Generic go-to gifts like ties or scarves are about as fun to shop for as they are to receive - in other words, not very. But if you know a little something about your recipient - for instance, she loves spicy stuff, or he never turns down dessert - then it's easy to choose food gifts that feel as thoughtful and personal as they are delicious. Better yet, the specialty treats below give back to deserving social and environmental causes, so your gift will have an extra impact that you and the recipient can feel especially good about. Choose just one or make a gourmet gift basket with several. And go ahead and treat yourself while you're at it - it's for a good cause!
Ethically sourced and artisanally harvested from deep within the Himalayas, HimalaSalt is touted as "the purest salt on earth." The unrefined, stone-ground crystals have the palest pink-apricot tint, thanks to a naturally high mineral content. With a flavor far more delicate than typical table salt, this is a great finishing salt that sharpens food flavors without overpowering them. HimalaSalt is available in fine or coarse grind, large chunks, and blocks. Even more unique are the beautiful salt slabs - they can be chilled and used as serving platters, or heated and then cooked on right at the table!
The products are certified organic and kosher, and they're gluten- and allergen-free, so they're a safe choice for most recipients. Prices start at about $6 for a travel set of salt and pepper, and run to about $70 for a large cooking slab. Several attractive gift sets are available in the $20 to $30 range.
The company shuns the use of child labor or dynamite blasting to reach salt sources. HimalaSalt also has Green-e certification, uses eco-friendly packaging, and donates 5% of its profits to the environment and the community from which it is sourced.
Forget those dubiously healthy nutrition bars filled with unpronounceable ingredients. Made predominantly from dried fruits and nuts, all-natural, gluten-free KIND bars manage a nice alchemy of sticky-sweet and crunchy to satisfy cravings on the go. The slim bars are easy to chew, too, so they're a fantastic choice for refueling during a long hike or bike ride. There's a wide range of flavors, including Almond & Apricot, Mango Macadamia, and Sesame & Peanuts with Chocolate. The company eschews unsavory additives like sulfur dioxide and GMO ingredients, and directs at least 5% of profits to the PeaceWorks Foundation, which was founded in 1994 to help promote peaceful coexistence in areas of political or armed conflict through cooperative business ventures.
Concerned about the obesity and diabetes epidemics, PeaceWorks founder Daniel Lubetsky conceived of KIND Bars as a healthy (and delicious) alternative to empty-calorie junk. The bars are also meant to inspire random acts of kindness. Gift capsules and cubes contain several bars in a variety of flavors, and include a KINDED card, that can be registered and tracked online as strangers pass it along while doing kind acts for each other. It's a clever marketing conceit to be sure, but one that might just spread a lot of good will. Gift packs, available on the KIND website, range from about $20 to $43; individual bars are available at Trader Joe's, Starbucks, Whole Foods, and at supermarkets, health food stores, and gourmet shops, where you'll find them for about $1.50 to $2.00.
Founded in 1982, Greyston Bakery's tagline is "We don't hire people to bake brownies. We bake brownies to hire people." The aptly named Do Goodie brownies are integral to Greyston's mission of community renewal and development. Greyston hires previously marginalized workers regardless of work history, and offers fair wages, health benefits, mentorship, and opportunities for advancement. Bakery profits support community services including affordable childcare and housing, and healthcare for those living with HIV.
Estimable cookbook writer Dorie Greenspan praises the brownies' "deep, deep chocolate flavor" and "super-fudgy" texture. Ben & Jerry's lovers take note: Greyston makes the brownie mix-ins for the socially conscious ice cream company. Made with Belgian chocolate, the all-natural, kosher brownies come in 4 flavors: Espresso Bean, Chocolate Fudge, Walnut Fudge, and Brown Sugar Blondie. Greyston also offers a small selection of gluten free goodies. Prices range from $8 for 10 gluten free cookies to $96 for a party pack of 48 brownies.
Known for its full leaf, organic teas - including stunning handcrafted flowering teas, which blossom in hot water -- Numi recently branched out to offer Puerh teas in several forms. Tea connoisseurs have long prized the rare, antioxidant-rich Puerh, which grows wild on old trees in China's Yunnan region. A unique fermentation and aging process results in teas that are nuanced, earthy, and sometimes intensely smoky, so Puerh aficionados often describe it as an acquired taste, akin to wine. But until now, tracking down high-quality Puerh was a hit-or-miss proposition, and often an expensive one.
Striving to make Puerh accessible to a wider audience, Numi launched a line of wild-harvested teas grown on 500-year-old trees. Numi's Puerh is available loose, in tea bags, compressed in traditional bowl shapes, or as a brick that looks suspiciously like a chocolate bar. Speaking of chocolate, Numi offers Puerh blends, including a lush chocolate version that includes cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, orange peel, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Puerh purists may scoff, but they'd be missing a very good thing.
Numi is committed to Fair Trade and sustainable tea production, employs people with disabilities through a partnership with Community Gatepath, and has a carbon offset tree-planting program in the works. Plus, 1% of profits from sales of the boxed Puerh teas and bottled iced teas go to environmental and social causes. Prices start at about $10 for 16 teabags; the 12 portion brick at $13 is a good value, as each portion can be steeped up to 4 times.
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