SFA Names Honorees for Lifetime Achievement Awards

The impressive performance of the specialty food industry is the result of the hard work and foresight of industry pioneers who decades ago saw an opportunity to elevate the culture of food in the United States and stepped in to make it happen.

To honor these individuals, the Specialty Food Association (SFA) is presenting its 2015 Lifetime Achievement Awards to eight trendsetters who helped create the industry. They will be honored June 29 at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York. 

They are: 

Giorgio DeLuca, Joel Dean and Jack Ceglic, Dean & DeLuca. Co-founders DeLuca, Dean and Ceglic redefined specialty food in the 1970s and 1980s, giving birth to a global brand and inspiring thousands of retailers to embrace specialty food.

Edith Friedland, EFCO Imports. Friedland was the first woman to lead the SFA, formerly called the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. Her company introduced European beers, Swiss health foods and South American hearts of palm to the United States.

Alfred Lepore, Ferrara Foods. Lepore broke new ground for imported Italian foods in America and fostered U.S. production of Italian products under the iconic Ferrara brand. 

Steve Reich, Charlotte Charles. Reich introduced specialty foods to the masses by developing specialty food as a gift. Charlotte Charles became one of the most prominent gift packers, manufacturers and distributors in the industry. 

John Roberts, SFA/NASFT. Roberts led the organization for 17 years. He acquired full ownership of the association’s Fancy Food Shows from a show management company, developed industry-leading media products and introduced education programs for all levels of expertise in the industry. 

The Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented as part of the red-carpet sofi Awards ceremony at the Summer Fancy Food Show. The Summer Fancy Food Show is the largest marketplace for specialty food in North America. It runs June 28-30 at the Jacob K. Javits Center. 

A special committee from the SFA’s inaugural Hall of Fame, which includes 114 food innovators who were inducted in January 2015, selected the Lifetime Achievement honorees.