The Fort Worth Food + Wine Foundation presented the Renfro family, who have owned and operated specialty food brand Renfro Foods since 1940, with the 2023 Walter F. Kaufmann Lifetime Achievement Award last week.
Established in 2015 and first awarded to its namesake, the late Fort Worth fine-dining restaurateur Walter Kaufmann, the award recognizes significant culinary achievements and is given to individuals or families who “embody the integrity, achievements and standards” set by Kaufmann, according to the foundation. Other previous recipients of the award have included chef Jon Bonnell, the late cooking school teacher Renie Stevens, and the Anfin family, who have been leaders in the beverage distribution industry and highly active in local civic activities and organizations.
“We were very excited that we were the fifth recipient of this award,” Becky Renfro Borbolla, senior vice president and co-owner, Renfro Foods, told SFA News Daily.
Renfro Borbolla is a two-time co-chair of the SFA Board of Directors and was named to the SFA Hall of Fame in 2021. She is also the founder and president of Women Steering Business, a civic-minded organization dedicated to developing future female business leaders who got their start in agriculture.
The Walter F. Kaufmann Lifetime Achievement Award was presented at the Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival by event co-founder Russell Kirkpatrick. The activities included a night market and a seated dinner featuring food from the restaurants of local chefs Felipe Armenta and Graham Elliot and their Far OUT Hospitality network.
Fort Worth, Texas-based Renfro Foods manufactures salsas, peppers, relishes and sauces. Its award-winning salsa line, Mrs. Renfro’s, includes nearly 30 products available through supermarkets, gourmet food stores and gift shops in all 50 states and internationally.
“This recognition is a testament to my grandparents–George and Arthurine Renfro–and what they started more than 80 years ago," said Doug Renfro, president of Renfro Foods, who was on hand at the award presentation along with two other third-generation members of the family, Renfro Borbolla and James Renfro, and two members of the second generation, Linda and Jack Renfro.
Doug Renfro said his grandparents founded the company “on the principles of treating people fairly, doing the right thing and making good products.”
The Renfro family continues to promote a collaborative community spirit through a variety of sponsorships and speaking engagements at businesses, higher education classes and community events, the company said. In addition to their involvement in leadership roles at the Specialty Food Association, Renfro family members currently serve (or have previously served) on boards and in leadership positions at the Texas Food Processors Association, the North Texas Food Sales Association, the Chile Pepper Institute’s Advisory Council, Tarrant Area Food Bank, Women Steering Business, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce executive committee, Western Gold Region of the YPO (formerly the Young Presidents’ Organization), the Fort Worth and Texas Chambers of Commerce, and others.
In 2018, Renfro Foods was named a finalist for the Dream Big Small Business of the Year Award by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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