You know the reasons to buy from local businesses rather than at big-box stores – your dollars stay in the community because you’re supporting neighborhood businesses. Even better, you’ll find truly special creations that you won’t find anywhere else. Here’s a roundup of some of our favorite festive holiday treats. Some are folks we’ve written about; others are advertisers whose products we know and trust.
SUPPORTING COMMUNITY
WHAT: Give the gift of memberships! Recipients will enjoy benefits like free admission and special event access, and you'll be giving needed support to institutions that build our community. Here are some outstanding causes in South Florida:
Miami-Dade
Deering Estate at Cutler
Vizcaya
HistoryMiami
Dade Heritage Trust
Tropical Audubon Society
Frost Science
PAMM
Adrienne Arsht Center
The Barnacle Society
The Bass
Coral Gables Art Cinema
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Historic Hampton House
The Kampong of the National Tropical Botanical Garden
Zoo Miami
Florida Keys
Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden
Broward County
Coral Springs Center for the Arts
Museum of Discovery and Science
Bonnet House Museum and Gardens
Art and Culture Center Hollywood
Historic Stranahan House Museum
History Fort Lauderdale
Old Davie School Historical Museum
WHAT: Your donations support causes that enrich our community. Below are some food and food justice causes making a difference in South Florida.
305 Feeds
They buy warm meals in bulk from local restaurants impacted by the pandemic and distribute them to local organizations to help those in need.
Black Girls Cook
Established in 2014, Black Girls Cook is a nonprofit organization with a mission to teach adolescent girls of color self-actualization activities and life skills through the use of culinary arts and edible gardening with an emphasis on Black foodways.
Buddy System MIA
Buddy System is fighting food insecurity by creating unique and innovative ways to support the community, beginning with access to free, healthy food.
Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry
They organize and distribute groceries to approximately 175+ households every week, relying on the generosity of private individuals as well as educational, civic and religious organizations for food donations and financial support.
Common Threads
This national nonprofit that provides children and families cooking and nutrition education to encourage healthy habits that contribute to wellness, equipping under-resourced communities with information to make affordable, nutritious and appealing food choices wherever they live, work, learn, and play.
EatWell Exchange
Working with diverse communities to promote wellness with a focus on their culture, they show communities how to still have their cultural foods and live a healthy lifestyle.
Empowered Youth
They offer at-risk youth the possibility to learn culinary and entrepreneurial skills while receiving on-the-job training in our their Cafe and on the Vibe305 truck, the only nonprofit food truck in Miami.
Feeding South Florida
Their mission is to end hunger in South Florida by providing immediate access to nutritious food, leading hunger and poverty advocacy efforts and transforming lives through innovative programs and education.
Food Rescue US
Committed to reducing food waste and hunger in the community, they help the environment by keeping food from decomposing in landfills. Using technology, they engage volunteers to transfer unused surplus food from local businesses to local social service agencies providing for the food insecure.
Good Samaritan Meals
Their mission is to help feed the underserved, vulnerable, and homeless populations through partnerships with local Miami restaurants, grocery stores and bakeries.
Health in the Hood
By providing access to fresh foods and health education in low-income neighborhoods, Health in the Hood puts children on the path to healthy futures, giving parents useful information, and creating environments that encourage healthy choices.
Homestead Soup Kitchen
It is the mission of the Homestead Soup Kitchen to serve those members of the greater Homestead/Florida City community in need of a hot meal, regardless of circumstances, by having a "no questions asked" policy.
Slow Food Miami
This grassroots, all-volunteer board organization brings the healthful benefits of real food to children and families by building and sustaining raised-bed, organic school and community gardens across Miami-Dade County.
Urban Oasis Project
They make healthy, fresh, local food accessible to all using a multi-faceted approach forging relationships to connect diverse issues and communities, operating farmers markets, an online virtual farmers market, and distribute literal tons of produce from local farms to consumers. Most activities incorporate business practices to create economically self-sustaining programs that serve a wide demographic of incomes.
DIY GIFTS
Elevate the home-baking game with fine artisan chocolate from Susana and Isabel Garcia Nevett, who work magic in their South Miami boutique using superior Venezuelan chocolates. You could buy their award-winning bonbons as a gift, but why not make it more fun by giving their Christmas tree kit? It includes their chocolate cake mix, icing sugar, cacao butter paints, chocolate figurines, sprinkles, brushes and instructions. The chocolatier sisters offer similar kits for Easter and Mother’s Day, along with chocolate tastings, throughout the year.
