2023 Trade Day
Wed. October 18th at Kirkbrae Country Club, Lincoln RI
- Best Bagger
- Food Demos
- Networking Reception
- Industry Dinner
RIFDA hosted the 2023 Annual Trade Day on October 18th at Kirkbrae Country Club. The RIFDA Trade Day featured the state’s Best Bagger Competition and new inductees into their Hall of Fame. The Best Bagger contest is an exciting event and determines the Rhode Island’s Best Bagger who is eligible to compete in the National Grocers Association’s “National Best Bagger Contest” held annually in Las Vegas. This year’s event was coordinated and run with the efforts of Dave’s Marketplace and Shaw’s Supermarket. The Best Bagger contest is always very competitive among the member participants especially this year with 18 contestants, as well as their co-workers who come to cheer them on. This year’s winner was Juliana Aguiar from Dave’s Marketplace. She will represent Rhode Island in the national competition; Good Luck!
The evening featured an industry networking cocktail reception, followed by our annual RIFDA Industry Dinner. This year’s dinner program featured our guest speaker, Secretary of Commerce, Liz Tanner. The evening’s program concluded with the presentation of the 2023 RI Food Dealers Hall of Fame Inductees. These included Tracy Anthony who was awarded the RIFDA Outstanding Service Award, Kristi’s Kraftails who won the 2023 Spirit of RI Award, and Polar Beverages who was honored as the RI Food Dealers Member of the Year. All three worthy recipients distinguished themselves by their outstanding performance, their overall success, and their outstanding contributions to the food industry in the state of RI.
The day’s events proved to be both informative and entertaining and the association was excited with the level of interest members displayed. This event serves the food industry of RI well and provides a unique opportunity to network, learn, and celebrate its members in an exciting format.