The James Beard Foundation has announced the winners of the eighth annual James Beard Foundation Leadership Awards. The James Beard Foundation celebrates the accomplishments of leaders in America’s food system through the Leadership Awards, which honor people working to “create a healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable food world.”
The 2018 winners are:
Dara Cooper (Co-Founder, National Black Food and Justice Alliance) “for dedicating her life to racial equity and justice in the food system and increasing capacity and visibility of Black-led narratives and work.”
Ferd Hoefner (Senior Strategic Adviser, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition) “for being actively engaged in federal farm and food advocacy for over 40 years and tirelessly making sure the voices of family farmers and the sustainable agriculture movement are heard on Capitol Hill.
Doug Rauch (President and Founder, Daily Table) “for his innovative work in fighting food insecurity through Daily Table and corporate leadership as the former president of Trader Joe’s Company.”
Shirley Sherrod (Executive Director, Southwest Georgia Project) “for defending farmers and farmer equity as well as building farmer coops in the south.”
Ramon Torres (President, Familias Unidas por la Justia) “For leadership and organizing efforts in the formation of an independent indigenous farm worker labor union that won an historic collective bargaining agreement for farmworkers dramatically improving the lives of thousands of farmworkers and their families in Washington State.”
Previous James Beard Foundation Leadership Award recipients include former First Lady Michelle Obama, Congressman Jim McGovern, Alice Waters, Mark Bittman, Dan Barber, and Michael Pollan.
The winners will be recognized at a ceremony in Chicago on May 5, co-sponsored by Hyatt, with founding support from theGRACE Communications Foundation, and additional support from the Blended Burger Project and the Mushroom Council.