Garcia Nevett – Chocolatier de MiamI
Concoct a botanical blend of dried herbs and spices, like chamomile, clove, licorice root orris root, rosebuds and wild cherry bark to flavor your own gin. South Florida Distillers offers gin-making classes in making their own gin using vodka made from American corn. After mixing your flavors, you’ll distill your gin, bottle it and label it to take home. “We show guests the basics and they get creative from there” says head distiller and COO Joe Durkin. “We are the only place you can do this in the United States, and if you like your gin we can help you start your own brand and sell it commercially.” Gin classes (21+) start at $150.
South Florida Distillers, Fort Lauderdale
Looking for a ready source for tasty sprouts for salads and sandwiches? All you need are seeds, a mason jar and a sprouting lid. In three or four days, you’ll have a jarful of sprouts – alfalfa, broccoli, mung beans. You can also grow bright green wheatgrass for juicing. The organic seeds and kits come from Fullei Fresh, the local family hydroponic farm that’s been providing fresh sprouts to supermarkets in the United States since 1978. They’re also industry leaders in food safety. Fullei Fresh also has recipes using your new crop. Kits start at $24.50, or you can buy seeds and components separately.
Fullei Fresh
TICKETS AND EVENTS
WHAT: Treat loved ones to the gift of food, drink and fun! Tickets are now on sale for the 21st edition of SOBEWFF – the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One – Feb. 24-27. The four-day, star-studded gourmet gathering takes place in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, featuring 400+ of the industry's top chefs, winemakers, spirits producers, celebrities and culinary personalities. All proceeds from the Festival support its mission to help educate future leaders of the hospitality industry by benefiting the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University.
TO ORDER: SOBEWFF
FOR YOUR GUESTS OR YOUR HOSTS
WHAT: As beautiful as they are delicious, these exquisitely decorated tarts from visual artist Nedine del Valle feature crust and cutouts made from cookie-dough pastry. Her inventive fillings include passionfruit with cream cheese, almonds and rose water; mango cream with dried mango and tamarind cream; orange and dark chocolate; guava with cheese; and piña colada and macadamia garnished with dried pineapple.
TO ORDER: Contact her via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/piedalart or Instagram @PiedalaArt
WHAT: Charcuterie boards get elevated in the skilled hands of Melissa Wilson, who created our all-local cover board in our fall issue. She tracks down gorgeous fruits, vegetables, cheeses, sweets, dips and edible flowers, building a colorful, richly textured edible mosaic. She also does special boards for birthdays and special occasions.
TO ORDER: Melissa Wilson on Instagram @Board_Oh_
WHAT: As good as your tía’s? You’ll just have to try and find out. Order hallacas – Venezuelan tamales filled with savory meat fillings – plus pan de jamon – and other traditional foods from Jessica and her team.
TO ORDER: Call 786-339-5345
WHAT: Get your rich Cuban version of eggnog – made from egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, cinnamon, rum and sugar syrup – from Tony from Los Bobos Cafeteria in Doral.
TO ORDER: Visit Los Bobos at 5600 NW 79th Ave, Doral or visit losbobos.com
FOR YOUR HOMEMADE DINNER OR POTLUCK
WHAT: Make it local! It’s the beginning of the season so you’ll find local greens, herbs, kale, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, collards, cherry tomatoes, fennel, kohlrabi, chard, radishes, winter and summer squash, okra, gourmet mushrooms, dragonfruit, Florida citrus, turmeric and edible flowers. Tropical fruits you might find: black sapote, carambola, papaya, bananas.
WHERE TO SHOP: Farmers markets that stock lots of local produce include Urban Oasis Project’s markets at Legion Park and South Miami City Hall (Saturdays) and Vizcaya Village (Sundays), or you can order fruits, veggies and artisan foods online for pickup or delivery. You can also order produce and artisan fare online from Farmers Markets to Go here. For organic veggies and mushrooms from their Homestead farm, stop by Paradise Farms at The Sacred Space on Sundays.. Details here. Robert Is Here is more than a resource for fruit milkshakes – they carry local produce and baked goods, tropical fruits, honey, sauces and more. Info here. Fruits N Cahoots at Tree Amigos in Davie sells tropical fruits, including unusual selections, on weekends. More here. The Coconut Grove Foodie and Artisan Market on Sunday afternoons at St. Stephen’s sells local foods plus, in true Grove spirits, art, crafts and jewelry.
WINES, BEER, SPIRITS
WHAT: Tell him your menu and budget, and Jeffrey puts together just what you need for your gathering. Or go for his party packs – themed six- and 12-packs.
