The 36th Winter Fancy Food Show is on track to break records for exhibit space and attendance at Moscone Center in San Francisco, its longtime West Coast venue. The Show begins Sunday and will continue through January 18. The 36th Winter Fancy Food Show is on track to break records for exhibit space and attendance when it opens Sunday at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Food Channel representatives on the scene will include our cultural correspondent, Andy Ford.

More than 1,300 exhibitors will fill 195,000+ square feet of space with 80,000 specialty foods and beverages from food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs. International exhibitors are making an especially strong showing this year, event officials report, with a nearly 30 percent increase in exhibit space over last year expected, including pavilions from newcomers Vietnam and Wales.

Green show

The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) hopes to make the 36th Winter Fancy Food Show its greenest yet. Eco-friendly initiatives include collecting shrink wrap, bubble wrap and carpet protector during move-in of 1,300 exhibitors, providing composting bins for food scraps to deploy to local farms, and the donation of Show banners and signs to area schools for art projects. The NASFT is encouraging attendees to walk to the Show when possible.

The three-day Show will close on January 18 when exhibitors are expected to donate 100,000 pounds of food to Bay Area anti-hunger programs.