WhyHunger’s Holiday Gift Guide

The holidays are a time for giving and giving back! At WhyHunger, we are always on the lookout for gifts with meaning and wanted to share some of our staff’s favorite finds this season.

holiday gift guide1. Support the rights of farmworkers and go behind scenes of today’s agricultural system with “Food Chains,” a new documentary about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). Starring executive producers Eva Longoria and Eric Schlosser, “Food Chains” explores the abuses and poverty in the U.S. agricultural system and a revolutionary approach to ending these abuses – CIW’s Fair Food Program. Directed by Sanjay Rawal and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker, you can buy “Food Chains” on iTunes for $12.99.

holiday gift guide2. Give a handmade gift that is sure to please. From scented candles to lovely gift boxes, shop the Homeless Garden Project’s online store! Gift sets feature products handmade by the students in their Transitional Employment Training Program from ingredients grown in their California Certified Organic Farm. The hand-packed Lavender gift box contains a sachet, bath salts, lip balm, perfume and a hand poured candle and can be purchased for $40.00

holiday gift guide

3. Purchase a bottle of Kenwood Vineyards wine and make a difference in the fight against hunger. For every bottle purchased through the end of December, Kenwood Vineyards will donate $1 to WhyHunger. Find the perfect bottle and toast the holidays from bottles starting at $6.99 to gift sets and more. Shop online today.

holiday gift guide

4. For the cheese lover in your life, you can purchase Family Farm Defenders specialty and organic cheese hand-crafted and free of artificial growth hormones, animal enzymes and GMOs. More than just delicious, this fair trade cheese comes direct from a co-op of more than 30 family farmers in the Midwest who are committed to sustainable, environmentally- friendly cheese-making. Help keep family farmers on their land and order Mild Cheddar, Colby, Monterey Jack and more for $6 per pound.

holiday gift guide

5. Support women in the global south by purchasing a handmade, fair trade product from one of 40 community-based partners through Global Goods Partners. By creating economic opportunities for women through technical assistance, product development, operational expertise and small capacity-building grants to community-based partners, Global Goods Partners brings these beautiful handcrafts to you and ensures that the artisans making their products are paid fair living wages. Help combat global poverty and promote social justice with your purchase. Buy this set of 4 bracelets handcrafted by women in Guatemala using wax threads and glass and metal beads for $30. Or check out their complete line of gifts.

6. For the book lover in your life, we recommend these great reads:

holiday gift guideThe Stop by Nick Saul and Andrea Curtis argues that we need a new politics of food, one in which everyone has a dignified, healthy place at the table. By turns funny, sad and raw, “The Stop” is a timely story about overcoming obstacles, challenging sacred cows and creating lasting change. Buy online for $19.76.

Food Voices: Stories From the People Who Feed Us by Andrianna Natsoulas details a journey across the Americas to capture the stories of people working towards a just and sustainable food system. Gathered from 70 interviews from Nova Scotia to Ecuador to Brazil and beyond, “Food Voices” give you a glimpse into the global food sovereignty movement. You can purchase the book online for $30.

Food Chain Avengers, a comic book published by the Food Chain Workers Alliance, illustrates the issues facing workers across the food chain, as well as their efforts to organize to improve their workplaces, their communities, and the food system. It is paired with discussion guides for middle and high school students that can be downloaded free. The book can be ordered online in either English or Spanish for $3.50.

holiday gift guide7. For the music lover in your life:

Visit Hungerthon.org to check out meaningful music-inspired gifts, including a limited-edition Bruce Springsteen Born to Run tee, John Lennon long sleeve Hungerthon tee, “Imagine” scarf and more. All proceeds go directly to support WhyHunger’s mission to build the movement to end hunger and poverty across the country and worldwide. You can get the John Lennon long sleeve tee here for $60.

Visit a Hard Rock or their online store to purchase limited edition Imagine There’s No Hunger earbuds in support of WhyHunger and 50 percent of the gross profit will help fight childhood hunger. Buy online for $10.

Debbie DePoala