The Chefs Collaborative announced the first finalists for the inaugural 2010 Sustainability Awards and they include Farm Fresh Rhode Island director Noah Fulmer.

The new awards recognize individuals who have played an exemplary role in promoting a network of chefs fostering a sustainable food system. That sounds very much like what Fulmer and Farm Fresh do.

He's nominated for the Foodshed Champion award which seems a little off because it highlights a food producer (farmer, fisher, artisanal producer) committed to working with chefs and who exemplifies these principles.

But Farm Fresh's Market Mobile, which helps local farmers and artisans sell their goods to restaurants by arranging ordering, delivery and payment, does meet the critiera of forming successful, lasting partnerships with chefs.

Eva Sommaripa of Eva's Garden in nearby Dartmouth is also nominated in that category.
The other finalists are:
Allison Hooper and Bob Reese of Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery
Henry and Lisa Lovejoy, founders of EcoFish
Steve Verrill of Verrill Farm
Pat and Barbara Woodbury of Woodbury Shellfish

In a second catery, the Sustainer award recognizes a chef who has been both a great mentor and is a model to the culinary community through his/her purchases of seasonal, sustainable ingredients and the transformation of these ingredients into delicious food.
The finalists are:
Chef Greg Atkinson of Seattle's Organic to Go
Chef Peter Davis of Cambridge's Henrietta's Table
Chef Sam Hayward of Portland's Fore Street
Chef Andrea Reusing of Chapel Hill's Lantern Restaurant
Chef Ana Sortun of Cambridge's Oleana
Chef Johnathan Sundstrom of Seattle's Lark.

Finally, the Pathfinder award honors a visionary working in the greater food community who has been a catalyst for positive change within the food system through efforts that go beyond the kitchen.
The award finalists are:
Fedele Bauccio, co-founder of Bon Appetit Management Company
Chef Karen Jurgenson of Seattle Culinary Academy
Chef Chris Koetke, dean of Kendall College School of Culinary Arts
Jon Rowley of Taylor Shellfish Farms
Lyndon Virkler of the New England Culinary Institute
Alec Webb and Megan Camp of Shelburne Farms

Winners will be announced at the awards dinner on Monday, October 4, at Allandale Farm, in Boston during the 2010 Chefs Collaborative National Summit. For a list of judges and information on the judging process, go to the Web site.