Vote now in the Organic Awards 2014

The Organic Awards have just been opened up to the public vote – who do you want to win?

Public voting is now open for the Organic Awards 2014 and will remain open throughout Organic September.

The awards, annually organised by the Soil Association, have been going on for 28 years and were previously known as the Organic Food Awards. They’ve now dropped ‘Food’ from the moniker because the awards have been opened up to all sorts of organic products, regardless of edibility.

The selection process

Organic entrants were tested by a panel of well-respected judges, including a Michelin-starred chef, food writers, and organic farmers. The chair of the panel is Christopher Stopes, a sustainable food and farming expert.

The entries are cut down to a shortlist by the judges, the finalists are announced, and public voting begins. At the end of September, voting closes and the winners will be announced. The lucky few are then invited to a celebration dinner at the Soil Association Annual Conference in October.

I want to vote!

As an extra incentive to get involved, voters in the awards will be entered into a prize draw to win a hamper full of organic produce, supplied by the finalists (see the T&Cs here). And if you like competitions, the Soil Association are also working with Good Energy to give away a year's supply of electricity, as part of Organic September.

The shortlist is now public, and is divided into the following categories:

Organic fresh food	Organic store cupboard food
Organic alcoholic drinks	Organic non-alcoholic drinks
Organic farm visits	Organic health and beauty
Organic fashion and textiles	Organic box scheme
Organic eating out	Best supermarket
Organic places to stay	Best independent retailer

To see the shortlists and cast your votes, visit the Soil Association’s website.

Last year’s winners

Last year, The Better Food Company was named the Best Independent Retailer by the awards, while Waitrose scooped up the prize for Best Supermarket.

Hampstead Tea & Coffee Company, Riverford and Stroud Breweries were among the winners in the produce categories.

The awards also name ‘Best Value Awards’ for those who are hunting a bargain but not prepared to sacrifice organic food in their search. To see all the 2013 winners, click here.

Who will you be voting for? Let us know about your favourites using the comments box below.

You might also like:

Everything you should know about organic food

WWOOFing: how you could become an organic farmer for a few weeks

Organic brined beef with mash recipe