Good Food Awards Moves to Portland From San Francisco

The Good Food Awards, an annual competition which recognizes American craft food products, has relocated to Portland from San Francisco, where it has occurred since its inception in 2011. The Good Food Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit which provides support to food and drink producers through a variety of programs, hosts the event each year.

For the 2023 awards, the Good Food Foundation named 513 finalists from a pool of nearly 2,000 entries, following a blind tasting and vetting for sustainability standards. The competition’s 18 award categories include beer, charcuterie, cheese, snacks, pantry items, and more — Camas Country Mill’s spelt fusilli, Creo’s caramelized milk chocolate, and Tiny Fish Co.’s smoked geoduck are among the dozens of Oregon finalists. The industry event will take place on April 21 at Revolution Hall; Olympia Provisions co-founder Elias Cairo will host while venerated California chef Alice Waters presents the awards.

Multnomah County is offering grants to small businesses struck by vandalism

As of April 10, Multnomah County has started offering grants to small businesses located east of I-205 that have suffered damage from vandalism. The county will distribute the grants, which are available in amounts up to $5,000, in partnership with the nonprofit Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon (MESO). Businesses will be able to use funds to repair damage that has occurred since July 1, 2022. Applications are open now and available in English and Spanish.

Shuttered food cart Skidbladnir has reopened as a residency inside Star Bar

The Celtic and Scandinavian-inspired food cart, which closed abruptly in December 2021, has a new home inside Star Bar. Owner Patrick Carney has revived Skidbladnir, and will serve food at the Buckman dive bar daily from 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Although the former cart’s popular Norwegian meatball dish won’t be making a comeback, Carney has brought back the Irish Spice Bag (hand-cut fries, curry sauce, grilled bell peppers and onions, choice of fried chicken or soy curls) and is debuting new menu items like a green chile burger and a grilled zucchini sandwich.