FMI Presents 2020 Gold Plate Awards
The FMI Foundation honored recipients of its 2020 Gold Plate Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 26, during the organization’s inaugural Supper Bowl championship. The combined event was held as part of the virtual FMI Midwinter Executive Conference.
“The Gold Plate Awards and Supper Bowl competition both highlight the outstanding work the food industry is doing as part of the Family Meals Movement,” said David Fikes, executive director of the Arlington, Virginia-based FMI Foundation. “Family meals help us stay strong by boosting fruit and vegetable consumption and connectiveness, which support overall personal health. The food industry continues to provide shoppers creative and easy meal solutions as families face new shopping and meal habits brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The FMI Foundation Gold Plate Awards recognize outstanding programs implemented by the food industry during National Family Meals Month in September that encourage families to take part in more family meals. This year’s recipients were:
- Category A (retailers with one to 49 stores) Winner: St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Coborn’s Inc., Kids Cook at Home for National Family Meals Month! program
- Category B (retailers with 50-199 stores) Winner: Grand Rapids, Michigan-based SpartanNash Co., Family Meals at Home program
- Category C (retailers with 200 or more stores): Keasbey, New Jersey-based Wakefern Food Corp., Just Add Family program
- Food Manufacturer Category: Camden, New Jersey-based Campbell Soup Co., Campbell Helps Families Stay Strong with Family Meals program
- Community Collaborator Category: Des Moines, Iowa-based National Pork Board and the Moscow, Iowa-based U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil Council, Powerful Pairings program
- Rising Star Category: The Grocery Gal, The Grocery Gal Presents Family Meals Month social media campaign
- COVID-19 Heroes Category (created to recognize charitable programs that help all families eat more meals together): West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee Inc., 2020 National Family Meals Month campaign, built on the theme of “coming together”; The Giant Co., based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, For Today’s Table campaign.
The Produce for Better Health Foundation, based in Brentwood, Missouri, and Common Threads, based in Austin, Texas, are partners in the FMI Foundation’s Family Meals Movement.
Further, the Supper Bowl, a fundraising program created to support the foundation, involves retailers and suppliers competing for the title of Best Family Meal. The online event featured food industry chefs creating finalists' recipes, with commentary from Chef Robert Irvine and live voting to determine the first-ever Supper Bowl Champion: Hy-Vee, for its stuffed pork chops with a Brussels sprouts side and apple pie rosettes.
Established in 1996, the FMI Foundation seeks to ensure continued quality and efficiency in the food retailing system and is operated for charitable, educational and scientific purposes.
Giant Co., Wakefern, Hy-Vee, SpartanNash and Coborn’s are Nos. 11, 25, 33, 40 and 82 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
