* This is a living document that will be updated on a regular basis until it is no longer needed. For the most up-to-date information, please visit the Specialty Food Association coronavirus update page.
April 13
Summer Fancy Food Show Is Canceled
The Specialty Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food Show, scheduled for June 28-30 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, will not take place as planned due to events outside of the SFA’s control. These include the national and global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, associated travel restrictions, and the Javits Center’s critical service in fighting the pandemic that impacts the facility’s availability.
The immediate priority of the SFA is to guide member exhibitors and registered attendees through a process of receiving refunds or credits for the show. An extensive outreach campaign is underway to all exhibitor members and attendees. More information can be found at the 2020 Summer Fancy Food Show Refund Center.
“As the leader in the future of food movement, our responsibility is to serve our members through good times and bad,” said SFA President Phil Kafarakis. “Our legacy is one of connecting the global specialty food industry – makers, buyers and distributors – and we’re assessing ways to create an engaging environment for that, outside of the Fancy Food Show.”
To that end, the SFA is evaluating alternative formats for later in the year that would help its members maintain their business footing during these unprecedented times. “Our mission remains getting specialty food makers and their amazing products in front of buyers and consumers,” said Kafarakis.
The SFA is currently running webinars, including one recently on the CARES Act, in an “Ask-The-Experts” series. All webinar content is recorded and available on the SFA online Learning Center where an extensive library of tools for business continuity are available.
The SFA is also further developing their Product Marketplace resource center of specialty food products that maker members and buyers use to connect. This is especially important as everyone works to maintain business continuity in these times of slowdown and shutdown. “We’re a community beyond the Fancy Food Show,” Kafarakis said. “We have a lot to offer our members and our industry.”
Details on SFA’s activities to support their members in response to the pandemic may be found in their online Learning Center at learning.specialtyfood.com.
March 23
Given the rapidly changing circumstances, we remain in close contact with officials in the federal government, New York City & State, and at the Javits Center to prepare for how this may affect the Show in late June – 14 weeks from now.
We are working very closely with the Javits Center in particular to understand how recent developments may affect the planning of the Show. Over the weekend, a decision was made by Governor Cuomo to begin evaluating how the Javits Center may be converted into temporary hospital space for an unspecified amount of time.
These events have triggered an internal process at the SFA to ensure decisions are made that place a priority on taking care of our members and doing the right thing.
Being a non-profit organization built to serve and promote our members for the long-term, we are moving as rapidly as possible while also taking care to comply with our legal obligations and protect the sustainability of the SFA. We continue working closely with officials at Javits as they sort out the details of the Governors’ announcement. This requires patience and a little bit more time as we navigate how to do the right thing for our members. Our priority is to be sure that our decisions support our mandate to continue to help our members and their businesses. We will keep you updated as soon as information unfolds.
We are fully aware of the constraints small and very small member businesses are having to navigate and we are committed to helping them through these unprecedented times. Please know that we will do everything in our power to ensure transparency in our decision-making process.