Specialty Food Association Adds Members to Specialty Food Hall of Fame

The Specialty Food Association will be inducting a new class of industry leaders into the Specialty Food Hall of Fame. Established in 2015, the Hall of Fame's mission is to "honor individuals whose accomplishments, impact, contributions, innovations, and successes within the specialty food industry deserve praise and recognition."

"The Specialty Food Industry has grown into a $127 billion business and a significant part of the food that Americans eat every day, thanks to all of the manufacturers, importers, retailers and culinary leaders who continue to innovate and evolve the industry," said Phil Kafarakis, President of the Specialty Food Association.

The 2017 class of 26 individuals will be honored on June 25, 2017, at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York as part of a special event that also includes the Association's Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The 2017 inductees are:

John H. Affel: World Finer Foods, Inc., Bloomfield, NJ

Bruce Aidells: Aidells Sausage Company, San Leandro, CA

Ted Bolle: Telefood Magazine

Bob & Verna Budd: Oak Hill Farms, Atlanta, GA

Jeffrey M. Cohen: Sutton Place Gourmet, Bethesda, MD

Al Cook: Melba Food Specialties, Inc., Brooklyn, NY

Leo A. Dick: Leo A. Dick & Sons Co., Warren, MI

Samuel W. Edwards III: Edwards Virginia Smokehouse, Surry, VA

Kurt Hamburger: Jacob Hamburger Company, Inc., Portland, OR

Rex Howell-Smith: Central Market, Dallas, TX

Scott Jensen: Stubb's Bar-B-Q & Rhythm Superfoods, Austin, TX

Natalie King: Stonewall Kitchen, York, ME

Paula Lambert: Mozzarella Co., Dallas, TX

David Lemberger: Lemberger Candy Corp., Paramus, NJ

Leo Lemberger: Lemberger Candy Corp., Paramus, NJ

Fred Meyer: Fred Meyer/Kroger, Portland, OR

Joseph Moskowitz: Larkin Cold Storage & Columbia Cheese, Long Island City, NY

Nell Newman: Newman's Own Organics, Aptos, CA

Frank Patrick: George Delallo Co., Mt. Pleasant, PA

Stanley Poll: William Poll, Inc., New York, NY

Ron Shalinsky: The Better Cheddar, Kansas City, MO

Michael Silver: Neomonde Baking Co., Morrisville, NC

Hal Theis: Reese Finer Foods, Bloomfield, NJ

Michael Thompson: Venus Wafers, Inc., Hingham, MA

Peter Young: Young's Specialty Foods, Tustin CA

Yuval Zaliouk: YZ Enterprises/Almondina, Maumee, OH