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Healthy Living Natural Food Retailer Hailed as Outstanding Vermont Business

Healthy Living, an independent natural foods retailer, was named as the 32nd recipient of the Deane C. Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award by Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.

The award honors sustained growth and “an acute awareness of what makes Vermont unique.”

“Like Davis himself — former [Vermont] governor, president of National Life of Vermont, and environmentalist — each finalist reflects Vermont’s diverse nature and, at the same time, radiates a savvy business sense,” John Boutin, publisher of VermontBiz and co-presenter of the award, said in his publication.

Healthy Living has long embodied the values honored in the award; when Katy Lesser opened the South Burlington store in 1986, she wanted to bring healthy, natural foods to the family table. In the three decades since, the brand has expanded to include locations in Williston and Saratoga, N.Y.

Lesser co-owns Healthy Living with her children, Eli and Nina Lesser-Goldsmith, who serve as CEO and COO, respectively. Together they have created 350 jobs, supported the economies of Vermont and New York, and worked tirelessly to fuel a passion for great food, health and well-being and establishing a sense of place where people gather to shop, eat, and work.

The company gives back to nonprofits quarterly and just this year became one of the first retailers to join the Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership, encouraging shoppers to buy local and support participating producers.

Healthy Living’s dedicated, expert staff bring ready-to-eat meals, groceries and wellness items to shoppers each day — with everything sold held to the store’s strict ingredient standards.

“This award means so much to us, because it acknowledges our core values and celebrates them,” Lesser said. “Deane C. Davis became governor at age 68, which shows that you really can switch careers and make an impact. That’s what I did as a young mom in the 1980s, and I’m still learning every day.”

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GoodSAM Foods Announces Multiple Hires

GoodSAM Foods, a healthy snack food brand with a commitment to sustainability and regenerative agriculture, announced multiple new hires including Kari Janapareddi as director of sales, Sara Galeano as director of sustainability and Ryan Siwinski as director of U.S. operations.

Marcia Bell

The company also has added Marcia Bell as chief operating officer starting in March after nearly a year as a consultant.

“Taking on this role allows me to work with an incredible team, developing responsibly-sourced, sustainable supply chains in a direct-trade system that will contribute to supporting our planet,” Bell said. “Our commitment to these choices will have a deep and lasting impact in the beautiful communities that have opened not only their farms to us, but their hearts as well.”
The announcements mark the brand’s continued global growth and team expansion around the world. In addition to leadership expansion, GoodSAM announced that Louise Kibugi will serve as executive Coordinator, stationed in Nairobi, Kenya, effective immediately. Each member of the GoodSAM team contributes to the overall mission of being good for the planet and creating sustainable impact in the food industry.

“There is nothing more exciting as a founder and entrepreneur than watching your team grow as the company grows,” said GoodSAM Founder & CEO, Heather K. Terry. “My vision for this company is extensive and will take a seasoned, forward-thinking, and diverse team to accomplish it.

“Fundamentally upending the food system as we know it, investing and driving growth in regenerative agriculture will take massive alignment, action, and an unrelenting commitment to sustainability and farmers.  I believe we are shaping the team at GoodSAM Foods to take that challenge head-on.”

  • Kari Janapareddi

    Kari Janapareddi (Director of Sales, USA): Kari joins GoodSAM with over 12 years of CPG experience, including seven years working in the chocolate category at Taza Chocolate out of Boston, Mass. She has lived in Boston, Austin and San Francisco and formed relationships with several stellar broker, distributor and retailer partners. Most recently, she was national sales manager at NuttZo where she helped expand the company’s footprint into key natural, conventional and mass market accounts.  \

  • Sara Galeano

    Sara Galeano (Director of Sustainability, Colombia): A communicator by profession, Galeano decided to change careers to follow her passion for making the world a better place. She has more than four years of experience dedicated to building and strengthening sustainable organizations with significant social, environmental, and economic impact. She has also worked to improve the living conditions of rural communities in Colombia, with more than 30 agricultural associations in 12 regions of the country, from the private sector and an NGO. With a history of leading the funding of resources and participating in building environmental, entrepreneurship, education, art, and cultural projects with rural communities in her native country, Galeano hopes to create a greater impact by creating lasting solutions with GoodSAM.

  • Ryan Siwinski

    Ryan Siwinski (Director of US Operations, USA): Ryan holds a B.S. in Operations & Supply Chain Management from Drexel University in Philadelphia. After college, Ryan navigated down a path of various food and agriculture experiences to fully understand the industry from the ground up. He began by launching a small-scale meal prep startup at Drexel University followed by an abundance of agriculture experiences as a farmer, livestock consultant, and regenerative agriculture advocate. His on-farm experience at Tussock Sedge Farm, White Oak Pastures and Rodale Institute has helped him gain extensive knowledge in all aspects of regenerative agriculture systems. Ryan’s career goals are to fully engage in building and managing supply chains that contribute to producing high-quality food with a major emphasis on positive ecological outcomes.

  • Marcia Bell

    Marcia Bell (Chief Operations Officer): Marcia brings over 20 years of operations & logistics leadership expertise. She has far-reaching experience in operations, as evidenced by program development, streamlining operating efficiencies, and developing exceptional teams through senior leadership roles in CPG companies in the natural products industry. Before joining GoodSAM, Mrs. Bell spent several years as Director of Operations for NibMor Chocolate and, most recently, for Eco-Kids in Portland, Maine. Marcia is dedicated to supporting the CEO, her vision, and initiatives across the organization. She is honored to have the opportunity to work with a devoted team committed to igniting positive worldwide impact.

Read more about GoodSAM Foods in the October issue of Gourmet News. So you don’t miss it, subscribe today!

Standard Meat Promotes Tom Allen to Chief Operating Officer

Eight-year Standard Meat Company veteran Tom Allen is the new chief operating officer, said Ben Rosenthal, co-president and CEO of the Dallas-Fort Worth-based meat company.

Standard Meat is a family-owned meat processing and packaging company with plants in Dallas, Fort Worth, Saginaw and Ponder, Texas. The company is a global supplier of custom meat portioning and packaging solutions for the foodservice and retail industries.

“Tom has done an incredible job with our Saginaw facility,” said Rosenthal. “Beginning in 2014, he served as the vice president and general manager of the facility, during which sales have almost quadrupled. His experience led us to tremendous growth in Saginaw; now, his insight and vision will focus on our entire operation and not a single facility.”

As chief operating officer, Allen will oversee all company operations. His focus will ensure the facilities operate efficiently and effectively and are on track with Standard Meat’s strategic goals.

As part of senior leadership, Allen will lead the development of Standard Meat’s five-year strategic growth plan. He will ensure the company’s ongoing and future success across all facilities and within individual departments.

“Tom had extraordinary experience in the meat industry before joining us at Standard Meat Company,” said Ashli Rosenthal Blumenfeld, co-president. “He has worked in many of the most important meat-producing locations across North America. His stellar performance in Saginaw is only a preview of what he will do as chief operating officer.”

Before joining Standard Meat, Allen worked for Cargill, ultimately leading a pair of beef processing facilities. In those facilities, he supervised thousands of employees and oversaw harvesting as many as 6,000-head of cattle per day. Allen holds a bachelor of science in business degree from Oklahoma State University.

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