The 2020 Good Food Top 100

Good Food Top 100 wants to recognize those restaurants that “do good”.

***CORRECTION The Good Food 100 rating is based on an analysis of each restaurant’s self-reported purchasing data, verified by NSF.org.

About 3 years ago we first reported on the Good Food 100, a listing of restaurants assembled not because of ambiance, or taste, or price or commitment to the environment – but all of the above and then some. Topline is this nonprofit wants to recognize those restaurants that “do good”.

“Bad-tasting food is a conversation stopper,” co-founder Sara Brito says. “But a good-tasting meal should open the conversation up to all of those other elements of food: the soil, the water, the animals, the farmers and ranchers and fishermen, and the restaurant workers.” The 137 restaurants, caterers, and food service operators recognized on the 2019 Good Food 100 (although I’m unsure why there are 137 rather than just 100, but so be it) opted into sharing their practices on all of these points. 

They receive a rating of up to six “links” based on how their “good food purchases” compare to other participants, and all of the data they submit contributes to the annual industry impact report.

In an interview with Eater, Brito discussed how the Good Food 100 works for the restaurants that participate and why it has implications for the restaurant industry as a whole.  

Brito told Eater that “Our ultimate vision is to change the way restaurants are viewed and valued, and to me, the first way you can change the way something is viewed and valued is to change the types of restaurants that are being recognized. There’s no other list that I’m aware of that puts the power of recognition back in the hands of chefs and restaurants. Every other list is done based on an editorial producer or awards committee. It’s professional expertise but still subjective expertise. The criteria that are used to get on the list tend to be very opaque, and that lack of transparency in the editorial process favors the privileged; it favors the establishment. And so, I wanted to create a recognition vehicle.

There are three parts to the survey: There’s the sourcing piece, here’s the business practices piece, and there’s the labor practices piece. 

In 2020, she goes on, the conversation about food needs to be about more than just taste; it needs to be about what I like to refer to as the whole story of food. We like to say, “Change the world for good, both positively and permanently.”

According to Good Food 100 2019 report, over 78 percent of the survey respondents reported providing access to health insurance, and 87 percent of the responding restaurants had a sexual harassment policy in place.

Check out the report, it's a blueprint for grocerant practices and successes.