Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award

Each fall, the SFA, with support from the Fertel Foundation, honors an unsung hero or heroine, a foodways tradition bearer of note, with the Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award.

We now pay homage in two ways: We commission a documentary film and we make a monetary contribution.

Our first documentary film, Saving Seeds, an homage to Kentucky bean and tomato farmer Bill Best, was a finalist for the Golden Snail award from Slow Food. And they’re getting better each year.

Previous Honorees:

• 2011 Hardy Farms -- peanut farm in Hawkinsville, GA
• 2010 Peter Nguyen -- on behalf of Gulf Coast Vietnamese fishing communities, MS
• 2009 Geno Lee -- restaurant owner, Jackson, MS
• 2008 Earl Cruze -- dairy farmer, Knoxville, TN
• 2007 Elizabeth Scott -- tamale maker, Greenville, MS
• 2006 Tommy Ward -- oysterman, Apalachicola, FL
• 2005 Martin Sawyer -- bartender, New Orleans, LA
• 2004 Martha Hawkins -- restaurant owner, Montgomery, AL
• 2003 Bill Best -- bean and tomato farmer, Berea, KY
• 2002 James Willis -- pitmaster, Memphis, TN
• 2001 Ed Scott -- catfish farmer, Drew, MS
• 2000 J.C. Hardaway -- pitmaster, Memphis, TN

Original artwork by Amy C. Evans Streeter.