Dried Pacific Northwest Rainiers Take Top Honors at the Good Food Awards in Portland, OR
Prosser, WA, April 24, 2023—This weekend, Chukar Cherries’ Organic Rainier Cherries earned a coveted Good Food Award in the Snacks category from the prestigious Good Food Foundation. The foundation hosted the 2023 Good Food Awards on Friday at Revolution Hall in Portland, OR—the very first time the awards have been held in the Pacific Northwest. Appropriate for the Northwest debut, Chukar’s founder, Pam Montgomery spoke at the award ceremony—describing how Chukar went from humble beginnings on an Inland Northwest family orchard to becoming an iconic Northwest cherry & chocolate gifting brand.
2023 marks the 13th year of the Good Food Awards hosted by the Good Food Foundation. Each year, judges evaluate over 2000 entries via blind tasting. Fifteen winners are chosen in each specialty food category—showcasing the best sustainably-produced foods available in the USA. Organically grown by Inland Northwest farmers and dried on-site in Prosser—Chukar’s Organic Rainiers excel on both accounts.
Organic Rainier Cherries have been a top seller since Chukar launched their Certified Organic product line in 2013. Located in the heart of Washington cherry country—Chukar sources their cherries locally and dries them without added sugar, preservatives, or sulfites using a natural process the company pioneered in the 1980’s on the family cherry orchard. To make Chukar’s Rainier cherries even more exceptional, the Rainier cherry was first cultivated just 5 miles from Chukar’s headquarters at the Washington State University Irrigated Agriculture Research & Extension Center. Chukar’s Organic Rainier Cherries are USDA Certified Organic and contain only one ingredient—Washington cherries.
According to Karley Lange, Marketing Specialist at Northwest Cherries, Rainier Cherries are unique among cherry varietals: “Northwest Rainier Cherries quickly rose to international prominence for their exceptionally large size, vibrant yellow color and pink blush skin, and delicately sweet flavor. It is no surprise to us that Chukar’s Organic Rainier Cherries—dried within days of harvest in the center of Washington’s fruit lands—are recognized as an exceptionally rewarding snack.”
Chukar Cherries is also a regional leader in sustainability initiatives including local fruit sourcing, plant-based packaging, composting cherry pits, and waste reduction. For example, Chukar’s catalogs are printed on Forest Stewardship Council Certified Paper, much of their packaging is plant-based or recyclable, retail bags are made from OceanPoly® (which contains a minimum of 25% plastic recovered from coastal pollution areas), and the company’s UPS packages ship Certified Carbon Neutral.
Chukar’s Organic Rainier Cherries can be purchased at their flagship store and factory headquarters in Prosser, at their store in the center of Seattle’s Pike Place Market, or at CHUKAR.COM.
About Chukar Cherries
Transforming local cherries into authentic Northwest goodies and gifts has been Chukar's specialty since the company launched on the Alexander-Auld orchard in central Washington’s fruit lands in 1988. The family-owned business handcrafts its all-natural products using tree-ripened fruit, fresh roasted nuts, and premium chocolate.