Food is the perfect gift. There’s little waste, no fuss, and even a Grinch will be grateful. If you live in Long Beach and want to shop local, you’re lucky. Several artisans showcased their organic, vegan and fair-trade treats at the recent Long Beach Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts Festival. Show you care and choose the healthiest goodies this season.
Sweet treats:
• Shortnin Bread is a bakery located in Long Beach. They create custom decorated cookies, brownies and bars, tea breads, tarts, granola, cupcakes and all occasion cakes from scratch. Shortnin uses local, organic and sustainable ingredients, and is located at 3853 Atlantic Ave. (behind Nino’s). Visit shortninbreadbakery.com.
• Ginger’s Bake Shop sells vegan muffins and loafs. Owner Kelly Shook was so successful at the Festival that she sold out of everything! Visit gingersbakeshop.com.
• C Salt sells award-winning chocolate, brittle, mendiants and truffles. Owner and Chocolatier Courtney Dudman Donley’s pistachio cherry chocolate with sea salt and caramel was awarded "best chocolate" by OC Weekly, and her vegan pistachio cherry chocolate with sea salt and organic fair trade chocolate is divine. Visit csaltgourmet.com.
• P.O.P. Candy makes all-natural butter crunch (imagine buttery toasty toffee without the corn syrup) in small batches using seasonal and savory ingredients fresh from the local farmers' markets. Their candy is mostly gluten-free. To order a gift tin for the holidays go to gopopcandy.com.
• Backyard Bees sells local, raw, 100 percent pure treatment-free honey and beeswax products. Backyard Bees is a honey bee rescue, relocation and management hive service with honey flavors ranging from fresh citrus to eucalyptus. Visit backyardbees.net.
• Backyard in a Jar is the homemade creation of Deliah Snell, organizer of the Festival and owner of The Road Less Traveled, an eco-friendly store in Santa Ana. Backyard in a Jar makes organic, fair-trade, small batch jellies, marmalades and spreads from local farms. Visit roadlesstraveledstore.com or e-mail backyardinajar@gmail.com.
Bag it up:
B’s Bags makes reusable, machine washable snack and sandwich bags. Creator Michele Lugan made sure they doubled as placemats as well. For eco-bags in pretty fabrics visit BsBags.us.
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