TO ORDER: Visit the store at 124 Miracle Mile, call 305-445-4567 or email Jeffrey@wolfeswines.com your order.
WHAT: This small Sunset Harbour shop is packed floor-to-ceiling with wine and spirits, bitters, liqueurs and bar supplies, including hard-to-find choices and bar supplies.
TO ORDER: Visit the store at 1414 20th St., or check online at azul-liquor.com
LOCALLY MADE GIFTS
WHAT: Graphic artist and interior designer Ana Maria Reyes’ colorful hand-painted wooden cheese boards, teak salad serving utensils and cheese knives are as practical as they are pretty, making welcome gifts for the holidays, housewarmings, wedding showers and other special occasions.
TO ORDER: Hivedeco
WHAT: Create your own boards for entertaining with help from The Cheese Board Deck, boards and other musts for entertaining: serving pieces, glassware, napkins and other clever gifts.
TO BUY: Visit Isabel at 7334 Red Road
MEATS
WHAT: Grass-fed beef (imported and Florida-raised), heritage pork, game meats, free-range poultry, wild-caught seafood; pantry items like salts, peppers and olive oil, local cheeses from Mimmo’s Mozzarella, yerba mate, empanadas and more. And if you’re looking for grill equipment, this is the place.
TO ORDER: Shop in their boutique at 7201 NE 4 Ave., or order online
WHAT: Quality meats, bacon, chicken, sausages, artisan cheese, condiments, olive oil, seasonings and locally made artisan foods from Jason and Melanie Schoendorfer.
TO ORDER: Visit their Palmetto Bay store at 9216 SW 156 St. or shop online for delivery or pickup.
MARKETS AND GROCERY STORES
WHAT: This family-owned South Florida grocery chain carries much more than just produce and quality meats and seafood. They also stock a wide range of local artisan foods, like Cao Chocolates, Grate Madeleine, Susilicious, Almotti gluten-free cookies, vegan prepared foods from Health Gate Fresh and much more. For Cyber Monday, Nov. 29, you can get a $!00 gift card for only $80 https://cybermonday.milamsmarkets.com/cart/. Also good to know: Milam's is open on Thanksgiving from 7am-4pm.
TO ORDER: Visit their stores in Coconut Grove, Redbird, Pinecrest, Miami Springs and Sunny Isles Beach or shop online.
WHAT: Just about everything in this neighborhood is grown here or made by local food and drink artisans and artists, and it’s an impressive list: from prepared foods (Annam Miami’s South Indian foods, Mimmi’s lasagna, Whatsoup soups, Plantisserie plant-based foods, Mom’s Specialties dumplings; ferments and sauces; pastas, crackers and sweets; Frice Cream and Ana Cacao raw treats; beer and kombucha; greeting cards, pins, ceramics skin care products and much more. You could put together an all-local gift basket for a very special locavore!
TO ORDER: Visit their shop at 9725 NE 2 Ave. in Miami Shores or order online.
WHAT: This tidy new shop features a carefully curated selection and fairly priced selection of wines, foods and housewares, including the Jose Gourmet line of tinned seafood with artsy labels; Torres Selecta potato chips (flavored with foie gras, black truffle, smoked paprika, among others); pane carasau; fine imported cheeses and salami; olives; pasta and Italian flours; risotto rice and other rice varieties; blue corn masa; Rancho Gordo beans; Paradis B&B sourdough breads; Liger’s cookies; plus magazines, candles and other finds.
TO ORDER: Visit their shop at 170 NE 96 St. or their website.
WHAT: Organic, home-style vegan prepared foods, including baked empanadas, Spanish tortilla, main dishes by the pound or portion, like veggie coconut curry with basmati rice, quinoa funghi risotto, lentil meatballs with puttanesca sauce, sides, salads and desserts from Pamela Wasabi, Ana Cacao, Courtney’s Cookies and Vivianne Bakery. They also carry wine and beer, condiments and pantry goods.
TO ORDER: Visit their deli and market at 7316 NE 2 Ave., or shop online.
WHAT: One of the nation’s top shopping malls also hosts a weekend market with 75+ local vendors selling everything from fruits and juices, plants and flowers, prepared foods, and a truly comprehensive array of international delicacies: empanadas, alfajores, halvah, hallacas, arancini, arepas, golfeados, beigli, pancakes, rum cakes and much more.
TO ORDER: Visit the mall at 19501 Biscayne Blvd. or check online. The market is open every weekend. Holiday hours here.
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