jumped into the fray fresh out of college. As Director of Communications for the Slow Food International Office, Italy, she became a staunch leader for the food movement. Moving then to California, USA, she became Alice Waters’ (famous author and national public policy advocate for universal access to healthy, organic foods) “Girl Friday”. Sarah then went on to produce a cavalcade of successful event; Slow Food Nation with 85,000 guests, Organic Food Festival with 20,000 attendees and Sips and Suppers, a fundraiser launched with Alice Waters, Joan Nathan and Jose Andres. These events evolved into bigger visions and missions, including Farm to Desk in Washington, D.C. organizing gardening, classroom and cafeteria programs in public schools where food topics were part of the curriculum. It was the Good Food Awards Project that really blossomed. The first event in San Francisco drew 2,000 entries from all 50 states and from there the team launched project after project, which ultimately became the current five programs of the organization. And the foundation of each of those programs is based on those two important themes: Authentic and responsible. Social media: @goodfoodfdn. Website: goodfoodfdn.org. Our hosts: Twitter - @sarahmasoni and @spicymarshall, Instagram - @masoniandmarshall, Sarah Masoni LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-masoni-67182a23/.

#126 Supporting All Those Rebels Swimming Upstream - Sarah Weiner, Good Food Foundation

Meaningful Marketplace Podcast