If I had $1000 to Spend: A Post-Holiday Guide to My Favorite Local Businesses {the Little Locavore Blog Series}
I used to spend over $1000 on holiday presents each year, which is ironic considering Christmas is a holiday I didn’t celebrate until I was well into my 20’s. Hanukkah is a perfectly good holiday, but it doesn’t have the same sparkly, festive, present-opening, pajama-wearing, mimosa-drinking appeal that I’ve come to enjoy from a cold, snowy Christmas.
Leaving corporate America (and a steady paycheck) meant big changes in my life, including saving my pennies. This year’s Christmas gifts consisted of crochets scarves, and homemade goodies like fermented chili paste, tomato sauce & assorted jams I made over the summer. These are great, but I miss the days of being able to give extravagant gifts to all the people I care about.
Which got me thinking… If I had that same $1000 to spend on Christmas today, what would I buy?
Note: I had intended to publish this post in early December, but like many of us, procrastination got the best of me and I’m just getting around to doing it. So while you may not choose these as Christmas gifts, consider these guys my *fav* local companies and support them when you can!
My $1000 Post-Holiday Gift List
($96): 1 month of fresh heirloom juice from Luisa & Derek at SoW
($64): 8 jars of organic hummus from Donna at Love & Hummus
($40): 4 jars of pickled fennel from Christian at the Uncommon Pickle
($66): Demi-Annual, seasonal jam subscription from Dafna at INNA Jam
($36): 6 jars of Pomegranate Parsley kombucha from Alex at Cultured
($35): Homemade Chai tea spice box from John at Oaktown Spice Shop
($50): Case of heirloom Gravenstein apple juice from Kendra at Nana Mae’s
($100): Gift certificate for nourishing, prepared food from Angie at MamaKai
($55): 5 tins of Petite Whisper’s classic inspiration cards from Alexis & Evon
($40): 4 jars of Strawberry Balsamic jam from Devereaux at Company Jam
($100): Gift certificate for Nourish Life & Business Coaching with Alexis
($65): For the ultimate Tower of Chocolate from Dennis at Coco Delice
($26): ½ gallon of fermented Kalamata olives from Good Faith Farm
($40): Preserved fruits & goodies from Anea at Valley Girl Foodstuffs
($20): Pasture-raised smoked bacon from Ted at Highland Hills Farm
($36): 2 lbs of Ethiopian Yergacheffe from Rich & Robert at Highwire coffee
($48): 4 quarts of beef bone broth from Jessica & team at Three Stone Hearth
($35): International Food of the Month box from Vijay at Hungry Globetrotter
($48): 2 Emergency Bloody Mary kits from Todd at Happy Girl Kitchen
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$1000 Grand Total
Food is Personal
In a recent conversation with a fellow food entrepreneur, I was reminded that food is personal. Each of the businesses listed above I have come to know personally – I’ve spoken with them at farmers markets, visited their farms, bellied up to their juice bars, watched them hand roll each truffle, and taken their cooking classes. They share their struggles and successes willingly, transforming a regular food purchase into something much more emotional.
I’ve written before about knowing the people that make and grow your food, and this group of businesses are the ultimate examples of what I meant! So consider this a post-Christmas wish list for each of you, chock-full of all the businesses (and people!) that I want to support in the coming year. Help spread the word if you can…
Coming Soon!
A new blog and small business coaching company by Jill. Excited!! Stay tuned…
Related Posts:
A Guide to Supporting Local Food Makers
A Guide to Mindful Meat Consumption
I’m Egg-stremely Confused – Part 1