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Since 2009, Civil Eats has published unparalleled reporting on the U.S. food system and its effects on people, places, and the planet.
In recognition of our work, in 2014, Civil Eats was named the James Beard Foundation’s Publication of the Year, in 2019, we were inducted into the Library of Congress, and received the inaugural Media Impact Award from the Food & Farming Communication Fund that same year. Below, we list some of our many awards and recognition.
2023
Former Staff Reporter Anne Marshall-Chalmers and Staff Reporter Grey Moran won Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter. Their series of stories on climate crisis solutions, including a surge in drought-resistant agave farming, flooding fields after heavy rains for groundwater restoration, and planting hedgerows for carbon sequestration and other environmental benefits, were named best environment reporting (print/online).
Former Staff Reporter Anne Marshall-Chalmers won a 2023 International Association of Culinary Professionals Food Writing Award for climate solutions reporting on the promise of agave in partnership with Edible Communities.
Civil Eats was named a Micro Newsroom Finalist by the Online News Association for the 2023 Online Journalism Awards, the global prizes that honor excellence in digital journalism.
Civil Eats was named a finalist for the Insight Award for Visual Journalism by the Institute for Nonprofit News Awards 2023 for Civil Eats TV: Women Brewing Change at Sequoia Sake.
Former Senior Reporter Kalen Goodluck won second place in the 2023 Native American Journalists Association’s National Native Media Awards for his story, This Pilot Program Is Supporting Tribal Food Sovereignty with Federal Dollars.
Associate Editor Christina Cooke, former Senior Reporter Gosia Wozniacka, and Contributor Alice Driver were awarded a James Beard Foundation Media Award for excellence in investigative reporting for our 2022 investigation series on animal agriculture workers, Injured and Invisible.
Associate Editor Christina Cooke and Senior Staff Reporter Lisa Held each won OEMME Awards: Cooke for the first article in our “Injured + Invisible” investigative series, and Held for an article on why OSHA and the EPA are not enforcing standards to protect farmworkers from pesticides.
Reporter Gabriel Pietrorazio won second place in the National Association of Agricultural Journalists’ (NAAJ) 2023 Writing Contest for his profile of the Indigenous-led nonprofit Wild Bearies. Pietrorazio also won third place in the group’s 2023 Next Gen Young Writers award for his reporting for Civil Eats, and Staff Reporter Grey Moran won an honorable mention for their reporting for Civil Eats, with the judges noting, “This writer provides a strong voice to those who might be considered non-mainstream agriculturalists.” Senior Staff Reporter Lisa Held won an honorable mention from NAAJ in the news category for her investigation on frac sand mining for “providing useful details on the issue and going beyond the familiar narrative.”
Reporter Jennifer Oldham’s As Drought Hits Farms, Investors Lay Claim to Colorado Water won first prize in the business category of the 2023 the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) Writing Awards. The judges noted: “This story is a captivating tale about the collision of water rights, economic growth and rapid population growth. The author provides extensive information about the owners of water distribution companies and the conflicts between farmers and non-rural users of water. As water resources become more scarce, this story sheds much-needed light on a topic that profoundly affects our lives and the lives of generations to come.”
Reporter Alice Driver’s Tyson Says Its Nurses Help Workers. Critics Charge They Stymie OSHA. received an honorable mention for the 2023 Donald Robinson Memorial Award for Investigative Journalism from ASJA. The judges noted: “We felt this story also showed extensive reporting and interviewing, which was well incorporated into a story along with statistics and an exploration of federal standards and rules. The story did an excellent job of portraying what has been found in federal investigations. It was a tremendous enterprise story.”
Senior Reporter Wesley Brown’s story, “Black Farmers in Arkansas Still Seek Justice a Century After the Elaine Massacre,” was selected for inclusion in Best American Food Writing 2023, guest edited by Mark Bittman, and forthcoming from HarperCollins in October.
2022
Our article, “Craft Beer Faces a Gender and Race Reckoning,” received the Best Commentary award from the North American Guild of Beer Writers. Civil Eats also received the digital media award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals for best newsletter or our monthly members’ content The Deep Dish. Senior Editor Twilight Greenaway also won an SPJ NorCal Honors 2022 Excellence in Journalism Award for reporting on climate change in her “Op-ed: The Flood of Climate Disasters Has the Food System Reeling. It’s Time to Act.”
2021
Our article “Fighting Voter Suppression, Environmental Racism, and Corporate Agriculture in Hog Country” was a finalist for the Phillip D. Reed Environmental Writing Award from the Southern Environmental Law Center. Civil Eats TV was also nominated for an IACP Digital Media Award for online video.
2020
Civil Eats won the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Digital Media Award for Best Group Food Blog and a National Association of Black Journalists’ Salute to Excellence Award for Best Use of Multimedia. In 2021, editor-in-chief and founder Naomi Starkman was named Journalist of the Year by the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center.