It's official, as of January 22nd, we have officially won three Good Food Awards (GFAs) for our Organic Heirloom Pickled Blueberry. This is a huge honor and the submission and judging process started this past July. Our crew worked tirelessly preparing for the submission.

If you are unfamiliar with the GFAs, in short, they are essentially the Oscars of food awards, but without the fantastic evening wear. In not-so-short, as stated by the Good Food Foundation, "For a long time, certifications for responsible practices and awards for superior taste have remained distinct — one honors social and environmental responsibility, while the other celebrates craftsmanship and flavor. The Good Food Awards recognizes that truly good food — the kind that brings people together and builds strong, healthy communities — contains all of these ingredients.”

It's a huge honor to win one at all or even become a finalist and we are humbled that the pickled heirloom blueberries have won a total of three. Our pickled heirloom blueberries were one of 336 products (of nearly 2,000 entries submitted) that passed the blind tasting and then thorough vetting for category-specific sustainability standards. And out of those 336, we were one of 219 winners, from Maine to Guam, to be honored with this award. We're one of 17 from Washington state, and one of 7 from Skagit, Whatcom, Island, and San Juan counties! See this map to view all 2021 Good Food Award winner (you can filter by region).

This year was quite different as we tuned in from our home. To help make it feel more like we were there, the Good Food Foundation sent us a snack box of award-winning products to enjoy during the virtual event. We laughed, cried, were inspired, and thankful — not only for the recognition of this award, but for all of you. Our hearts were warmed by Sarah Weiner's (Good Food Foundation creator) words about how, as she reminisced about what Mr. Rodger's said at her college commencement speech and numerous times during his show for preschoolers, that although this past year was filled with lots of sadness, it was also filled with times of gladness. She also gave us encouragement and recognition, saying that within our industry, what we're doing and working towards with our companies is what really matters. It was also a wonderful time and we felt proud of our choice to become the owners of Bow Hill Blueberries and continue the 74-year legacy of these plants.

This year, in place of the Good Food Foundation’s usual mercantile for award-winning companies, they're going digital which means great things for people around the country. Starting January 25th and running through February 7th, the Good Food Foundation is hosting a virtual online pop-up marketplace. That link will can be found here and will be shared on our social media channels. Shipping is included in all orders.

Stop into our farm store to see our new shiny medal and pick up a jar or two of our 2021 award-winning Organic Pickled Heirloom Blueberries or order online.