13 San Diego Food Pros Dish on Their Go-To Kitchen & Bar Gifts
Stumped for stocking stuffers? Shop and gift like a food pro.
Edible San Diego's Save-the-World Gift Guide: 13 Local Gifts that Give Back
Give gifts that can change the world.
We love gifts that pull double duty as both thoughtful presents for friends and loved ones and as opportunities to support causes we believe in.
One cause we love is supporting local in general, and we have a series of shop local gift guides, an Edible partner shopping list, and a lineup of amazing farmers markets where you’re sure to get plenty of holiday inspiration.
Gift subscriptions of Edible San Diego are another great option, as they enable us to continue to share stories about local, ethical food and drink in San Diego County.
This particular gift guide highlights a few companies who have taken innovative steps to make the world a better place, and allow you as a gift giver to spread double the holiday cheer.
Hot Yoga Lovers: Recycled Bottle Built-in-Towel Mats
Yoga Design Lab mats are downright gorgeous, but the beautiful designs are more than skin deep. The soft, sueded texture of these mats comes courtesy of recycled plastic bottle over a sustainable tree rubber base.
This soft, absorbent, machine washable mat is perfect for the ocean-loving hot yoga buff.
$78 at yogadesignlab.com
Surfing Yogis: Repurposed Wetsuit Yoga Mats
Suga in Encinitas makes their SugaMats out of upcycled, non-biodegradable wetsuits. As you can imagine, a mat made of repurposed neoprene has amazing grip, perfect for the post-surf beach yogis.
$79 at Suga.yoga
Ocean Advocates: Gift Membership to the Surfrider Foundation
You can gift a membership (plus t-shirt) to the Surfrider Foundation to directly support their mission of protecting the world’s oceans and beaches.
$25+ at Surfrider.org
Locavores: Heirloom and Artisan Gift Box
At the WD Dickinson farm, heirloom, pre-GMO varieties of plants are being reintroduced to San Diego and the resulting fruits and vegetables are helping those battling autoimmune diseases and other chronic illnesses.
Support their mission and give the gift of cool, local treats with a seasonal gift basket featuring six mercantile products and a coupon for a free harvest bag of season heirloom produce.
$40 at wddickinson.com/store
Regenerative Ag Advocates: “Soil is the Climate Change Solution” Online Course
Knowledge is the first step in creating sustainable change. For the food policy or environmental nerd in your life, this course on regenerative agriculture from Farmers Footprint and the author of Kiss the Ground will be an amazing way to start the new year. As a bonus? A portion of the proceeds from the course go to support Farmer's Footprint's mission to heal our farmland.
$49 (Right now they are offering 50% off of the class, which is normally $99) on-demand gift course is available at farmersfootprint.us/commune-course/
Coffee Lovers: Beans for an Empowering End to Poverty
Inside Cafe Virtuoso, the non-profit San Diego Coffee Training Institute was created to empower members of the community impacted by long-term poverty by providing aspiring baristas and coffee roasters instruction and certification to help them advance their professional coffee career and break the cycle of poverty for their families.
12oz bags of coffee ($18), tea tins ($15) subscriptions, and gift cards are available at cafevirtuoso.com
Heart for the Homeless: Donated Community Care Kits
For the person who has everything? Donate a Community Care Kit in their honor to Lucky Duck and you will be providing homeless individuals and families who are seeking shelter and case management a dignity-enhancing kit including seasonal protective clothing, hygiene necessities (including feminine products), and comfort items packaged in a backpack
$25 provides two kits at Luckyduckfoundation.com
Fighter for Food Justice: Local Produce to Local Families
Now through December 31st, Coastal Roots Farm is matching donations to the Nourish Your Neighbors campaign, doubling the impact of your gift. Donations will help provide fresh, local produce to 3,000 food insecure local families.
Donate $10 or more online
Environmentals Who Like a Drink: Craft Beer and Hard Kombucha
Pure Project Brewing and June Shine are both giving one percent of their gross sales to environmental causes through 1% for the Planet. Festive seasonal cans of Home for the Holihaze murky double IPA and Celestial Spheres sour double IPA will thrill any beer lover, while June Shine’s honey ginger lemon brew will cure what ails you.
Holiday Brews will be available at the Pure Project tap rooms on December 21st. Find Juneshine at their North Park tap room.
The Waste-Reducer with a Sweet Tooth: Holiday “Rescue Cookies” from SoulMuch
SoulMuch turns rescued food into delicious cookies. Every box of cookies rescues five pounds of food from the landfill, saves 1,500 gallons of water, and diverts 3.5 metric tons of C02 from our atmosphere. The festive holiday boxes come with Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Espresso, Red Velvet Beet, Carrot Ginger, and Chocolate Mint Cookies.
$29.95 Holiday Cookie Boxes at soulmuchfoods.com
Active Kids-at-Heart Helping Underprivileged Kids: Ocean Connectors Eco Tour
Ocean Connectors Eco Tours are personalized, one-of-a-kind experiences that provide a day of outdoor fun in San Diego. Their tours are conducted in partnership with local businesses and are led by certified guides who are experts in marine science, recreation, and conservation.
10% of each Eco Tour ticket goes to support the Ocean Connectors mission to educate, inspire, and connect underserved youth with the ocean.
Tours start at $30 for kids/$50 for adults, book at oceanconnectors.org/eco-tours/
Ocean-Loving Kiddos: Stuffed Animals that Help Save the Ocean
Each Shore Buddy stuffed animal is made from 6 recycled plastic water bottles. The bottles are turned into plastic flakes at the factory and either used as Shore Buddies' stuffing or melted and turned into yarn for the soft exterior. Sammy the Seal, Stephen Seagull, Shelly the Sea Turtle, and Fin the Dolphin help support the Shore Buddies mission to save marine life and keep plastic out of our oceans.
$19.95 at shore-buddies.com
The Bee-Loving Gardner: SoloBee Shelters
The “shrine” shelter provides a home for the 700 of 20,000 species of solitary native bees that pollinate our local fruits and flowers. Made by a local architect, the beautiful bee houses are made using upcycled wood from old Taylor Guitars for a unique, bee-friendly addition to a home garden.
$119 from solobee.com
More Ways to Give
A Guide to San Diego Food Non-Profits
From farm advocacy to school gardens, feeding the homeless to nutrition classes, these non-profit groups are leading the fight for fair food in San Diego County.
